Clean energy job growth outpaces fossil fuel sector in India: Report

Energy jobs in India accounted for 1.5% of total employment in India at 8.5 million in 2023

India’s workforce across all industries reached approximately 566 million in 2023, with energy jobs alone accounting for over 8.5 million positions, or around 1.5 per cent of total employment, according to the World Energy Employment 2024 report released by the International Energy Agency (IEA).  Within this sector, jobs in clean energy have grown fast at 5 per cent compared to jobs in fossil fuels, which has only grown by 2 per cent over the last year.

 

The rise in energy employment, a 3 per cent year-on-year increase over the last five years, has been driven by a growing demand for energy and significant investment in both clean and conventional energy sources. 

 

In 2023, total energy investment surged by 6 per cent, with clean energy leading the growth at 35 per cent above the 2016-2021 average, the report said.

 

Breakdown of employment in India's energy sectors

 

Fossil fuels and conventional energy

Fossil fuel supply employed over three million workers in 2023, with coal supply alone accounting for 1.6 million jobs. The oil and gas industry employed more than 800,000 workers, largely in midstream and refining. 

 

Low-emissions fuels like bioenergy employed nearly 700,000, with notable contributions from the emerging bioethanol industry, now the world’s third-largest, and the informal biofuel sector, supplying rural areas with wood and charcoal.

 

Power sector

The power sector employed around three million individuals, equally divided between electricity generation and grid maintenance. 

 

Employment in power generation has grown by more than 20 per cent since 2019, paralleling an 18 per cent increase in India’s power capacity. 

 

Solar and hydropower led the employment gains, adding over 250,000 jobs in recent years. Workers in power grid operations reached 1.6 million by 2023, driven by expanding transmission lines and the integration of renewable energy sources.

 

End-use sectors

The end-use energy sector employed around 2.5 million workers, including 1.3 million in the manufacture of road vehicles and batteries, with a growing emphasis on electric vehicles (EVs). 

 

Employment in end-use efficiency, such as energy-saving initiatives and industrial upgrades, grew by 4 per cent annually from 2019 to 2023, aided by state programmes like the Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LEDs for All (UJALA).

 

Manufacturing and construction

Manufacturing and construction together supported 4 million energy jobs, representing the majority of growth in the energy workforce. 

 

Clean energy manufacturing, in particular, saw rapid growth, largely due to government initiatives like the production linked incentive (PLI) scheme aimed at establishing India as a hub for clean energy production, especially in solar and batteries. 

 

This expansion saw companies such as Ford repurpose factories for EV production, while Tata Motors invested heavily in EV infrastructure and battery manufacturing.

 

Informal employment in India

India’s energy sector, like many others, relies heavily on informal labour, with informality rates estimated at 60 per cent in manufacturing, 90 per cent in construction, and 45 per cent in mining. 

 

Informal roles are prevalent in coal mining, bioenergy, and vehicle manufacturing, with a large share of workers hired on a contractual basis. This high level of informality poses challenges for workforce development, as contract labor often lacks formal training and benefits.

 

To address these issues, the government launched the e-Shram portal in 2021, creating a database of unorganised workers to facilitate access to social security and government programmes. To date, around 280 million workers have registered.

 

India is currently the fastest-growing major economy, where gross domestic product (GDP) has consistently expanded by over 7 per cent over the past three years. Energy workforce, particularly in clean energy, is poised to see further growth with government initiatives fueling job creation.