Coal in India: Decarbonization after Development
Coal generates over 65% of India's power today, but it is also one of India's largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions. Why is India ambivalent in its approach to the coal industry? What does it have to do with the history of developmentalism in this country?
By examining the post-Independence history of the Indian coal industry, Rohit Chandra discussed some of the complicated social, economic, and regional consequences of India's necessary trajectory of decarbonization. The lecture also discussed some of the historical figures who have significantly influenced the industry's trajectory since Independence.
About the Political Scientist
Rohit Chandra is a political scientist and economic historian working primarily on energy, infrastructure and varieties of capitalism in India. Over the last decade, he has worked in the policy space on coal sector reforms, the politics of state discoms (particularly in Jharkhand), and public finance decisions behind large infrastructure projects. He is currently an Assistant Professor at IIT-Delhi's School of Public Policy. His work has recently expanded into the political economy of infrastructure, infrastructure finance, just transitions and the characteristics of Indian capitalism.