Manohar Lal, Union Minister for Power and Housing & Urban Affairs, led the Indian delegation at the G20 Energy Abundance Ministerial Meeting held in Houston, USA, from 14-16 September 2026, under the U.S. G20 Presidency. He participated in discussions across three thematic pillars: Energy Security and Affordable Baseload; Permitting and Regulatory Efficiency; and Critical Minerals & Resilient Supply Chains.
During his interventions, the Union Minister emphasised that secure, affordable and reliable energy is essential for development, particularly for developing economies. He stressed the importance of international cooperation and leveraging the complementarities among countries to advance the common good of all, while respecting diverse national circumstances and development priorities.
He highlighted that India is building a resilient and future-ready energy system that is increasingly digital, decentralised and consumer-centric. He also underlined India’s significant progress in the power sector, with installed electricity generation capacity reaching 552 GW, of which more than half is from non-fossil fuel sources. He further highlighted India’s early achievement of key NDC targets and its long-term goal of achieving Net Zero by 2070.
The Minister highlighted the range of reforms undertaken by India to strengthen regulatory efficiency, encourage competition and facilitate greater participation and investment across the energy sector. He showcased initiatives such as the National Single Window System, PARIVESH and PM Gati Shakti, which have helped improve predictability and streamline approvals for infrastructure development.
On critical minerals, the Minister emphasized the importance of secure, resilient and diversified supply chains, stressing circularity and downstream value creation in developing countries. He also highlighted India’s National Critical Mineral Mission, covering the value chain from exploration to recycling, and called for G20 cooperation on recycling, recovery and diversification.
The Ministerial Meeting resulted in a number of important outcomes across the three pillars, including:
(i) Clean Cooking Access: The G20 Statement on Advancing Clean Cooking Access underscored universal access to clean cooking and promoted a technology-neutral and nationally appropriate approach, recognizing that no single solution could meet the diverse needs of all countries. It identified LPG as an important clean-cooking pathway, particularly for developing countries, and called for equitable access to financing for all clean-cooking solutions, including projects deploying LPG.
(ii) Permitting and Regulatory Efficiency: The G20 Permitting and Regulatory Efficiency Symposium recognized the importance of efficient and streamlined permitting and regulatory processes for facilitating energy infrastructure development, while encouraging cooperation through voluntary information exchange, capacity building, and digital and AI-enabled tools.
(iii) Water Reuse: The G20 Water Reuse Initiative was advanced as a voluntary framework to promote science- and evidence-based, cost-effective fit-for-purpose water reuse in line with national policies. It encouraged cooperation and exchange of best practices to strengthen water security and resilience, while recognizing that there is no one-size-fits-all approach.
(iv) Critical Minerals: The G20 Critical Minerals Meeting Communiqué recognized the importance of critical minerals for energy security, digital infrastructure, emerging technologies and economic development. It emphasised collaborative and voluntary cooperation respecting national sovereignty and diverse domestic pathways, while promoting innovation, circularity, investment and international cooperation for diversification, value addition and resilient supply chains.
On the sidelines of the Ministerial Meeting, the Minister also held bilateral meetings with Chris Wright, Secretary, U.S. Department of Energy; Doug Burgum, Secretary, U.S. Department of the Interior; and Corey Hogan, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Canada. The discussions covered a range of areas of mutual interest, including resilient energy infrastructure and supply chains, power sector transformation, and India’s plans for meeting the growing energy requirements of its digital economy.
The Minister’s participation in the G20 Energy Abundance Ministerial Meeting underscores India’s constructive contribution to the global energy discourse and its continued commitment to building a secure, sustainable, affordable and inclusive energy future for all.
