India's Carbon Credit Trading Scheme (CCTS): how it works
A plain guide to India's Carbon Credit Trading Scheme: the law, who runs it, sector targets for 490 entities, the offset mechanism, CERC trading rules and the link to PAT.
Overview
India's Carbon Credit Trading Scheme (CCTS) is the government framework for the Indian Carbon Market. It was notified on 28 June 2023 and has two parts: a compliance mechanism, where large industrial units must meet greenhouse gas emission intensity targets, and an offset mechanism, where other entities can voluntarily register projects and earn Carbon Credit Certificates.
Photo: "Ramco Cement’s Ramasamy Raja Nagar Plant, Virudhunagar" by Rohith Adithya, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
This guide is written for companies, sustainability teams and MSME owners who want to understand the scheme. It reflects official documents available as of October 2026. Rules are still being added, so always check the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) website and the Indian Carbon Market portal before acting. This is general information, not legal advice.
Sources: Bureau of Energy Efficiency: Indian Carbon Market (CCTS) page; BEE: Detailed Procedure for Compliance Mechanism under the Indian Carbon Market; PIB (MoEFCC), 22 January 2026: Government notifies GHG Emission Intensity Targets for 208 more carbon-intensive industries; PIB (Ministry of Power), 28 March 2025: India's Carbon Offset Plan; PIB (Ministry of Power), 4 December 2025: Framework for CCTS established; PIB (Ministry of Power): Year End Review 2025; PIB (Ministry of Power), 21 March 2026: Prakriti 2026 and Indian Carbon Market Portal launch; CERC (Terms and Conditions for Purchase and Sale of Carbon Credit Certificates) Regulations, 2026; CERC: Current Regulations index; PIB: Cabinet approves India's Nationally Determined Contribution (2031-2035) (25 March 2026)
This article was prepared with AI assistance and checked by the GreenEye team against the sources shown in each section.
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