India is currently working to replace 250 million traditional electricity meters with smart digital versions, although the massive project is facing significant installation delays. While funding for the vast majority of these devices has been approved, only about 40 million have been physically put in place as of late 2025, according to the authors of the newly released report.
“The original 2026 deadline has now been extended to 2028. As of September 2025, over 220 million smart meters had been approved (“sanctioned”) for funding, though only 40 million installed.”
This means that while the Indian government has cleared the paperwork and money to upgrade nearly all the targeted homes and businesses, the actual construction and setup are moving much slower than intended. Because of these hurdles, officials have pushed back the target date for completion by two years. Currently, most of the progress is concentrated in just a few specific states, while technical difficulties and a lack of public trust in new billing systems continue to slow the nationwide effort.
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.
