India’s pumped storage momentum: policy insights and the path ahead

India has set a target of developing 100 GW of pumped storage capacity by 2035–36—a critical milestone for strengthening grid stability, energy security, and meeting the rapidly rising RE‑RTC demand driven by digital economy, data centres and emerging requirements such as CBAM compliance. Achieving this ambition will require strong and sustained policy support.  

Government of India has already taken several steps to accelerate pumped storage development, with additional initiatives underway. However, deeper coordination and more streamlined processes across all stakeholders will be essential to achieving this target.

Session objectives  

• Examine the role of pumped storage in India’s power sector, particularly its importance in meeting rising RE‑RTC demand driven by data centres, the digital economy and compliances
• Review India’s 100 GW pumped storage target and the key policy measures driving current development.
• Highlight upcoming policy actions and regulatory reforms under consideration.
• Showcase Tehri PSP as a successful engineering case study, highlighting key technical accomplishments and development challenges.
• Share how central public sector developers are arranging financing, the hurdles they face, and the importance of ensuring sustainable PSP development.
• Clarify the due‑diligence process for PSP financing, and outline the data, documentation, and procedural improvements needed for faster project assessment.
• Identify on‑ground implementation challenges and provide practical recommendations for accelerating PSP development.