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| ISID, in collaboration with Integrated Research and Action for Development (IRADe), organised a Book Discussion on Rising Ambition – Carving New Pathways: India’s Energy Transition on December 16, 2025 at the ISID campus, New Delhi. Authored by Mr Ajay Shankar, former Industry Secretary and Visiting Faculty, ISID, the book outlines India’s journey towards achieving net zero by 2070, highlighting how smart policy choices, rapid expansion of renewables, and initiatives such as the Green Hydrogen Mission are shaping a confident and ambitious energy transition. The discussion examined pathways to net zero, key policy inflection points across sectors, and strategies to minimise transition costs while building a green and competitive economy. The session was moderated by Prof Nagesh Kumar, Director, ISID. Distinguished panellists were Prof Jyothi Parikh, Executive Director, IRADe; Mr Arun Maira, Chairman, HelpAge International and former Member, Planning Commission of India; and, Mr Girish Sethi, Senior Director, The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI). The event concluded with an engaging interaction with participants during the Q&A session. |
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| About the Book: India has displayed climate leadership. It has decided to become net zero by 2070. The transformative journey to net zero would, naturally, present formidable challenges.
Rising Ambition describes how with smart policies India has been achieving remarkable success with renewables. This success has been generating greater confidence and higher ambition. In a forward-looking move, India has embarked on a Green Hydrogen Mission. The book sets out the contours of the pathways to net zero with key milestones. It analyses policy choices at critical inflection points of the energy transition. It suggests ways to minimize the cost of the transition and to achieve early success. It makes the case that this investment in moving away from fossil fuels would help India become a developed country with a green competitive economy. The book comprehensively analyses policy choices across all sectors for India to become net zero. It explains complex issues with clarity in simple language. It is written for the layperson as well as for the experts-a must read for all those concerned about climate change. |
| About the Author: Ajay Shankar is Distinguished Fellow at TERI. He has been writing extensively on the power sector, transition to renewables. getting to net zero, and other key issues. His opinion pieces have been appearing in the national newspapers.
He was a member of the Indian Administrative Service (LAS), retired as Secretary, Government of India. He held key positions with responsibilities for policy formulation and execution. A few of his major contributions in the energy sector were: |
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Date: Tuesday, 16th December 2025 from 3.30 PM onwards |