MoSPI releases report of Expert Committee on Energy Statistics to harmonise India's energy database

📌 Summary:

• The Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation (MoSPI) released the report of the Expert Committee on Energy Statistics, chaired by Dr. Rangan Banerjee (Director, IIT-Delhi)
• The committee (with TERI, AEEE and line energy ministries) reviewed the annual 'Energy Statistics India' publication and India's energy-statistics database — coverage, definitions, classifications, sources and methodologies
• Aim: a robust, harmonised energy-statistics framework to support evidence-based policymaking as India pursues renewable energy targets and Net Zero, and to fix inconsistencies across energy ministries
• Key recommendations: adopt international standards (ISIC Rev.5, NIC-2025, SIEC) and uniform conversion factors across ministries for consistency
• Methodology to refine sectoral end-use of imported coal (~20% of total coal use) and auction-routed domestic coal using the Annual Survey of Industries (ASI); BEE to maintain a database under the PAT scheme
• Recommended a comprehensive methodology to fill the biofuels data gap — UNSD estimates India's biofuel consumption at ~31–34% of total annual energy consumption; also flagged captive power and EV electricity consumption gaps

🎯 UPSC Relevance: GS3 Economy/Environment — quality of official statistics as a governance issue, and data infrastructure for tracking India's energy transition and Net Zero commitments.

📝 Prelims Facts:

• Expert Committee chaired by Dr. Rangan Banerjee, Director IIT-Delhi
• 'Energy Statistics India' is an annual MoSPI publication
• PAT (Perform, Achieve and Trade) scheme is run by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE)

🔑 Key Term: PAT (Perform, Achieve and Trade) — a market-based BEE mechanism under the National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency to incentivise energy savings in industry.