The Data We Don't Have: Why India's Building Climate Goals Need a Registry First

India proved it can build comprehensive national registries. VAHAN tracks 30 crore vehicles seamlessly. Buildings, which account for 40% of energy consumption, still operate in a data vacuum.

India committed to reducing emissions intensity by 45% by 2030. Buildings are central to this goal. Yet here's what ground reality looks like: we're trying to decarbonize a sector we can't even measure properly.

After working with consultancies for energy audits across Indian states, covering over 300 buildings, one truth became impossible to ignore, the data infrastructure doesn't exist.

A Model That Works: The VAHAN Example

The Ministry of Road Transport built VAHAN, a single digital platform connecting 1,300+ RTOs nationwide. It tracks 30+ crore vehicles with details on type, fuel, age, ownership, and fitness. Real-time, accessible, comprehensive.

This isn't about vehicles being more or less important than buildings. It's about demonstrating that India has the capability to build national-scale data infrastructure that works.

When policymakers needed to push EV adoption, they had data. When enforcement was required, the system was already there. When emissions needed calculating, the foundation existed.

VAHAN proves the model works. The question is: why hasn't this approach been applied to buildings?

The Ground Reality

During deep-dive carbon assessments in Indain states, efforts were made to collect the following datasets-

• Floor area - unavailable or inconsistent across departments
• Year of construction - missing or unreliable
• Building type - poorly classified
• Energy consumption - annual aggregates with zero granularity
• Cooling systems - type, capacity, age rarely documented
• Occupancy patterns - no standardized collection

The data exists in fragments. Municipal corporations hold permits and tax records. DISCOMs have electricity data in non-standard formats. Urban development authorities manage zoning. PWD/CPWD maintain incomplete government building records. Fire departments have occupancy details. Environmental departments hold some compliance data.

None of these talk to each other. No unified ID. No interoperability. No single access point.

What This Costs Us

We can't identify the problem. Which buildings contribute most to emissions? Where should retrofits focus? Without baseline data across types, ages, and regions, policy becomes guesswork.

We can't track progress. India's NDC commits to 45% emissions intensity reduction. The India Cooling Action Plan targets 20-25% cooling demand reduction by 2037-38. State Action Plans outline climate strategies. But measurement infrastructure? Missing.

We can't mobilize investment. ESCOs and Cooling-as-a-Service models need reliable data to assess opportunities and risks. Without it, capital that could accelerate the transition stays away.

We can't scale solutions. Pilot projects generate insights but without data to identify similar buildings across cities, replication remains theoretical.

We can't benchmark performance. Without knowing what 'normal' looks like across building types, how do we identify outliers? How do we set realistic targets? How do we celebrate improvements?

The irony: every assessment reveals significant energy savings potential, typically 20-30% in commercial buildings, higher in older institutional structures. But discovering this requires manual, building-by-building data collection. Because no registry exists.

The Path Forward

1. Build a National Building Registry

Creating a unified platform with:

• Unique Building IDs
• Basic characteristics: area, age, type, occupancy
• Energy consumption (DISCOM integration)
• HVAC systems data
• Code compliance status
• Retrofit history

2. Mandate Data at Source

Capture information where it's generated:

• Building permits - design parameters, projected energy use
• Electricity connections - link meters to building registry
• Annual compliance - require reporting for large buildings
• Retrofits - update registry with changes

3. Start with Government Buildings

Public sector buildings as the pilot:

• Known ownership, clear accountability
• Leadership on climate action
• Demonstration effect
• Foundation for scaling

4. Leverage Digital Infrastructure

India built Aadhaar for 1.3+ billion citizens. UPI processes 10+ billion monthly transactions.

The technical capacity exists. This is about institutional coordination.

The Real Question

Are we serious about our NDC targets?

We have policy documents, ICAP, SAPCC, NAPCC. We attend COP conferences. We make international commitments. We announce programs.

But are we addressing the fundamental gaps that determine whether any of this works on the ground?

Buildings house our institutions, businesses, homes. They lock in energy consumption patterns for generations. Yet we lack the basic data infrastructure to track their performance, identify opportunities, or measure progress.

This isn't about better software or more consultants. It's about creating the foundational data infrastructure that makes climate action in the building sector measurable, trackable, and scalable.

Without it, our 2030 targets and 2070 net-zero goals remain aspirational. With it, we can finally move from intent to implementation.

VAHAN showed us the template. We've proven we can build national-scale registries that work.

The question isn't whether we can build this.

The question is: when do we start?