The India-U.S. Energy Partnership is a bilateral strategic framework aimed at ensuring energy security, promoting clean energy innovation, and addressing climate change. It evolved from the 2005 Energy Dialogue and was significantly upgraded in 2018 as the Strategic Energy Partnership (SEP). In April 2021, it was revamped into the U.S.-India Strategic Clean Energy Partnership (SCEP) to align with the U.S.-India Climate and Clean Energy Agenda 2030 Partnership.
The SCEP operates through five primary pillars: Power and Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy, Responsible Oil and Gas, Sustainable Growth, and Emerging Fuels and Technologies (with a focus on Green Hydrogen). Key initiatives include PACE-R (Partnership to Advance Clean Energy-Research), which focuses on smart grids and storage, and the Renewable Energy Technology Action Platform (RETAP), launched in 2023 to accelerate the deployment of hydrogen, long-duration energy storage, and offshore wind.
For the UPSC exam, this partnership is critical for GS Paper II (Bilateral Relations) and GS Paper III (Infrastructure: Energy and Environment). It is central to India’s goal of achieving 500 GW of non-fossil fuel capacity by 2030 and its Net Zero target by 2070.
Related concepts include the 2008 Civil Nuclear Deal (123 Agreement), which ended India's nuclear isolation; the International Solar Alliance (ISA); and the Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET), which secures supply chains for minerals essential for green technologies. The partnership also intersects with the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) and the Global Biofuels Alliance launched during India's G20 Presidency in 2023.