*1.1. Background*

India is rapidly urbanizing. Urban development is one of the main drivers of energy demand and consumption. The nation accounts for 18 per cent of the world's population and 6 per cent of global primary energy consumption [1]. India's urban population is expected to grow from 31.6 per cent to 57.7 per cent by 2050, with additional impacts on energy consumption and carbon emissions [2]. The task of managing and reducing energy demand, energy consumption and energy-related carbon emissions is often a challenge for urban planners [3,4].

In this context, it is important to address urban challenges such as sustainable transportation, access to reliable and clean energy, green and resilient infrastructure, and waste management through the principles of smart energy management (SEM). In particular, there is a need to integrate SEM principles in different sectors, such as buildings, transport, water, waste and public services, to reduce carbon emissions and achieve sustainable development goals (SDGs). This integrated SEM will also ensure the optimal utilization of available resources and reduce reliance on unsustainable energy sources.

To this end, The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) and the University of New South Wales (UNSW) organized Australia-India knowledge exchange workshops on "Smart Energy Management for Sustainable Cities" in Sydney and Delhi. Sectoral experts and urban practitioners from local urban institutions, policy think tanks, academia and research institutions, as well as industry participated in the workshops. Through panel discussions chaired by sector experts, participants considered the way forward for integrated SEM in Indian cities. This paper combines the main results of the workshops and

a comprehensive literature review to introduce the state of policy on SEM in India. It highlights SEM governance, SEM strategies and initiatives in different sectors, and potential challenges, drivers and opportunities for SEM in India. The review will contribute to knowledge creation and understanding on the SEM policy landscape in India.

## *1.2. The Definition of SEM*

In order to build an understanding of SEM, it is important to first become familiar with the concepts and principles of energy management. Energy management can be defined as the science of planning, guiding, and controlling energy supply and consumption to maximize productivity and comfort, and minimize energy costs and pollution [5]. Simply put, energy management involves the conscious, wise and efficient use of energy. Energy management also requires the process of monitoring, controlling and saving energy, optimized energy utilization, management of energy resources, and active energy efficiency. With the rapid expansion of India's urban areas, managing the energy footprint is becoming a challenging target for cities. Therefore, energy management has recently become an integral part of urban transformation.

Taking into account local resources and the needs of stakeholders, smart cities are expected to become more autonomous and manage their energy footprints more effectively. In this paper, SEM entails energy management as an important component of smart cities. A smart city is a sustainable and efficient urban centre designed to provide a high quality of life for its residents by optimizing resources [6]. In this article, SEM is defined as follows:

"Smart energy management is a component of smart city development aiming at a site-specific continuous transition towards sustainability, self-sufficiency, and resilience of energy systems, while ensuring accessibility, affordability, and adequacy of energy services, through optimized integration of energy conservation, energy efficiency, and local renewable energy sources. It is characterized by a combination of technologies with information and communication technologies that enables integration of multiple domains and enforces collaboration of multiple stakeholders, while ensuring sustainability of its measures." [7] (p. 57)

The mainstreaming of SEM involves the integration of energy technology systems, enabling policies, strategies, institutional change, awareness, training and capacity-building programmes, energy conservation measures and energy audits.
