*A journey through Jharkhand reveals why coal remains embedded in the nation’s economy, politics and daily life — and what it would take to break free.*
*Rajesh Kumar Singh and Clara Ferreira Marques for Bloomberg News*
Across India, coal is still king. It keeps passenger trains affordable and millions employed. It fills state coffers and sustains local elites, national politics and criminal networks, creating a vast ecosystem that endures not just on energy demand, but on the institutions coal upholds. The peak in global use has been repeatedly pushed back, in large part due to Indian mines. Production here is rising, and the country could keep building coal-fired power plants until 2047, blowing past a previous target of 2035. That alone could jeopardize key global climate goals.
India, one of the nations most affected by rising temperatures, has seen major growth in renewable energy, adding more solar capacity over the past decade than any country except China and the US. The rapid expansion of renewables in the west and south has boosted billionaire fortunes and bolstered Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of India as a beacon of green development.
But fossil fuels still underpin India’s economic rise and the wealth of its most prominent tycoons, including Gautam Adani, who builds both coal plants and vast solar farms. Almost three-quarters of the nation’s electricity still comes from coal, making India the world’s third-largest emitter of greenhouse gases after China and the US.
1 Comment
*A journey through Jharkhand reveals why coal remains embedded in the nation’s economy, politics and daily life — and what it would take to break free.*
*Rajesh Kumar Singh and Clara Ferreira Marques for Bloomberg News*
Across India, coal is still king. It keeps passenger trains affordable and millions employed. It fills state coffers and sustains local elites, national politics and criminal networks, creating a vast ecosystem that endures not just on energy demand, but on the institutions coal upholds. The peak in global use has been repeatedly pushed back, in large part due to Indian mines. Production here is rising, and the country could keep building coal-fired power plants until 2047, blowing past a previous target of 2035. That alone could jeopardize key global climate goals.
India, one of the nations most affected by rising temperatures, has seen major growth in renewable energy, adding more solar capacity over the past decade than any country except China and the US. The rapid expansion of renewables in the west and south has boosted billionaire fortunes and bolstered Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of India as a beacon of green development.
But fossil fuels still underpin India’s economic rise and the wealth of its most prominent tycoons, including Gautam Adani, who builds both coal plants and vast solar farms. Almost three-quarters of the nation’s electricity still comes from coal, making India the world’s third-largest emitter of greenhouse gases after China and the US.
[Read the full story here.](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2025-12-19/why-india-depends-on-coal-inside-the-economy-and-politics-of-its-mining-belt?accessToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJzb3VyY2UiOiJTdWJzY3JpYmVyR2lmdGVkQXJ0aWNsZSIsImlhdCI6MTc2NjIyNjg5NSwiZXhwIjoxNzY2ODMxNjk1LCJhcnRpY2xlSWQiOiJUN0hTNDlLR0NURkwwMCIsImJjb25uZWN0SWQiOiJEMzU0MUJFQjhBQUY0QkUwQkFBOUQzNkI3QjlCRjI4OCJ9.7_DZv5LG8p87-WONF9IAJ5SQIozKZNchB3QE_mbroos)