India Adds 23 GW Green Power in 5 Months, Hits Major Renewable Energy Milestones

India is moving quickly in renewable energy, adding 23 gigawatts (GW) of clean power capacity in just the first five months of this financial year, Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy Pralhad Joshi said on Tuesday.

Speaking at the FT Live Energy Transition Summit India in New Delhi, Joshi said this achievement is remarkable since many countries take years to reach such numbers.

With this growth, India’s total installed non-fossil fuel capacity has now touched about 252 GW. This puts the country past the halfway mark toward its goal of 500 GW of renewable energy by 2030.

Joshi highlighted that half of India’s total electricity capacity already comes from non-fossil fuel sources, a target reached five years earlier than promised under the Paris Climate Agreement. He also noted that India is the only G20 nation to have met its 2030 climate goals as early as 2021.

The minister spoke about the government’s push for solar power through the PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana, under which nearly 20 lakh households have been solarised. The scheme aims to cover 1 crore homes and add 30 GW of rooftop solar capacity. Joshi pointed out that the number of families benefiting from this programme is bigger than the entire population of countries like Austria, Switzerland, Israel, or Singapore.

India’s renewable energy growth has also been backed by expanding solar, wind, and green hydrogen projects. The country’s solar module manufacturing capacity has reached 100 GW, doubling between March 2024 and March 2025. During the same time, production of PV cells tripled from 9 GW to 25 GW, and now stands at 27 GW.

Joshi credited government policies such as production-linked incentives (PLI), competitive bidding, and regulatory reforms for driving this shift.

With such rapid progress, India is emerging as a global leader in clean energy and is on track to meet its ambitious climate and energy goals well before 2030.