India is on course to achieving access to electricity for all by the early 2020s with half a billion people having gained access since 2000, according to a 2017 report by the International Energy Agency, an intergovernmental organisation based in Paris.

Nearly all those who gained access since 2000 have done so as a result of new connections to the grid, which has been the main focus of government measures, the report said.

As many as 239 million people were without electricity access in 2016, about a quarter of the global population without electricity access.

Source: International Energy Agency

Coal has fuelled about 75% of the new electricity connections since 2000, with renewable sources accounting for around 20%. However, the share of renewable sources powering new connections is set to increase to 60% by the early 2020s.

(Patil is an analyst with IndiaSpend and FactChecker.

Mukta Patil