India’s draft National Electricity Policy places strong focus on advanced technology adoption and skill development as key drivers for meeting the country’s long-term energy objectives, including security, sustainability, and self-reliance.
The policy highlights the need to develop or locally source critical technologies, equipment, and materials required for the power sector. Where domestic capabilities are limited, it encourages strategic foreign collaborations and investments to bridge technology gaps and strengthen manufacturing capacity within the country.
A major thrust of the draft policy is on building a future-ready workforce. It calls for closer collaboration between industry and academic institutions to promote innovation, research, and specialised training. Power utilities are encouraged to deploy modern digital tools such as artificial intelligence, augmented reality, and virtual reality to enhance grid planning, asset management, predictive maintenance, and workforce training.
The policy also underlines the importance of smart grid technologies to support the growing share of renewable energy, enable efficient demand-side management, and facilitate emerging applications such as vehicle-to-grid integration. Strengthening digital infrastructure across the electricity value chain is seen as essential for improving reliability and operational efficiency.
To support innovation, the draft proposes the creation of dedicated funding mechanisms for research and development in the power sector, along with new testing and validation facilities. It also outlines plans to transition national and state load dispatch centres to indigenously developed digital control and monitoring systems by 2030, reinforcing the focus on technological self-sufficiency.
Overall, the draft National Electricity Policy aims to modernise India’s electricity ecosystem by combining technology-driven solutions with skilled human resources, enabling the sector to meet future demand while supporting clean energy transitions and economic growth.
