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India's energy transition, grid security hinge on strategic diversification
India's meteoric rise in clean energy is an irreversible trend. After all, 2024 proved to be yet another encore for the nation, as it accelerated its ascent among the world's largest developers of renewable energy capacity.
With an impressive 220 GW of installed capacity as of March 2025– including a staggering 107.9 GW from solar alone – we've rightfully earned international recognition for our climate leadership.
Yet beneath these headline figures lurks a vulnerability that threatens to undermine not just our energy transition but our national security itself: the dangerous concentration of renewable assets in just a handful of states. Between 2018 and 2024, just two states – Rajasthan and Gujarat – added a combined 18,382 MW of renewable capacity, while all thirteen of our northern and north-eastern border states together managed barely 3,384 MW, less than one-fifth of that amount.
This glaring strategic vulnerability demands immediate attention.
Consider the implications for a moment. A coordinated physical attack on energy infrastructure in just two or three western states could potentially cripple the majority of India's renewable generation capacity. As we increasingly rely on these sources for our energy security, such geographic concentration essentially creates a single point of failure.
Would we concentrate our military assets in just two or three locations? Of course not.
Yet somehow, we've allowed our energy infrastructure to develop precisely such a vulnerability.
The problem isn't one of natural resource distribution. While Rajasthan's desert expanses may offer ideal conditions for solar power, many other states possess their own substantial renewable potential. The hinterland states of Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Bihar receive some of the highest solar radiation in the country. Himalayan states offer tremendous hydropower opportunities.
The north-east possesses significant biomass potential. Why, then, has development been so lopsided?
The disparity reveals as much a policy disconnect as natural limitations. Compare the growth rates: Himachal Pradesh saw just 7.7 per cent growth in renewable capacity while neighbouring Uttar Pradesh achieved 108 per cent. Nagaland managed only 13.7 per cent growth compared to West Bengal's 102.6 per cent. These stark contrasts cannot be explained by resource differences alone – they reflect structural barriers that market forces haven't overcome.
Also, let's not get carried away with percentages – J&K and Ladakh's combined capacity addition over six years amounts to what Gujarat typically adds in just months.
What's needed is central government intervention with purpose. Electricity sits on the concurrent list precisely to enable central action on matters of national importance – and few issues matter more than protecting our energy infrastructure from both physical and cyber threats.
The existing approach to grid cybersecurity reflects a troubling tendency to secure systems as they are, not as they should be. India's Power Ministry has recognised cyber risks but largely treats them as technical problems requiring technical solutions.
The reality is more fundamental: our grid's very architecture – its geographic concentration – represents an inherent vulnerability that no amount of software patching can fully mitigate.
Security experts have long advocated "defense in depth" – multiple layers of protection that don't rely on a single safeguard. Geographical diversification represents perhaps the most basic application of this principle to energy infrastructure. A strategically distributed network of renewable assets would create inherent resilience against both physical and cyber threats – the energy equivalent of not keeping all eggs in one basket.
The economic arguments against diversification don't withstand scrutiny. Yes, project development in Himachal Pradesh or Arunachal Pradesh costs more than in Rajasthan. But these calculations typically ignore the security premium that geographical diversification provides. When assessing project viability in remote or challenging regions, we must incorporate— the value of grid hardening in vulnerable zones, enhanced cybersecurity infrastructure for distributed assets, risk premiums for challenging terrain and integration costs for hybrid models that improve consistency.
Regulatory frameworks must evolve to recognise both 'strategic premium' and 'cybersecurity premium' as legitimate components in tariff determination. Projects enhancing grid security through location diversity deserve differentiated tariff structures that acknowledges their contribution to national resilience.
Fortunately, the same technologies making renewable energy increasingly competitive also enable more distributed deployment. Real-time analytics, AI-based intrusion detection, quantum-resistant encryption, and decentralised storage solutions can transform the challenge of managing distributed generation into a strategic advantage – creating a more resilient, secure grid architecture.
The path forward requires targeted incentives for underrepresented regions: capital subsidies for hill states and the northeast, customized funding structure for difficult terrains, waived inter-state transmission charges, and expedited renewable certificate approvals. These investments in national security advance energy justice, rural employment, and balanced regional development.
India's renewable energy journey stands at a defining moment. Our quantitative achievements deserve celebration, but the qualitative aspects – particularly geographic diversification for security and resilience – can no longer be ignored.
We need a comprehensive national roadmap with firm milestones for distributed deployment, especially in strategic border regions and underserved areas. The concentration of renewable assets in just a few states might have expedited our capacity growth, but it has created vulnerabilities we can ill afford.
Strategic diversification would inherently enhance security by creating natural redundancy, distributing critical infrastructure across jurisdictions, enabling more effective zero-trust architectures, allowing for isolated operation of grid segments if compromised, and dramatically reducing the impact radius of successful attacks. By transforming India's renewable energy landscape from centralised hotspots to a strategically distributed network, we can ensure that clean energy powers not just our economy but our national security for generations to come.
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Time of India
9 hours ago
- Time of India
THE WOMAN WHO CLIMBED DARKNESS
Logo: Times Specials Kullu: On the morning of May 19, as dawn lit up the Himalayas, Chhonzin Angmo stood on the summit of Mount Everest. There was no sweeping panorama for her. No view. No photograph. Just a blur of wind, cold, breathlessness — and tears. "I couldn't see anything," Angmo said. "But I could feel it. I was standing on the top of the world. That moment was unbelievable." In that moment, the 29-year-old from Himachal Pradesh, India, became the first visually impaired woman ever to summit Everest, and only the fifth person in history without sight to reach the peak. She had made it. Not despite her blindness — but through it. From the valley to the void Angmo was born in Chango, a remote Himalayan village sitting almost 3,000 metres above sea level, on the edge of the Spiti valley. She had perfect vision as a child, playing in the apple orchards and walking to school like any other. But one day, at the age of eight, something changed. "It was during her school examinations," said her older brother, Gopal. "The teacher noticed her handwriting had started slanting on the page. She said she couldn't see." Within days, Angmo was blind. Her family travelled hundreds of kilometres to doctors in Rampur, then to Delhi, Chandigarh and Patiala — but the cause was never identified, and the treatments never worked. The young girl spent years at home in silence. But silence never suited her. "She had this fire," said Tashi Dolma, the village head of Chango and a former schoolmate. "She was never going to accept being left behind. " Learning to move forward Angmo was enrolled eventually in the Mahabodhi Residential School for the visually impaired in Leh, Ladakh — more than 1,000 km from home. There, she learned Braille. She graduated. Then she left the mountains for Delhi, where she studied at Miranda House, one of India's top colleges for women. There, the mountains called her back. And this time, she answered in a way no one expected. Angmo took up adventure sport. She paraglided in Bir-Billing. She bicycled from Manali to Khardung La. She swam, ran marathons, played judo, scaled the Siachen Glacier, and summited Kang Yatse II and Kanamo Peak. She worked her way up to 20,000-foot climbs — blind. "After I lost my eyesight, Everest became my obsession," she said. "People tried to scare me. They said I'd die. But every time they said it, I became more determined." The final ascent Mount Everest is more than a climb. For Indian climbers, a guided expedition can cost upwards of ₹50 lakh. For a blind woman from a remote village, it's nearly impossible. Angmo knocked on many doors. Eventually, her employer —Union Bank of India — agreed to sponsor her expedition. She left Delhi on April 6. After flying to Lukla, she trekked to Everest Base Camp by April 18. For the next 26 days, she trained and acclimatised under the guidance of military veteran Romil Barthwal and two Sherpa guides, Dundu Sherpa and Gurung Maila. On May 15, the summit push began. Her biggest fear? Not altitude. Not fatigue. Crevasses. "I was terrified of the ladders. I couldn't walk across them, so I sat on them and crawled across on my hands," she said. Between Base Camp and Camp 4, she relied on trekking poles and the subtle shifts in body movements of climbers ahead to navigate. At times, she memorised terrain from a previous trek to Base Camp a year earlier. On May 18, she reached Camp 4. That night, at 7 pm, the team made their summit push. Top of the world Above 8,000 m lies the Death Zone, where oxygen is scarce and each step can take a minute. Angmo moved slowly, focusing on her breathing, her footing, her purpose. "At that altitude, every step hurts. I just kept repeating in my head: I'm not doing this just for me. I'm doing it for everyone who's ever been told they can't." By 8.30 am the next morning, she was there — at 8,849 m. The world's highest point. She couldn't see it. But she knew. "The wind was fierce. My Sherpas were telling me about the peaks below. I couldn't hold back my tears." Back to reality, eyes still shut—but wide open Today, Angmo lives alone in Delhi. She takes the metro to work, cooks her own meals, visits friends. But her story is far from over. "Everest isn't the end. It's the beginning," she said. "Next, I want to climb the Seven Summits." Her story adds a new chapter to global mountaineering history — and a proud page to India's. Graphic Blind Faith, High Point: Scaling the Invisible box1 Chhonzin Angmo's Road to Summit >> April 6 | Departs Delhi >> April 10 | Begins Everest Base Camp trek from Lukla >> April 18 | Reaches base camp; starts 26-day acclimatisation >> May 15 | Reaches Camp 1 >> May 16-18 | Climbs through Camps 2 to 4 >> May 19, 8.30 am | Reaches the summit of Mount Everest box 2 The famous 5: Everest's Sightless Pioneers >> Erik Weihenmayer (US) | First blind person to summit Everest (2001); completed Seven Summits >> Andy Holzer (Austria) | Summited Everest in 2017 via Tibet >> Zhang Hong (China) | First blind Asian climber to summit (2021) >> Lonnie Bedwell (US) | Blind Navy veteran summited in 2023 >> Chhonzin Angmo (India) | First blind woman to summit Everest (2025) box3 No Legs, But What A Feat! Other Indian physically challenged mountaineers:- >> Arunima Sinha | Second amputee in the world to summit Everest (2013) >> Chitrasen Sahu | Double amputee (called Half Human Robo); climbed Mt Elbrus and Kilimanjaro >> Uday Kumar | Amputee climber; scaled Kilimanjaro and Mt Rhenock >> Tinkesh Kaushik | First triple amputee to reach Everest base camp box 4 "To climb Everest, you don't just need strength. You need a reason," Angmo said. She found hers in the dark. And she carried it all the way to the top of the world. MSID:: 121547482 413 |
NDTV
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- NDTV
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NDTV
13 hours ago
- NDTV
Video: Chopper Makes Emergency Landing On Road, Tail Crushes Car
Quick Read Summary is AI generated, newsroom reviewed. A helicopter headed to Kedarnath made an emergency landing on a highway in Uttarakhand due to a technical issue, damaging an unoccupied car. Five pilgrims were safe, but the pilot suffered minor injuries. The incident did not disrupt helicopter services. A helicopter on its way to Kedarnath was forced to land on a highway in Uttarakhand as it developed a technical snag during take-off, coming dangerously close to buildings and its tail rotor damaging an unoccupied car. The five pilgrims on board came out safely, while the pilot sustained minor injuries. The helicopter had taken off from from the Barasu base at 12.52 pm and was to fly the pilgrims for a duration of 45-50 minutes to the Kedarnath pilgrimage. Within minutes of taking off, the pilot reported a suspected issue with the collective control getting stuck. In response, he executed a controlled force landing on the road adjacent to the helipad. Kedarnath heli service nodal officer Rahul Chaubey told PTI that the incident did not affect the helicopter shuttle service to the Himalayan temple. Efforts are underway to remove the helicopter from the highway. The hard landing comes a month after a helicopter on its way to Gangotri temple crashed near Gangnani in Uttarkashi district on May 8, killing six people including five women and the pilot, and leaving one male passenger seriously injured. On May 12, a helicopter returning from Badrinath to Sersi with pilgrims on board was forced to make an emergency landing due to poor visibility in a school playground in Ukhimath. All pilgrims were safe. The helicopter took off again after about an hour when the weather improved. On May 17, a heli ambulance from AIIMS Rishikesh crash-landed near the Kedarnath helipad in Uttarakhand due to damage to its rear part. Fortunately, all three occupants on board - a doctor, a pilot and a medical staff member - escaped unharmed.
