Beyond the Spin
Discover all stories in this collection.
Beyond the Spin
New Delhi
Five Uncomfortable Truths about Making Climate Evidence Count
In November 2022, at the American University in Cairo’s pavilion at COP27, a film I co-directed had its premiere. Emissions Market India: Surat Leading the Way told the story of the world’s first emissions trading scheme for particulate matter in seven minutes, through the lens of the researchers and regulators who built it. The story […]
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Mumbai
India’s Energy Transition 2.0: DISCOM Reform and Energy Sovereignty
In Part 1 of this series, I argued that India’s biggest solar challenge is no longer adding capacity but integrating it into the grid. In Part 2, we explored the tools that make that possible, from storage and flexible demand to EV charging, transmission and time-of-day pricing. This final part asks a broader question. If […]
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Mumbai
How’s the Green Energy Corridor Coming Along, and Is It Time for Battery Subsidies?
India’s continuing renewables growth curve will not be determined only by how many panels get installed, but on how intelligently demand, storage, pricing, transmission and dispatch are managed. The country can generate more clean power during sunny hours, but the grid must still serve homes, industries and cities when demand rises later in the day. […]
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Hyderabad
India Grows the World’s Mangoes. Why Doesn’t It Have a World-Class Mango Economy?
When Indian mangoes sell for extraordinary prices in overseas supermarkets while farmers in major producing regions struggle with crop losses and declining incomes, it’s time to investigate. By several measures, 2026 was a remarkable year for public attention around Indian mangoes. Alphonso mangoes featured in Modi-Trump diplomatic exchanges amid trade talks in February, premium fruit […]
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Chennai
The Real Climate Transition Must Happen in Everyday Life
When I and my colleague Brikesh wrote about how climate action needs culture, a friend responded with something that stayed: “Culture doesn’t just move people. It creates value. It helps us imagine the best possible version of what comes next. We don’t necessarily lack climate solutions. We lack the ability sometimes to picture them.” The […]
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Mumbai
India Surpassed RE Installation Targets. Now Comes the Hard Part
A month ago, during an informal discussion among a group of sustainability optimists, I raised a simple question: if India’s solar adoption is accelerating so rapidly, why does solar still contribute less than 10% of total electricity generation? That question opened up a discussion deeper and wider than expected. On the surface, India’s renewable energy […]
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Bengaluru
Why Climate Startups Struggle to Sell to Corporates, and How to Fix It
Over the years, corporate sustainability has evolved from corporate social responsibility (CSR) aimed at just community initiatives to discussions in boardrooms aimed at business responsibility. The increased focus on mandatory ESG reporting, both in India and across the world, has enhanced the scrutiny on sustainability initiatives. As corporations work on strengthening their sustainability programmes, they […]
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Bangalore
Who Decides What Makes a Hotel ‘Sustainable’? India Has No Common Standard
Imagine walking into a pristine five-star hotel suite. The marble is gleaming, the sheets are crisp, and the aesthetic is flawless. Yet behind that luxury lies an uncomfortable truth: the average guest in that room generates nearly 1 kilogram of solid waste every single day. Multiply that across a domestic hospitality market projected to hit […]
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Hyderabad
Hormuz Crisis: Time to Tackle India’s Fertilizer Godzilla That’s Eating the Budget
The Strait of Hormuz crisis has sent oil prices surging, shipping routes into disarray, and fertilizer markets into panic mode. But it has also accelerated a long overdue shift. Countries rattled by the turmoil are now looking beyond fragile fossil fuel supply chains toward more resilient alternatives: renewable energy, diversified trade corridors, domestic fertilizer production, […]
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Energy Transition: India has Built the Factory, but Not the Warehouse
India’s clean energy achievement over the past decade is extraordinary. From a country almost entirely dependent on coal, India today has over 275 gigawatts (GW) of renewable power (solar, wind and hydro combined), effectively making it one of the top three clean energy producers on the planet. The once-ambitious target of 500 gigawatts by 2030 […]
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