2025 Concludes with Draft Puri Declaration and Four Knowledge-Partnership MoUs to Strengthen India’s Energy Transition
By Tapaswini Sahoo
Puri/Odisha, Dec 7 : Designed as India’s first COP-style platform for interstate coordination, GELS 2025 culminated in a high-level press briefing addressed by key delegates including Shri Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo, Hon’ble Deputy Chief Minister (Energy, Agriculture & Farmers’ Empowerment), Government of Odisha; Shri Vishal Dev, Principal Secretary, Energy and Electronics & IT; and Shri Vivek Agarwal, Country Head, Tony Blair Institute for Global Change.
Over two days, the GELS brought together a distinguished group of leaders, policymakers, industry CEOs, global experts, and researchers for a structured series of closed-door deliberations, thematic panel discussions, technical deep dives, and knowledge-sharing sessions. These engagements explored frontier issues such as AI-enabled grid security, carbon markets, advanced financing, clean-tech innovation, and institutional reforms. Collectively, these deliberations have laid the groundwork for a long-term, collaborative platform that will guide India’s energy sector toward a clean, resilient, and innovation-driven future.
MoUs Inked to Advance Innovation, Institutional Strengthening, and Renewable-Energy Deployment
As a major outcome of GELS 2025, four strategic MoUs were signed to accelerate research, pilot projects, and clean-energy deployment across Odisha. These agreements reinforce the Summit’s commitment to long-term cooperation, innovation, and institution-building.
1. Pilot Projects in Renewable Energy – NTU Singapore, GRIDCO, and IIT Bhubaneswar
A trilateral MoU was signed between Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore, GRIDCO, and IIT Bhubaneswar to collaborate on advanced renewable-energy pilot projects and applied research.
2. Green Hydrogen Centre of Excellence – GRIDCO, ReNew, IIT Bhubaneswar, and Avaada
A major initiative toward India’s green hydrogen mission, this MoU establishes a Green Hydrogen Centre of Excellence in Odisha to support R&D, demonstrations, and capacity building.
3. Renewable-Energy Development Partnership – NLC India Renewables Ltd (NIRL), OREDA, GEDCOL: A tripartite MoU was signed to jointly develop renewable-energy projects across Odisha.
4. Clean-Energy Deployment Framework – SECI, OHPC, GEDCOL, and OREDA: A multi-agency MoU was signed between the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), Odisha Hydro Power Corporation (OHPC), Green Energy Development Corporation of Odisha (GEDCOL), and the Odisha Renewable Energy Development Agency (OREDA) to accelerate renewable-energy development and integrated planning.
Launch of the draft Puri Declaration
Based on the various discussions that took place during the two-day session, and with the inputs from the Union Power Ministry and Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, a draft of the Puri Declaration was presented, marking a significant step toward building an enduring, cooperative framework for India’s clean energy transition. The draft Puri Declaration has already been circulated to States for consultation, and consensus-building, ensuring that the final declaration is truly co-authored and collectively owned.Thanking the visiting dignitaries and expressing optimism for the way forward for the Puri Declaration, Shri Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo said, “The process of consensus for the Puri declaration is underway and once done, it will be a collective admission that no one state can go alone and our collective promise that none will have to.”
Shri B.V.R. Subrahmanyam, CEO of NitiAyog, congratulated the Odisha government for leading a summit of this scale and significance. “The summit should be used as a platform for collaboration between states,” he said and urged the hosts to organize it every year, assuring that participation and engagement will only increase as states see value in a collaborative platform of this kind.
Shri Vishal Dev emphasised that GELS 2025 “demonstrated a clear appetite among States and institutions for coordinated action and shared frameworks,” adding that the Summit’s outcomes reflect a consensus on the structural reforms required over the coming decade. Offering the vote of thanks, Professor Anoop Singh,noted that,“GELS has lived up to its promise as a platform where leaders don’t just discuss challenges; they co-create solutions.”
GELS 2025 also reaffirmed its strong sustainability commitment. The Summit has been organised in accordance with ISO 20121 – Event Sustainability Management Systems, and a full carbon-footprint assessment was conducted by an external sustainability partner. All greenhouse-gas emissions generated during the event were measured, verified, and neutralised through monitored local afforestation initiatives—positioning GELS as one of India’s first major energy conferences to be designed for carbon neutrality.GELS has set an example by being the first event in Odisha to successfully achieve carbon neutrality. The total carbon footprint of the event was calculated as 45.33 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions, that covers the entire gamut of activities including international flights. Carbon neutralizationis being achieved through the plantation of 1,130 trees in Nuapada, which was started today.
As GELS 2025 drew to a close, leaders reiterated that this is only the beginning. The Puri Declaration will now serve as the guiding framework for ongoing working groups, interstate coordination mechanisms, and annual follow-ups, ensuring that the momentum generated at Puri translates into sustained national action. With Odisha leading the efforts, India is poised to advance a coordinated, collaborative, and inclusive clean-energy transformation that supports the nation’s long-term development and Net Zero ambitions.
