The BES 2026 session on “Meeting the Electricity Needs of the Global South: Key catalysts for cross-border collaboration, investment and innovation” featured remarks by Shri Manohar Lal, Minister of Power and Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India; Shri Pralhad Venkatesh Joshi, Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution & New and Renewable Energy, Government of India; H.E. Juma Daler Shafoqir, Minister of Energy and Water Resources, Tajikistan; H.E. Lyonpo Gem Tshering, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Bhutan; H.E. Hussain Ageel Naseer, Deputy Minister of Tourism and Environment, Maldives; and H.E. Pavel Sorokin, First Deputy Minister of Energy, Russian Federation. The session was moderated by Manisha Gupta, Group Commodities Editor, CNBC TV 18. Edited excerpts…
India’s renewable energy expansion, especially in solar, is a model that could be adapted by other developing countries. Alongside this, India’s role through the International Solar Alliance is an example of how technical experience, policy learning and institutional support can be shared across the Global South. On the domestic manufacturing front, over the past decade, India has moved from heavy import dependence in solar modules toward a much stronger domestic base in modules and cells, with further ambitions extending into wafers and polysilicon. In wind as well, 50–60 per cent of equipment is already being manufactured domestically. This growing industrial base has implications beyond self-reliance.
In India’s case, the transition has been from universal electrification to adequacy and now to abundance. The focus is no longer only on access, but on redesigning energy systems to support higher-quality growth, resilience and integration. This is also shaping India’s external engagement. Long-term partnerships with neighbouring countries such as Bhutan, Nepal and Bangladesh are being built not only through electricity trade, but also through transmission infrastructure, regulatory capacity building and joint grid planning.
A major strand of the discussion centred on the role of hydropower-rich countries in supporting regional energy security. Tajikistan, is one of the world’s leading hydropower economies, with total hydropower potential estimated at around 120 GW, including pumped storage. The country is also developing one of the largest hydropower projects in Central Asia, which is expected to strengthen regional power supply and expand exports beyond Central Asia into South Asia. This points to a broader strategic direction in which green electricity generated in Central Asia could increasingly flow to South Asian markets through new interconnection projects and stronger commercial linkages.
Bhutan presents a similar but more structured capacity expansion pathway, built around hydropower and backed by close cooperation with India. Despite its small size and landlocked geography, the country has laid out an ambitious roadmap to reach about 25,000 MW of generation capacity by 2040, with roughly 20,000 MW expected from hydropower and around 500 MW from solar energy. Interim milestones include adding about 5,000 MW by 2029 and scaling up further to 10,000 MW before reaching the longer-term target.
The Maldives has outlined a phased transition toward 33 per cent renewable electricity, supported by a visible project pipeline and a step-by-step approach to implementation. The emphasis here was less on rapid scale-up and more on realism, sequencing and learning from relevant international experience, particularly India’s. This underlines an important point for the Global South as a whole: energy transition pathways are unlikely to be uniform. Different geographies will require different speeds, technologies and institutional models, even if they share common goals of affordability, sustainability and security.
Another important dimension of the discussion was the impact of geopolitical volatility on energy strategy. Recent disruptions were cited as a reminder that dependence on any single energy source, market or technology can create long-term vulnerabilities. The argument was not only about security of supply, but also about resilience in an increasingly fragmented global environment. In this context, the need for trustworthy partners, diversified technology pathways and pragmatic collaboration became a recurring theme.
Taken together, these perspectives point to a more interconnected vision of electricity development in the Global South. The challenge is no longer only to add generation capacity, but to create systems that are regionally linked, technologically diversified and institutionally supported.
