India ranks 78th on WEF Energy Transition Index; Sweden tops the list

India has been ranked at 78th, lower than its emerging market peers like Brazil and China, among 114 countries on the World Economic Forum's Energy Transition Index that was topped by Sweden.

The report titled "Fostering Effective Energy Transition", ranks countries on how well they are able to balance energy security and access with environmental sustainability and affordability.

According to the report India has taken "bold measures" to improve energy access, energy efficiency, and to improve the deployment of renewable sources of energy.

However, energy transition in the country will require "large investments, and an enabling environment and robust regulatory frameworks to support the transition".

"India is at the crossroads in its energy transition journey. Ranking 78th on the Energy Transition Index," the report said. Among its emerging market peers Brazil stood at the 38th place, Russia at 70th and China at 76th place.

The overall list was topped by Sweden, followed by Norway at the 2nd position and Switzerland at the 3rd rank.

Other countries on the top 10 include Finland (4th), Denmark (5th), the Netherlands (6th), the UK (7th), Austria (8th), France (9th) and Iceland (10th).

On India, the report said, energy needs in the country are primarily met by fossil fuels with implications for environmental sustainability and increasing energy import costs.

Furthermore, a considerable share of India's population still lacks access to electricity and clean cooking fuel, it noted.

"In the Energy Transition Index (ETI), India ranks in the third performance quartile and third readiness quartile, making it an emerging country that is approaching the leapfrog category," the WEF report said.

Interestingly, between 2013 and 2018, India improved its performance score by 5.6 percentage points, mainly with improved energy access, reduced subsidies and reduced import costs, the report noted.

"Recent initiatives to improve electricity access have experienced some success and the outlook is positive; however, the road to continuous access to power and clean cooking fuel for all is long," it added.

India has the largest government-mandated renewable energy programme, with a target of 175 GW renewable energy capacity by 2022, and it announced plans to shift completely to electric vehicles by 2030.