Amrita Batra, Program Assistant, India Initiative and Food and Agriculture, San Francisco

Over 680 million Indians across 20 of India’s 28 states were affected by the world’s largest power outage this week. While fortunately, a natural disaster was not the cause, nature may have very well played a leading role in the blackout. From scorching temperatures resulting in a growing reliance on air-conditioners, to a severely lacking monsoon leading to an unusually high dependence on energy-intensive irrigation, the changing climate worsens an energy shortage that many have already described as nothing short of a crisis.

But for a country like India, inherently complex and intricately woven by traditions and customs that change every few miles, the path to finding a solution for its “energy crisis” too, will require a range of solutions to come together, both existing and new.  As described by my colleague, Anjali Jaiswal, here and here, renewable energy, one of India’s more recent solutions to increase its energy supply, is also proving to be the country’s most promising solution. Prime Minister Singh recently highlighted the long-term role and significance of clean energy in India, in an address to India’s Parliament: “We are conscious of ...

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