Explain the purpose of the Green Grid Initiative launched at World Leaders Summit of the COP26 UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow in November, 2021. When was this idea first floated in the International Solar Alliance (ISA) ?
Approach · directive: “explain / when”
What it asks · Explain the aim of the Green Grids Initiative, One Sun One World One Grid (GGI-OSOWOG), and state when India first floated the idea in the International Solar Alliance.
The question has 2 parts — answer each
- Explain the purpose of the Green Grids Initiative-One Sun One World One Grid launched at the COP26 World Leaders Summit (Glasgow, November 2021)
- State when the idea was first floated in the ISA: the first ISA Assembly, October 2018
Open with · Sunlight is available somewhere in the world at every hour, so a shared grid can carry solar power across borders and time zones.
Cover
- Origin: India's Prime Minister first floated the idea at the first Assembly of the International Solar Alliance in October 2018.
- Launch: India and the UK launched the Green Grids Initiative-One Sun One World One Grid at the COP26 World Leaders Summit, Glasgow, in November 2021.
- Purpose: connect solar-rich and demand regions through interconnected grids so clean power generated where the sun shines is used elsewhere, even after sunset.
- Benefits: cheaper renewable power through pooled supply and storage, better grid stability, less fossil back-up, wider energy access and faster decarbonisation.
- Approach: regional interconnections first, then wider links towards a global grid, with the ISA coordinating work with member countries.
- Link with India's goals: supports the COP26 pledges of 500 GW non-fossil capacity and 50% renewable energy by 2030, and its solar leadership.
- Challenges: cross-border trade rules, grid standards, financing, political trust, transmission losses and cyber security of interconnected grids.
Close with · If cross-border trust, standards and finance are secured, the initiative could make clean power cheaper and more reliable for all partners.
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2021, GS Paper III — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer · 214 words (UPSC limit 150) · Minimalist IAS
The sun is always shining somewhere; the Green Grids Initiative-One Sun One World One Grid (GGI-OSOWOG), launched by India and the UK at the COP26 World Leaders Summit in Glasgow in November 2021, aims to build a shared grid on that fact.
Purpose of the initiative
- Interconnect regional grids across borders and time zones so solar power generated where the sun shines serves demand elsewhere, including after sunset.
- Cut cost and fossil back-up: pooled renewable supply and storage across regions need less standby capacity and improve grid stability.
- Widen energy access and speed decarbonisation for all partners.
- Approach: regional interconnections first, then wider links towards a global grid, with the ISA coordinating work among member countries.
- For India it complements the Glasgow pledges of 500 GW non-fossil capacity and 50% of energy needs from renewables by 2030.
When the idea was first floated
- Prime Minister Modi first proposed One Sun One World One Grid at the first Assembly of the International Solar Alliance in October 2018; COP26 gave it institutional form with the UK as partner.
Challenges
- Cross-border power-trade rules, grid standards, financing, political trust, transmission losses and cyber security of interconnected grids.
If trust, standards and finance can be secured, the initiative could make clean power cheaper and more reliable for every partner.
Written by Minimalist IAS from facts checked at source (how we verify) — a little fuller than exam length, so every part of the question is covered; in the hall, keep the structure and trim the detail. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.