Indian rapid urbanization is creating an unprecedented demand for buildings, which already account for nearly 35 percent of India’s total electricity consumption.

Thus, the country's building sector is expected to increase five-fold from 2015 to 2050.

Round Table meeting organised by BEE/GIZ

Energy efficiency is one of the world’s largest energy resources and we are just beginning to tap its potential. India is at a unique crossroads where two-thirds of the commercial and high-rise residential structures that will exist in 2030 are yet to be built. Thus, implementing energy efficiency in buildings that will be constructed in the next decade offers an opportunity to significantly reduce the energy use and imparts cost savings for the next generation.

The governments of Germany and India have agreed to foster energy efficiency in India’s rapidly growing economy in order to save energy and improve the state of the environment. The Indo-German Energy Programme (IGEN) is commissioned by the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and supports the Indian Ministry of Power (MoP) and Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) in the development of Energy Conservation Building Code for Residential Buildings (ECBC-R). The implementing organisation Deutsche Gesellschaft fuer Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, in particular its Energy Effficiency in Buildings Programme (EEBP) will facilitate this process and thereafter, the EEBP will support the implementation in selected states. Capabilities have to be imparted to the stakeholders to enable an easy adaptation of the code. Overall, the development of the ECBC-R and its subsequent application through labeling will lead to a win-win situation for developers and consumers in terms of reduced life cycle costs of buildings where energy efficiency triggers the savings. Eventually, labels will also be utilized as the base for future incentive programs.