Energy efficiency (EE) in industries is critical in decoupling economic growth from environmental degradation by lowering energy intensity and enhancing competitiveness. As clean energy transitions accelerate globally, EE-relevant employment has shown steady growth, with some countries recognizing EE as one of the largest employment segments within the energy sector. The present paper provides first-of-its-kind existing stock estimates of EE-relevant employment in the product manufacturing sector for India, derived through the application of internationally established methodology. The analysis found 340 industry divisions at 5-digit National Industrial Classification (NIC) and 16 broad occupation groups under the National Classification of Occupation (NCO), as EE-relevant. Results indicate that 50.32 hundred thousand workers were employed in EE-relevant product manufacturing roles, accounting for about 8 percent of total manufacturing employment in India in 2023–24. As an EE-enabling catalyst, the paper notes the repair and maintenance segment to play a critical role. The largest contributing industry groups are formed by Repair and Maintenance (23.9 per cent), Construction Materials (12.2 per cent), and Electricals and Electronics (11.1 per cent). The analysis further highlights that EE-relevant employment is predominantly made up of high-skilled workforce (50.6 percent). To ensure a robust analysis, the paper employs a dual assessment framework comprising both output-based and task-based approaches, triangulated with data from the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS). Additionally, select occupational tasks were validated via a mapping between the Occupational Information Network (O*NET) Green Economy Program occupation database and NCO.
