India’s Sustainable Growth
India continues to experience strong economic expansion alongside a major increase in infrastructure investment and industrial capacity. Real GDP grew by 7.8% year-on-year in Q1 FY2026–27 (April–June 2026), while gross fixed capital formation increased by 11.9% during the same quarter. The Union Budget 2026–27 provides for approximately INR 12.2 lakh crore in public capital expenditure, with emphasis on infrastructure development, City Economic Regions, high-speed rail corridors and other growth-enabling investments. The Budget also promotes manufacturing expansion across seven strategic and frontier sectors. These investments support India’s longer-term vision of becoming a developed economy by 2047.
This pace of development is accompanied by increasing environmental and social considerations. Rapid urbanization, growing energy demand, resource constraints, climate-related risks and the need for resilient infrastructure are influencing how projects are planned, designed, developed and operated. As the scale and complexity of infrastructure and industrial investment increase, integrating environmental and social considerations from the early stages of project development is becoming increasingly important.
Opportunities for Sustainable Development
India’s clean energy transition illustrates the scale of this transformation. Non-fossil fuel-based installed capacity reached 300.50 GW as of 31 July 2026, representing more than 54% of the country’s total installed electricity capacity. During FY2025–26, India added a record 55.29 GW of non-fossil capacity, while installed solar capacity reached 164.59 GW. At the same time, solar manufacturing capacity has expanded rapidly, with capacity listed under the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM) exceeding 200 GW.
India has also strengthened its climate commitments through its updated Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) for 2031–2035. The updated targets include reducing the emissions intensity of GDP by 47% from the 2005 level and achieving 60% cumulative installed electricity capacity from non-fossil fuel-based energy resources by 2035. These commitments reinforce the growing importance of climate-resilient infrastructure, clean energy, resource efficiency and low-carbon development.
The expansion of rooftop solar is creating another significant area of investment. In July 2026, the World Bank approved US$890 million in financing to support India’s national rooftop solar program, PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana. The program aims to support rooftop solar installations for 10 million households, mobilize approximately US$4.2 billion in private financing and create an estimated 1.7 million job opportunities across the renewable energy manufacturing, installation and services value chain. By March 2026, more than 3.2 million households had benefited from the program, demonstrating the rapidly expanding scale of distributed solar deployment.
India’s industrial sector is also entering a more structured phase of carbon management. Under the Carbon Credit Trading Scheme (CCTS), binding greenhouse gas emission-intensity targets have been introduced for approximately 490 entities across seven energy-intensive sectors. The Indian carbon market framework is being progressively operationalized, increasing the importance of emissions measurement, monitoring, verification, reporting and compliance for covered industries.
For developers, investors, financial institutions and public agencies, the scale of this transition creates a growing need for credible environmental and social due diligence, reliable baseline studies, climate-risk assessment, regulatory compliance and effective environmental and social risk management. These requirements become particularly important for projects financed or supported by international financial institutions and development partners.
Why EQMS in India?
EQMS operates in India to support the country’s rapidly evolving infrastructure, industrial and sustainable development landscape. As environmental, social, climate and sustainability considerations become increasingly integrated into investment and project-development decisions, EQMS brings a multidisciplinary approach that combines environmental and social assessment, technical expertise and sustainability-focused advisory services.
EQMS can support projects across areas including infrastructure development, renewable energy, industrial and manufacturing facilities, urban development, resource efficiency, climate resilience and environmental and social risk management. Our experience in preparing EIA, ESIA, ESMP, EMP, ESDD and related environmental and social management documentation, together with our understanding of international lender requirements, positions EQMS to support clients throughout the project development and investment cycle.
India’s continued investment in infrastructure, clean energy, manufacturing and climate-resilient development presents substantial opportunities for responsible investment and technical collaboration. EQMS seeks to contribute to this transition by combining international experience, multidisciplinary technical expertise and practical project-level understanding to help clients manage environmental and social risks, meet regulatory and lender requirements, and advance sustainable and resilient development.