Union Power Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Thursday, 9 July 2026 shared highlights from India Energy Storage Week 2026, calling the event 'eventful' and signalling the government's continued focus on scaling storage technologies as a backbone of the country's clean-energy transition.

Context

India Energy Storage Week is an industry-facing platform that brings together battery manufacturers, renewable developers, grid operators, and policymakers to discuss the deployment of storage technologies — from lithium-ion batteries to pumped-hydro systems. The minister's post, accompanied by a video, underscores the Ministry of Power's active engagement with the sector at a time when grid-scale storage has become central to India's energy planning.

Khattar's participation reflects the ministry's intent to use such forums to communicate policy direction and attract investment into what remains a nascent but fast-growing segment of India's power sector.

Policy Backdrop

India committed at COP26 in 2021 to achieving 500 GW of non-fossil fuel electricity capacity by 2030, a target that makes large-scale energy storage indispensable. Intermittency in solar and wind generation — which now account for a growing share of installed capacity — cannot be managed without adequate storage buffers.

In 2023, the government approved a viability gap funding (VGF) scheme for battery energy storage systems (BESS), providing financial support to bridge the cost gap and accelerate commercial deployment. The scheme is designed to crowd in private investment alongside public support, enabling state electricity distribution companies (discoms) to procure storage capacity at competitive tariffs.

Successive policy measures have also sought to promote domestic manufacturing of storage components, aligning with the broader Aatmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India) push and reducing dependence on imports for a strategically critical technology.

Stakeholders and Impact

The beneficiaries of a robust storage ecosystem span the entire power value chain. Renewable energy developers gain the ability to firm up supply and meet round-the-clock power purchase obligations. State discoms, which bear the brunt of peak demand and grid instability, stand to benefit from smoother load curves and reduced reliance on expensive peaking power plants.

Battery manufacturers — both domestic and international — view India as one of the largest emerging markets for grid-scale storage, given the scale of renewable capacity additions planned through the decade. Events like India Energy Storage Week serve as a critical deal-making and knowledge-sharing environment for this community.

For consumers, effective storage deployment translates into greater supply reliability and, over the longer term, downward pressure on electricity costs as the share of zero-marginal-cost renewables rises.

What's Next

The coming months are expected to see further rollout of storage-linked incentives, including potential new tender announcements for grid-scale BESS projects and technology partnership agreements between Indian and global firms. The Ministry of Power's engagement at India Energy Storage Week 2026 is likely to be followed by policy communications detailing the next tranche of support measures.

Analysts and industry stakeholders will watch closely for any announcements on domestic manufacturing mandates, expanded VGF allocations, or new targets for storage capacity addition — all of which would signal the pace at which India intends to close the gap between its renewable ambitions and the storage infrastructure needed to realise them.