Overview
- Ember’s PPP-adjusted analysis places India today at roughly China’s 2012 income level for a like-for-like energy comparison.
- At that stage, India’s per-capita fossil consumption is far lower than China’s, reflecting faster uptake of clean electricity.
- Electric vehicles reached about 5% of new car sales in 2024, with per-capita road-oil use roughly 60% below China’s at the same milestone.
- India imports over 40% of its primary energy, a dependence that costs about $150 billion a year and strengthens the case for electrification.
- Policy and supply-chain tensions persist, with the government weighing a coal-capacity doubling by 2047 and Reliance pausing battery-cell plans after failing to secure Chinese equipment.