India

The Union Government of India, the country’s federal government, has released a framework for adopting a broader measure of economic progress, taking into account the value of natural resources, human capital and infrastructure. The framework was devised by an expert panel to address "extreme narrowness" of the current System of National Accounts used by India and most other countries. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh unveiled “Green National Accounts In India – A Framework” at a two-day international workshop on the subject held in New Delhi at the end of last week. He said the initiative was particularly timely and relevant in view of India’s Twelfth Five Year Plan (2012-17), which has faster, more inclusive and sustainable growth as its core objective.

The Indian government, which believes the road to energy security lies in shale gas and coal bed methane, is looking at policy initiatives to smooth the way for exploration of both within its boundaries.

The boom in India’s solar market, brought about by the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM), will result in a near doubling of the solar panels materials market in the next three years.

Indian clean energy specialist Greenko has been boosted by a GBP100 million (USD151 million) investment from a Singaporean sovereign wealth fund which will allow the company to further build out its portfolio of clean power in India where the rapidly expanding economy has been throttled by a lack of reliable power supplies.

India may auction more solar capacity than planned this fiscal year to reduce power shortages in the South Asian country, Bloomberg reports.