The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) is releasing through this press note, the report of the Expert Committee on Energy Statistics.

Energy plays a pivotal role in driving economic growth and supporting social development. The “Energy Statistics India”, an annual publication of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) depicts the flow-of-energy at national level containing diverse tables, graphs and sustainable energy-Indicators following International Standards and guidelines. As India progresses towards its renewable energy targets and Net Zero aspirations, the need for a robust, comprehensive and harmonized energy statistics framework has become increasingly important to support evidence-based policymaking and facilitate effective monitoring of the ongoing energy transition.

Recognizing this need, the MoSPI constituted an Expert Committee on Energy Statistics under the Chairmanship of Dr. Rangan Banerjee, Director, IIT-Delhi comprising senior level representatives from line energy-Ministries and domain experts from research institutions like The Energy Research Institute (TERI), Alliance for Energy Efficient Economy (AEEE) etc. The Committee undertook a comprehensive review of the “Energy Statistics India” publication and the energy-Statistics database of India, including its coverage, definitions, classification systems, data sources and estimation methodologies. Focused attention was paid to issues like meeting International Standards on Energy Statistics, addressing the major data-gaps and addressing the inconsistencies in energy-Statistics database of India across energy-Ministries.

The Committee had several rounds of technical consultations and deliberations with line Ministries, agencies and subject experts before finalizing its recommendations. The major recommendations of the Committee have been summarized below;

• The Committee recommended the adoption of the international standards in collection and dissemination of energy-Statistics in tabulation categories aligned with International Standard Industrial Classification (ISIC) Rev. 5, National Industrial Classification (NIC)-2025, Standards International Energy-product Classification (SIEC) etc. The Committee also urged for adaptation of uniform conversion factors by all the line energy-Ministries to ensure the inter-Ministerial consistency of the energy-Statistics produced by them.

• The Committee recommended a methodology for refinement of sectoral end-use consumption of the Imported coal (which is around 20% of the total coal-consumption in India) and also the domestic coal routed via auction, clubbed under the miscellaneous category. The methodology makes use of Annual Survey of Industries (ASI) database which captures limited industry-wise consumption of Coal. The Committee also recommended the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) to develop and maintain a comprehensive database under Perform, Achieve and Trade (PAT) scheme.

• The Committee recommended similar methodology for capturing and dissemination of the industry-wise end-use consumption of electricity in India by using Annual Survey of Industry (ASI) database.

• In absence of a consolidated national level data, the United Nation Statistical Division (UNSD) in their annual publication of World Energy Balance estimates the consumption of the Bio-fuel of India to the tune of around 31-34% of the total annual energy-consumption of India; based on their own estimation. The Committee recommended a comprehensive methodology for addressing this important data-gaps for incorporating the component of Bio-fuel in the energy-Balance table of India.

• The consumption of electricity via captive/off-grid mode and consumption of electricity by EVs in India are among the significant data-gaps in the energy domain which has been addressed under this report. The Committee recommended initial methodological framework for these, which needs further refinement by the users and researchers for suitable incorporation in the energy-Balance database of India.

The report presents a detailed account of these deliberations along with actionable recommendations aimed at strengthening the methodological robustness, analytical usefulness and inter-agency consistency of India's energy statistics system. The recommendations are expected to support evidence-based policymaking, improve data quality and comparability, and facilitate better monitoring of India's evolving energy landscape.

MoSPI emphasizes that effective implementation of the recommendations will require continued collaboration and coordination among all concerned Ministries and stakeholders to build a more integrated, reliable and internationally comparable energy statistics framework for the country.

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Samrat