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.
It asks 2 things — 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, and how it reached COP26
Open with · Half the planet is always sunlit, so noon-time solar power can serve a region at dusk if grids cross borders; the Green Grids Initiative-One Sun One World One Grid, launched by India and the UK at COP26 in Glasgow in November 2021, builds on that fact.
Cover
- Purpose: interconnect regional grids across borders and time zones so solar power serves demand elsewhere, including after sunset.
- Pooled renewable supply and storage cut fossil back-up and cost, improve grid stability, widen energy access and speed decarbonisation.
- Approach: regional interconnections first, then wider links towards a global grid, with the ISA coordinating.
- Complements India's Glasgow pledges of 500 GW non-fossil capacity and 50% of energy needs from renewables by 2030.
- Origin: Prime Minister Modi floated OSOWOG at the first ISA Assembly, October 2018; in May 2021 India and the UK agreed to merge it with the Green Grids Initiative (PIB).
- Challenges: cross-border trade rules, grid standards, finance, trust, transmission losses and cyber security; start with regional links.
Close with · With trust, standards and finance secured, GGI-OSOWOG turns India's 500 GW target into a shared asset: clean power crossing borders as freely as sunlight.
Add value (verified)
- PIB (MNRE, October 2021) records that the Prime Minister put forward OSOWOG at the first ISA Assembly in October 2018, calling for connecting solar energy supply across borders.PIB: Green Grids Initiative-One Sun One World One Grid Northwest Europe cooperative event, MNRE, October 2021 ↗“initiative was put forth by the Hon'ble Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi, at the First Assembly of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) in October 2018. He had called for connecting solar energy supply across borders.”
- The same PIB release records the May 2021 India-UK decision to merge the Green Grids Initiative with OSOWOG and launch GGI-OSOWOG at COP26 in Glasgow.PIB: Green Grids Initiative-One Sun One World One Grid Northwest Europe cooperative event, MNRE, October 2021 ↗“In May 2021, the United Kingdom and India agreed to combine forces of the Green Grids Initiative and the One Sun One World One Grid initiative and jointly launch GGI-OSOWOG at the COP26 summit being hosted by the UK at Glasgow in November 2021.”
- PIB (MNRE, October 2021) records that the Prime Minister put forward OSOWOG at the first ISA Assembly in October 2018, calling for connecting solar energy supply across borders.PIB: Green Grids Initiative-One Sun One World One Grid Northwest Europe cooperative event, MNRE, October 2021 ↗“initiative was put forth by the Hon'ble Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi, at the First Assembly of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) in October 2018. He had called for connecting solar energy supply across borders.”
- The same PIB release records the May 2021 India-UK decision to merge the Green Grids Initiative with OSOWOG and launch GGI-OSOWOG at COP26 in Glasgow.PIB: Green Grids Initiative-One Sun One World One Grid Northwest Europe cooperative event, MNRE, October 2021 ↗“In May 2021, the United Kingdom and India agreed to combine forces of the Green Grids Initiative and the One Sun One World One Grid initiative and jointly launch GGI-OSOWOG at the COP26 summit being hosted by the UK at Glasgow in November 2021.”
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2021, GS Paper III — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 3 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer· 225words · Minimalist IAS
Half the planet is always sunlit, so noon-time solar power can serve a region at dusk if grids cross borders. The Green Grids Initiative-One Sun One World One Grid (GGI-OSOWOG), launched by India and the UK at COP26 in Glasgow in November 2021, builds on that fact.
Purpose of the Green Grids Initiative
- Cross-border interconnection: link regional grids across time zones so solar power serves demand elsewhere after sunset.
- Cheaper, steadier clean power: pooled supply and storage cut fossil back-up, steady the grid, widen access and speed decarbonisation.
- Staged approach: regional interconnections first, then wider links towards a global grid, coordinated by the ISA.
- India's pledges: it complements India's Glasgow pledges: 500 GW non-fossil capacity, 50% of energy from renewables by 2030.
When the idea was first floated in the ISA
- October 2018: Prime Minister Modi proposed OSOWOG at the first ISA Assembly, calling for solar supply across borders (PIB); in May 2021 India and the UK agreed to merge it with the Green Grids Initiative.
- Oct 2018: OSOWOG floated at first ISA Assembly
- May 2021: India-UK merger with GGI
- Nov 2021: launch at COP26, Glasgow
Challenges
- Hard wiring: cross-border trade rules, grid standards, finance, trust, transmission losses and cyber security.
With trust, standards and finance secured, GGI-OSOWOG turns India's 500 GW target into a shared asset: clean power crossing borders as freely as sunlight.
Prepared by Minimalist IAS to the answer standard of Shivam Singh (mentor, 7 years) · facts checked against official sources (how we verify) · updated 3 Oct 2026. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.
