THEBUSINESSBYTES BUREAU

NEW DELHI, MAY 14, 2026

As India accelerates towards a digitally connected and energy-intensive future, Ratul Puri, Chairman of Hindustan Power, asserted that affordable and uninterrupted electricity availability will become one of the country’s strongest competitive advantages in the coming years.

Speaking at an event on the future of India’s power sector in New Delhi, Ratul Puri said electricity is rapidly emerging as the foundation of economic growth across industries. “Electricity will increasingly become the backbone of economic growth across sectors ranging from transportation and manufacturing to digital infrastructure and data centres,” he said. “As economies become more energy-intensive and digitally connected, the demand for uninterrupted and affordable power is set to rise significantly across industries and households alike.”

Highlighting the accelerating shift towards electric mobility, he noted that advancements in battery technologies and improving operating economics are making even heavy transportation commercially viable. “We are on an inevitable path towards electrification. The only uncertainty is the pace at which this transition takes place,” Ratul Puri added. “As the lifecycle economics of electric mobility continue improving, electrification in transportation will move very quickly.”

He further underlined the growing demand for electricity that will be driven by AI-led digital infrastructure, data centres and distributed computing systems. “The next phase of growth will increasingly require compute and inference closer to consumers and businesses,” he said. “This will create a need for significant data centre capacity and dependable electricity infrastructure across the country.”

Calling for proactive infrastructure planning, Ratul Puri stressed the importance of building future-ready power capacity ahead of rising demand. “If electricity is going to become a key differentiator for economic growth, India should ensure there is adequate spare round-the-clock power capacity available,” he further added. “Affordable 24x7 power availability can become one of India’s biggest competitive advantages in the years ahead.”

He also emphasised that India’s energy transition must focus equally on strengthening transmission systems, storage technologies and grid modernisation alongside generation capacity expansion. “Renewable energy expansion cannot rely only on daytime generation,” Mr. Puri said. “Battery and storage solutions will play an important role in enabling renewable power availability during non-solar hours.”

Speaking on the future evolution of the electricity ecosystem, Ratul Puri highlighted the growing role of distributed generation and decentralised electricity networks. “The traditional grid structure will evolve significantly over the next two decades. Generation, storage and electricity distribution will increasingly move closer to the point of consumption.”

On infrastructure development, he stressed the need for equitable PPP contracts, faster dispute resolution mechanisms and speedy resolution of land-related issues to encourage long-term investments. “Strong and equitable PPP contracts are critical for infrastructure sectors with long project lifecycles,” he said. “Alongside this, faster dispute resolution and digitisation of land records will remain important enablers for future infrastructure development.”

Commenting on the sector’s transformation, Ratul Puri observed that India’s electricity ecosystem has witnessed remarkable progress in recent years and sustained policy support will continue to play a crucial role. “With continued policy support and effective execution, India stands to benefit immensely in the years ahead,” he added.