Women at the Heart of India’s Energy Transition

What does India’s energy transition look like when seen through the lives of women shaping it every day?

Powering the Future travels across Odisha, Maharashtra, Punjab, Jharkhand, and Tamil Nadu to tell stories of women at the centre of change as entrepreneurs powering rural livelihoods with solar energy, innovators rethinking clean cooking, civic leaders advancing electric mobility, communities facing the uncertainties of coal, and women bringing care and equity into institutions and policy. These are not only stories of clean energy, but of dignity, work, health, resilience, and hope. At a time when India is rapidly reimagining its energy future, this publication invites readers to look beyond targets and technologies, and to recognise the women whose leadership is already lighting the way.

This publication was written by Intertidal Lab co-founder Neha Saigal and commissioned by the India Office of the Heinrich Böll Stiftung. Published 2026