Mandatory building energy codes in India currently cover a very small portion of the country’s buildings because they mostly apply to large commercial sites and require each state to pass its own specific laws. According to the authors of the newly released report, local governments often lack the necessary funding and specialized staff to turn these national guidelines into enforceable building rules.
The report highlights that “capacity at the state level for code adoption and implementation remains underdeveloped in most cases, leading to considerable delays in integrating the code into building bylaws.” It also notes that “the limited budgetary support for capacity building and recruitment of sufficient staff also poses challenges to the implementation of building energy codes.”
Essentially, while there is a national blueprint for making buildings more efficient, it does not become law until state governments adopt it. Many states struggle with this process because they do not have enough money to hire and train the people needed to inspect buildings and make sure the rules are followed. As a result, these energy standards only affect a tiny fraction of the total buildings in India.
The report “Efficient Grid-Interactive Buildings in India: Status and opportunities” was published by the International Energy Agency in March 2026. Authored by Ksenia Petrichenko and Simrat Kaur, the study provides a strategic roadmap for India to integrate energy efficiency with smart digital technologies to support the nation’s clean energy transition.
