Strategic policy architectures for India’s solar-to-hydrogen transition: enabling market transformation through institutional alignment

Abstract

India’s transition from solar power to green hydrogen represents a strategic opportunity to decarbonize its energy system while enhancing industrial competitiveness. This study provides a structured, multi-dimensional analysis of India’s solar-integrated hydrogen policy architecture. It aims to evaluate institutional coherence, policy ambition, and execution capacity using new policy scoring frameworks. The paper introduces a Policy Coherence Index (PCI) and a Policy Maturity and Ambition Index (PMAI) to assess alignment and readiness. Comparative benchmarking against global hydrogen leaders reveals India’s transitional policy maturity, with infrastructure planning and financial instruments emerging as critical gaps. Scenario-based stress testing confirms the statistical robustness of country rankings and highlights the need for institutional coherence, cross-sectoral incentives, and certification mechanisms. The study also presents a SWOT analysis that synthesizes empirical and strategic insights. This is the first study to integrate PCI/PMAI benchmarking with sensitivity analysis and strategic diagnostics in India’s green hydrogen context. Based on these findings, ten policy recommendations are advanced, offering a replicable policy framework for India and other emerging economies to strengthen hydrogen policy ecosystems and participate competitively in the global green hydrogen value chain.