Opinion: Cash in extreme heat: Construction workers fund India isn’t spending
India is sitting on ₹48,137 crore of unspent construction-worker welfare cess that could fund parametric heat insurance for the workers hit hardest by extreme heat.
Opinion: A tipping point in India energy
There will be nonlinear adjustment in India’s shift to renewables.
India’s Next Energy Efficiency Challenge: Cooling, Flexibility, and Electrification
As India’s energy demand grows, efficiency must become a core part of how the country plans its grid, shapes markets and builds industry.
Renewable Energy with Storage Can Match Coal’s Reliability and Operating Profile at a Lower, Fixed Price: Evidence from India’s Market Test
Despite dramatic declines in clean-energy costs, more than $1 trillion investments in new coal and gas plants is under consideration worldwide, largely because conventional plants are assumed to be the only economical way to provide reliable, round-the-clock power, such as that required by data centers.
India’s Renewable Energy Breakthrough: Coal-Like Reliability at a Lower, Fixed Price
A recent 1,000 MW round-the-clock renewable-energy auction (FDRE-RTC-V) by the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) discovered a tariff of ₹5.25 per kilowatt-hour, fixed in nominal terms for 25 years. The auction establishes a new benchmark for firm renewable power in India and closely mimics the operating profile of a typical thermal power plant—delivering the most electricity during the evening, night, and early morning while backing down during solar-rich midday hours.
Heat Intelligence for Driving Action: Worker Protection to Resilient Cities
On September 10th, 2026, the India Energy & Climate Center (IECC) at UC Berkeley hosted the online launch of SHRAM (System for Heat Risk Assessment for Manual labor) and CHAITRA (City Heat Action Intelligence and Risk Atlas) — two decision-support tools and accompanying reports designed to strengthen heat resilience planning across India.
EHI-N*: A Modified Extended Heat Index for Laboring Populations
Approximately 2.4 billion workers perform manual labor globally, yet current heat stress indices are calibrated to sedentary individuals, systematically underestimating risk for active workers.
CHAITRA – City Heat Action InTelligence and Risk Atlas Scaling evidence-based heat action planning in India
Heat Action Plans (HAPs) have evolved over the past decade into India’s principal framework for urban heat preparedness.
Manual Work Under Extreme Heat: Using EHI-N* to protect laboring populations
India’s roughly 380 million outdoor and heat-exposed workers face escalating danger from extreme heat, yet the metrics used to declare heatwaves and trigger protective action systematically underestimate their risk.
Heat Stress Monitoring for Outdoor Workers, Powered by EHI-N*
SHRAM provides real-time heat stress monitoring across India using EHI-N*, a physiologically-based model calibrated to MET levels developed by the IECC team. EHI-6* estimates heat stress experienced by workers doing heavy labor in direct sunlight.
View current conditions by district, 3-day forecasts, and sign up for personalized alerts when hazardous heat levels are detected.