India: Energy Law

The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (“CBIC”), through Notification No. 31/2026-Central Excise dated 15 June 2026, has amended Notification No. 08/2026-Central Excise dated 26 March 2026 to increase the effective rate of Special Additional Excise Duty (“SAED”) applicable on exports of Aviation Turbine Fuel (“ATF”). Effective from 16 June 2026, the duty has been increased from Rs 9.5 per litre to Rs 12.5 per litre.

The Draft Regulations represent a significant regulatory shift towards a capacity-based access model aligned with evolving electricity market structures, increasing renewable energy penetration, growth of green open access transactions and the emergence of energy storage systems.

India is positioning itself to reduce dependence on China for critical minerals through ambitious policy frameworks including the National Critical Minerals Mission and Rare Earth Permanent Magnets Scheme. This analysis examines how strategic India-Japan cooperation can build resilient supply chains across the Indo-Pacific region.

Environmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”) considerations have moved far beyond corporate sustainability reports and boardroom policy discussions. Today, ESG has become deeply embedded in infrastructure financing, project valuation, regulatory approvals, investment due diligence, and long-term asset bankability across India.

The Ministry of Power (“MoP”), vide notification dated 18.05.2026 issued under the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2026 (“Jan Vishwas Act”), has notified 01.06.2026 as the date on which the amendments relating to the Electricity Act, 2003 (“EA 2003”) under serial number 58 of the Schedule to the Jan Vishwas Act shall come into force.

MNRE, vide Office Memorandum dated 25.05.2026 (“ALMM OM”) has specified that there will be no extension of the requirement to mandatorily source solar cells and modules from Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (“ALMM”) by net metering and open access renewable power projects getting commissioned on or after 01.06.2026.

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Government of India ("MNRE") on February 25, 2026 issued the draft guidelines for quantifying greenhouse gas ("GHG") emissions from offsite water drawal and treatment, for stakeholder comments until March 13, 20262. These guidelines inter alia provide for benchmark emission factors along with a mechanism for allocation/ determination of emissions during water treatment systems in order to ensure compliance with the Green Hydrogen Certification Scheme of India3 and alignment with ISO 19870:2023.

Consumers in the petroleum and natural gas sector have historically faced persistent challenges relating to quality, pricing transparency, supply reliability, and, perhaps most critically...

The Supreme Court of India (“Supreme Court”) in the case of Southern Power Distribution Company of Andhra Pradesh Limited and Anr. vs. Green Infra Wind Solutions Limited and Ors1 has dismissed civil appeals filed by the distribution licensees of Andhra Pradesh (“AP Discoms”) while holding that Generation-Based Incentive (“GBI”) granted by a Central Government Policy to wind power generators cannot be taken away by a State regulator and re-distributed to distribution licensee’s consumers by factoring the incentive into generation tariff.