India hosted the eighth BRICS Youth Energy Summit 2026 virtually on Monday under its BRICS Chairship. The Summit brought together above 100 attendees across young energy professionals from academia, government institutions and energy ministries of BRICS Member Countries. Representatives of the BRICS Youth Energy Agency (BRICS YEA), Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL), the International Solar Alliance (ISA) and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) also participated.
India’s BRICS Chairship in 2026 is guided by the theme ‘Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability (BRICS)’. Under the Energy Track, India has adopted the theme “Energy for All” reflecting its commitment to advancing universal, affordable and inclusive energy access across BRICS.
The summit largely concentrated on the role of youth in BRICS energy cooperation, with discussions highlighting innovation, entrepreneurship, technological advancement and international cooperation. The talks also laid emphasis on collaboration among young professionals, academia, government institutions and industry across BRICS countries.
The deliberations focused on three priorities: Energy Security and Sustainability, Energy Access and Equity, and Technology and Innovation. More than 20 panelists exchanged country perspectives and experiences on topics such as diversification of the energy mix, resilient energy supply chains, energy access and innovative financing, new and emerging technologies, and digitalization of energy systems.
The discussions underscored the demand for resilient and diversified energy systems, affordable and inclusive energy access, and innovative and affordable financing to advance clean energy deployment and Technological innovation and digitalization, supported by reliable energy data, interoperability, cyber security and skilled human resources, were identified as important enablers of efficient, flexible and resilient energy systems.
Furthermore, Youth representatives from India highlighted national initiatives and achievements in energy security, energy access, clean energy deployment and power-sector reforms, including PM-KUSUM, PM Surya Ghar, SHANTI Act, the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS) and the India Energy Stack (IES). They also shared India’s experience in diversifying the energy mix, strengthening distribution infrastructure and advancing decentralized renewable energy and digitalization.
The representatives pointed out the BRICS Digital Centre of Excellence (DCoE) on Smart Grids and Energy Storage as a platform for knowledge exchange, capacity building and collaboration on smart grids, storage and grid resilience.
The Eighth BRICS Youth Energy Summit 2026 reaffirmed the role of BRICS youth in advancing energy cooperation and shaping solutions for a secure, sustainable, inclusive and future-ready energy sector, in keeping with the vision of “Energy for All”.
