The Story behind the Podcast: 5 years of TIEH

[Podcast intro]

Welcome to the season five of the India Energy Hour podcast. This podcast explores the most pressing hurdles and promising opportunities of India energy transition through an in depth discussion on policies, financial markets, social movements and science. Your hosts for this episode are Shreya Jai, Delhi based energy and climate journalist and Dr. Sandeep Pai, energy transition researcher and author. The show is produced by 101 reporters, a pan India network of grassroots reporters that produces original stories from rural India. If you like our podcast, please rate us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or the platform where you listen to our podcast. Your support will help us reach a larger audience.

[Podcast interview]

Shreya Jai: Hello and welcome to the India Energy Hour podcast. We are your two hosts joining in this very special episode. This is an episode of recap and of tribute and also of looking ahead. The India Energy Hour is completing its fifth season, which is all thanks to our listeners. And we thought that it would be a good time to look back at the journey of India Energy Hour, which was started during the troubled times of the COVID pandemic. And every year it has become bigger and better. And, you know, the next season before we launch it, I and Sandeep wanted to come together, talk about what you can look forward to. So thank you for joining in this very special recording and episode. How are you feeling, Sandeep?

Sandeep Pai: It’s honestly been such a remarkable journey. I remember we were having a conversation, you know, a few years ago and during the, and I remember very clearly that it was during COVID and we wanted, we identified sort of a gap that, you know, there is no one kind of, there are so many podcasts around the world in, especially in OECD and Western countries. Like there is so much nuance. There’s so much discussion. I mean, I, in the U S there’s like hundreds of energy podcasts, but at that time, at least we, when we were doing a landscape assessment, we could not find even a single podcast that, you know, week on week or month on month focuses on nuances of India’s energy and climate issues. And, we somehow, you know, our brains crossed wires and we decided that let’s just do it. And we, neither of us, know anything about podcasts, nor we have a history of podcasting. Of course, we both have journalism backgrounds, but, and we know storytelling, but we don’t have backgrounds. Unless Shreya, you’ve done some special degree, which are worked on the side. I don’t know. But as far as I know, we don’t have a background in podcasting. So it was just a remarkable start. We have had so much uptick. People love the nuances that we have covered. And, you know, like I personally have grown a lot just because of the podcast, because even when you work on energy issues, you only work on, you know, a subset of energy issues. No one can claim that they work on every single energy issue, whether it’s about RE or storage or coal or power. I mean, everybody has a subset that they work on. And, at least for me, I have learned so much through this podcast, just understanding the whole landscape of, and gamut of energy issues and perspectives. And so, yeah, it’s, it’s been an amazing five years, you know, and five seasons and we want to do maybe 10, 15, 20 more seasons. So very, very excited to take it to the next level. Yeah. Do you learn, did you learn something from this podcast? How has your own journey been?

Shreya Jai: Yes. I, you know, every episode has been a learning experience. And I have to thank all the guests, you know, from our first guest who came in on this particular podcast, who was kind enough. You know, our first five guests who trusted in us and joined in this podcast. And it was such a nice learning experience, which started from then. And since then, it has just been a knowledge explosion for me. I sit in a recording and I don’t have a dull moment at all because, you know, something new I hear, which opens up a new neuron in my brain, probably. So that is what the experience has been in this podcast. And you’re right, you know, not only we identified a lack in this discussion of India’s transition, energy transition, which was not being discussed about. Yes, we are storytellers, but how much can me and you yap? So I think we I’m very thankful to all these guests. And it has been such a heterogeneous mix. We had, you know, researchers, we had bureaucrats, we had, you know, senior corporate leaders, everyone giving their own perspective, their own story. And I think at the end of the day, this podcast was just telling the story of the sector through these very important characters, who themselves had such great stories, you know. So in some of these episodes, we had our intro section running 30 to 40 minutes, because we were fascinated with the journey that some of our people took and how it mirrored the journey of the sector. So I’m very happy and very thankful for that fateful call five years back, which led to the creation of this podcast. And I have to mention, you know, this particular character in this podcast story remains in the background. But a huge shout out to 101 reporters and our mutual friend, Mr. Gangadhar Patil, to, you know, give us that confidence and that initial backing, which led to the creation of this podcast. But these five years have been a dream. And it actually surprises me that we have achieved so much. You know, it has been applauded so much. We are into some great listings, which amazes me. But yes, it doesn’t shock me. I think I trusted that we’ll come out with a good product. So that’s what we did.

Sandeep Pai: Yeah, honestly, Shreya, I think one of the highlights of this whole podcast is how people have come to work in the energy sector. Like the first 10 to 20 minutes we spent on the person, like almost every person, if not every other person, basically joined the energy sector, the climate sector, whether they’re in business, whether they’re in government or academia, by happenstance. Most of the people were doing something else. They had a completely different background. They got into a project or they somehow got into an opening and then their whole trajectory. And that actually speaks to the very interdisciplinary nature of energy and climate. And it’s so rewarding. And I think we have had so many students who say like, wow, you know, people have taken all kinds of different journeys to even, you know, get to where they are. They have not when they were in their high school or standard 12, they had not planned that. Oh, I will work in the energy space. Some people were working, studying history. Others were studying engineering and, you know, others. And then it’s just so fascinating how people’s journeys have been. And I think that has been very rewarding. Let me ask you one question just as a reflection. What were some of your like favorite episodes or series that you really liked? I mean, all these episodes I learn a lot, but, you know, always have something favorite. So what were the series of episodes that you really liked?

Shreya Jai: Um, my first three episodes of this podcast would always be my favorite. And shout out to Vinay Rastogi, Rohit Chandra and Swati D’Souza, who are our first three guests, who trusted us long before we thought that this podcast will become so big. So those top, those are my top three. My first three episodes, our first three episodes would always be my top three. A big thank you to them if they’re still listening to this podcast, I hope they are. Some of my favorite guests, you know, have been across the aisle. I love the episode we recorded with Vijayaram Chandran, again, in season one. It was such a nice episode. And, you know, I found such an amazing person. You introduced her to this podcast. She, again, was a listener to this podcast. And it was so fun to have her. You remember we did two episodes. One we recorded with fellow journalist Anupam Chatterjee in season one. And then season two, we had Sarita, me. And we were talking about this whole cold crisis. And we had this, you know, Sarita had the fascinating stories about how journalism world functions. I think those were some of my favorite episodes during the initial years. In the later years, I’ll say more recently, my favorite series has been the transmission series. We had the grid man himself, Mr. Suni. And my, you know, very old friend Vishal Pandya, who was part of the series. And people have actually messaged me to tell what an education these two episodes were. Because they didn’t know that the grid can be such an exciting topic. How these two gentlemen made it to be. So that is definitely, you know, some of the favorites. And obviously, you know it. Personally, I love when we have women on the episodes. So I’ll take some quick names. Sarita, obviously. Then we had Bharti Chaturvedi. We had Aarti Khosla. We had Chami Singh, who was just amazing. Then Ulka Kelkar. You know, and some of my favorites. Ulka’s episode is great. Jaya Dhindaw’s episode. I still cite that episode to anyone who wants to write on climate and urban crisis. Again, a must-listen episode. So, you know, I can keep on listing Sandeep. So I would want to know from you which are your favorite episodes. So please do tell.

Sandeep Pai: Yeah. I mean, I think you have covered a lot. But honestly, just to name Rob, it’s very hard. I mean, I know I started this question. But it’s hard to list, like, you know, your absolute favorites. Because every single episode, I have walked out with five new things that I have learned. But some of my favorites, you know, I like all the discussions we have had on, you know, climate finance. Recently, I did one with Neha Kumar. That was, like, absolutely, I think that is 101 of climate finance for anybody. We did one with Vikas Mehta of SED Fund, who really gave us a big picture understanding of the landscape of climate finance. And, you know, there were so many others who touched upon different aspects of climate finance and stuff like that. And I think, you know, all those conversations were really great. We did some episodes on Just Transition, which, you know, I really liked. And, in fact, there was one episode that sort of, you know, we did with Anil Jain, Dr. Anil Jain, which was more than just Just Transition. That was about, like, the future of Coal and Just Transition, which, I mean, Dr. Anil Jain is always, like, an amazing sort of person. And it was a remarkable episode to just learn from. Very recently, in Season 5, we did a series on state-owned enterprises and the future of state-owned enterprises in the energy transition. And all those three episodes, one on ONGC, one on Coal India, and one general. That series, I think, it should be a go-to series for anybody who wants to understand how does a state-owned enterprise work, you know, how much autonomy they have, what can they do, what can’t they do, you know, how are they thinking about all these fossil fuel state-owned enterprises, how are they thinking about their future, you know, in a net-zero India. And I think those episodes were absolutely sort of spot-on and incredible. And I really liked it a lot. I also really liked an episode with Seaver, my friend Seaver Wang, who works at the Breakthrough Institute. You know, he was a long-term follower of our podcast. He used to write Twitter threads of our podcast. And he’s a really deep thinker and scholar on many topics, including critical minerals. So, you know, really, it was so much fun to have him on the podcast and talk about his paper on critical minerals. So, fascinating, you know, stuff. And, you know, I think I would like, sometimes when in my free time, I go back and listen to some of the episodes because they’re just go-to episodes and it’s just remarkable. And I think it’ll be exciting to cover more of these types of stories and episodes going into the future. But, yeah, I want to, you know, give a shout out to our listeners here. And we will keep doing that throughout this, you know, fun short episode that we both are recording. Honestly, a lot of suggestions have come from the listeners. We get LinkedIn DMs, we get Twitter DMs, we get Twitter threads saying, could you cover this? We would really like to understand that. Sometimes they also suggest guests. Sometimes they bring in, like, you know, different people and partnerships and so on. So, it’s just been unbelievable. And I’m very excited and proud about that. Yeah. So, Shreya, I think, you know, it’s great to reflect on these things, but I think I want to understand from you, what are some of the key trends in the energy sector, whether you learned from the podcast or, you know, you are a deep thinker and observer in the India climate and energy space. So, what were some key trends that you learned this year or our listeners should look forward to? And something that we’ll also cover in 2026. So, go for it.

Shreya Jai: Yeah. You know, I would repeat myself, but I think everyone should give a listen to our grid episode. Because I think grid transmission and distribution is finally coming to the center stage of India’s electricity planning. And better late than never. But, you know, it comes at a very opportune time. You know, it is time that this country starts, you know, thinking from the angle of not just adding capacity, but actually connecting it as well. We have had, you know, success stories in household electrification in terms of renewable capacity addition, etc. But over the last two years, we have seen what happens when a supporting infrastructure is missing or the grid is not well prepared. So, definitely, that is one of the top things. And, you know, the episodes around that, three to be precise, our grid series and also the episode that we recorded, Pratik Agarwal of Rasonia, who talked about investment in the transmission space and also power equipment. That, you know, helped me build an understanding that how important it is to, you know, think beyond just gigawatts and think about, you know, in terms of infrastructure, in terms of power as not just a commodity, but a market in itself. So, I think, and that would be one big thing going forward, because as you’re seeing in India as well, the policymakers are also thinking from that angle. There’s so much of talk, so much of, you know, investment planning that is happening to boost transmission infrastructure. One addition to that, you know, one parallel that is also happening is the electricity bill. The amendments to it might be tabled in the next parliament session next year. And, you know, that has some sweeping changes for the India’s power distribution sector. We have had so many episodes, the most recent being with former power secretary Alok Kumar, who explained, you know, not just what is wrong, but why did the problem become so big and what went wrong and what needs to, you know, improve. And he did, in a way, touch upon that kind of economic modeling that needs to come in the distribution sector. So, I think it is high time that we see some sort of economic modeling come in, you know, not just privatization, but, you know, Discom’s fixing their own backyard in whatever way. And the electricity bill paves way for that. I’m really waiting for it to come in. And I think we all have been waiting for that bill to come in for a long time. So, that is one thing that I’m looking forward to for sure. And one thing that we have not touched upon, and it is on my 2026 agenda. So, look out listeners, because that will be one topic that we’ll be discussing, is nuclear. You know, the cabinet approved the amended Nuclear Act this last week. And I think this week, the lower house of the parliament also approved it. So, big things are being planned in nuclear. The prime minister also in his speech multiple times has mentioned about a 100 gigawatt target in nuclear. Some of the big companies are jumping on it. NTBC has a plan. They even have mentioned nuclear plans in their investor presentations. Some other private companies also, Tata, you know, Jindal. Everyone is just talking about nuclear. So, I think we’ll also keep an eye out. We might get a good nuclear expert to talk about what is happening where. Also, we are seeing the interest of other nations. When, you know, Russian President Putin was here, he also talked about partnership on the nuclear front. The U.S. we are hearing is very interested to invest in India’s nuclear sector. So, we will see how that pans out. So, I think nuclear is one thing that I’m keeping my eye out on for sure. Yes.

And on that note, you know, we are talking about the global interest in India’s different, you know, supply chain, energy supply chain. I would like to ask from you, you know, you’re sitting there, you know, taking a bird’s eye view. If I like, I usually like to tell you that, you know, you have both the outside view and inside view of the sector. And so, which are the segments that, you know, excited you this year? And what are the segments going forward which will excite you? You know, you have worked closely in the coal mining space and planning just transition in this very, very important sector. So, you know, tell us more about it. I, again, this would be this learning moment. So, I would want the listeners also to tune in because no one can talk about just transition in coal like you can.

Sandeep Pai: That’s too much. But, okay. So, I think, you know, let me just kind of give you a few things that has kept me quite exciting. So, first on the renewable side, I just want to touch upon how exciting it is that India has achieved its target of 500 gigawatts, you know. And there is so much momentum going into, you know, future targets. And I think that’s absolutely exciting. And especially now, it’s not just standalone renewables, but renewables plus storage. The story of moving beyond just like installing solar and rain as isolated systems into integrating it with BSCS. I was looking at the Morena, you know, the solar plus storage, which for the first time, you know, the price is under three rupees, sub three rupees. And that is so exciting to see that solar plus storage or renewables plus storage is increasingly becoming, I won’t say reality, but it’s knocking on the doors of reality. That it could really take off in 2026 and going forward. And I think we need to focus, even in our podcast, to track this trend very closely in terms of how the solar plus storage story is absolutely sort of, you know, taking shape. On the coal side, one of the most exciting things that for me personally and professionally that has happened is the new mining guidelines that came out in March 2025. So before this, you know, India had mine closure policies in the coal mining sector and all other policies previous to this focused on just when you close a mine, plant trees and restore the landscape ecologically. But for the first time in 2025, the government has a complete section on how to focus on just transition, which goes beyond just planting trees. And, you know, it focuses on workers, communities. It focuses on topics like repurposing into solar topics like repurposing into, you know, eco parks and so on and so forth. So it’s a remarkable shift of, you know, thinking about mine closure from the point of view of just planting trees and ecological restoration to the one that is absolutely focused on people and communities and regions. And why this is significant is the government of India, Ministry of Coal & Coal controller and Coal India and companies like Coal India have identified 150 mines to be closed in the next five years. The scale is huge. Those 150 mines combined and the impact that will have on communities is larger than the entire coal transition of Europe, South Africa combined. So even what is going to transpire in India in the next five years, the scale is so huge. So this new policy sets the right direction to do the right thing. Of course, implementation is another story. And I think we will continue to track how the implementation of this evolves and grows and so on and so forth. But, you know, absolutely, this is a key trend. And I think something that we are tracking very closely. And it’s a big story. It’s a story that has not been said enough, but it’s a really big story that has huge implications for at least five to seven states in central and eastern India. So that has kept me very exciting. And I’ll just quickly touch upon, you know, critical minerals, because that’s also a sector I’ve been tracking. I mean, there is a lot of momentum on critical minerals globally. You know, every country wants to, you know, secure critical minerals, whether they produce domestically, but they want to, you know, buy assets. They want to secure those critical minerals, which are essential ingredients for energy transition and solar, wind, EVs. And to that, an Indian government launched the National Critical Mineral Mission and put about 35,000 crores, which is roughly, you know, about $40 billion to provide funding for domestic exploration and reducing import dependence. It is strengthening, you know, the geological survey of India to do more exploration work, etc. And critical minerals has now become a top priority for the government. So what Indian government is doing, in very brief, is trying to extract more minerals domestically and process. It’s trying to buy, it has unleashed the power of state-owned PSUs, or at least it is trying to unleash, let’s not celebrate yet, because things are only starting to happen. And there’s a lot of competition with China and other countries, but it is trying to unleash the cash-rich state-owned enterprises to go and buy assets overseas. But at the same time, it’s also investing in innovative technologies like coal waste to critical minerals, you know, ash waste to critical minerals and all that. So at a policy level, this is very exciting. Of course, again, I will come back to the fact that implementation is another question. There are bottlenecks, there are issues, but this is something we need to track next year. And at least, you know, once in a while, tell the story of how this is unfolding. And yeah, that’s how it’s kind of going forward. Yeah. Sheya, back to you about any thoughts of what we should cover in 2026.

Shreya Jai: Because, you know, so much global action is happening. Trade wars are happening over that. So that would be one interesting space to track. And I’m sure you will find some super interesting guests to come in and talk about it. We did record some episodes on critical minerals and they were very well received. I, for one, enjoy it because this is such a new segment. You know, there’s so much of understanding that is missing about this sector. It does. We can say it goes beyond China, but we also want to understand what’s happening in China. So it’s a very, you know, complicated sector on its own, but very interesting per se. The whole journey of energy storage, electric mobility, be it India or any other part of the world, would depend on this very crucial sector. So we’ll see what happens. And I think, you know, that brings me to something that I was talking with you, apart from before we started this recording, is that, you know, this year I would want our listeners to come forward and suggest us guests. I know we have been pestering them with our posts that, you know, suggest to some people and why, you know, come up with some ideas. But I would really want, you know, our listeners to tell us, you know, some of the topics that they want to listen to some of the guests. And one interesting thing that we have seen is that a lot of our guests tell us that they are ardent listeners. So if any listener is out there and they want to come and talk about some of the work that they’re doing in this sector, we would love to host you. You know, we are a little narcissistic, but we would love to have someone on this podcast who’s also a fan, if I may say so, by mince words. But apart from that, I would love to, you know, have our listeners tell us, because as I was saying earlier, we have a heterogeneous mix, not in terms of just the guests, but also the listeners. So many students write to you, you know, you keep passing on these messages. And there are so many people in India’s energy sector who tell us that, you know, this is the topic that they loved. I believe all our episodes regarding energy storage was because we got so many DMs from people saying that, you know, why don’t you do something on energy storage, you know, talk about energy storage. And we’re like, okay, now it’s high time. We should. Then there’s someone who wrote to us that, you know, I think you guys are not talking much about gas. Like then we did something on gas as well. So, you know, such ideas keep our, you know, brain running. Not to mention, we do have an exciting lineup for next year. That’s between me and Sandeep. We will all be revealed in time. But I would love to get some more DMs from the listeners. What do you say, Sandeep?

Sandeep Pai: You Know, I think the more people connect with us, and I know that many people, sometimes, you know, Shreya, I walked into government offices and they’re like, you know, I say like I’m Sandeep. Oh, are you the same Sandeep Pai that hosts? I mean, they’re not able to connect the dots, but it is so rewarding. But what I’m trying to say is like, the more feedback we get, and we take your feedback so seriously. The more feedback we get, the more suggestions we get, it will help us, you know, motivate ourselves and it will help us, you know, take this podcast to the next level and, you know, host fascinating and interesting guests and, you know, go on this learning journey together. And I hope you’re following the podcast. And I hope that, you know, it will be exciting for everybody. And I hope that season six will be even more rewarding for those you’re listening. But yeah, if people want to listen to more series, they want to listen to individual episodes, they want to listen to more storytelling, please tell us. And, you know, we would really love to consider your feedback and suggestions on any of these topics. And yeah, I think with that, we wish everybody a very happy new year and Merry Christmas for those who celebrate and happy new year. And we will be back in 2026, you know, with some very exciting episodes and some very, very exciting sort of ideas and hopefully it will help everybody learn and grow in this space.

Shreya Jai: Yes, absolutely. New year wishes to everyone. We, India Energy Hour, have a big plans for 2026. We’re getting bigger, better and bolder. And, you know, some exciting episodes lined up and I can’t wait for our audience to, you know, tune in to the India Energy Hour. And we’ll see you on the other side. Please stay tuned in. Keep a track on us, you know, like, share, subscribe. We are on all platforms, wherever any podcast is available. We are on that platform. We are very active on our social media, Twitter, LinkedIn. We are very active on our email, which is there on all our social media pages. So write to us, like us, comment us, give us feedback, give us criticism. And we would be happy to take it in our stride and make this podcast much, much better. A product that just not me and Sandeep, but each and every listener that is tuned into it is proud of.

Sandeep Pai: With that, I think we’ll close this short but sweet episode. And we are very excited. So happy new year once again. And see you in 2026.

Shreya Jai: Thank you, Sandeep. We’ll see you. Take care, everyone. And thank you for tuning in.

Sandeep Pai:  And thank you, Shreya.

[Podcast outro]

Thank you for listening to The India Energy Hour! Subscribe to this channel to never miss an update. To drop us a feedback, visit our website or write to us at [email protected]

We are on Twitter. You can follow @tieh_podcast and get in touch with 2 hosts @shreya_jai and @sandeeppaii

[end]