Mondaq has recognised Apalka Bareja, Senior Associate, and Aishwarya Rajput, Associate, of S.S. Rana & Co. in its Thought Leadership Awards, Spring 2026. Their article on India’s carbon credit market placed third (#3) for India in Energy and Natural Resources, one of the most-read pieces on Indian energy and climate law on Mondaq during the award period.
About the Mondaq Thought Leadership Awards
Mondaq is an online publisher of legal, regulatory and financial commentary written by law firms and advisers around the world, and its awards site is co-branded with The Legal 500. It’s Thought Leadership Awards recognise the authors whose articles readers turn to most.
Who qualifies. The awards draw on articles published on Mondaq by contributing firms and their authors. The spring 2026 edition covers 16 countries, with separate results for each country and for a range of topic areas, including Energy and Natural Resources.
How winners are chosen. Mondaq decides the awards on total readership. The Spring 2026 results reflect readership between October 2025 and March 2026.
The format. For each country and topic, Mondaq names the top three placings. Articles that place are marked as Mondaq Thought Leadership Award winners on the platform.
What the award recognises
The award recognises India’s Carbon Credit Market: From Compliance To ESG Advantage, published on Mondaq on 19 December 2025. The article covers:
Why the scheme matters now. The authors set India’s carbon market against the country’s position as one of the world’s largest emitters, rising peak power demand, and the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, which affects Indian exporters of carbon-intensive goods such as steel and cement.
How the Carbon Credit Trading Scheme works. They explain the scheme created under the Energy Conservation (Amendment) Act, 2022: one Carbon Credit Certificate for each tonne of carbon dioxide reduced, a compliance market for large industrial emitters, and a voluntary market for companies that want to strengthen their ESG profile.
Who regulates it. The article maps the roles of the Bureau of Energy Efficiency, the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission, the Grid Controller of India and the National Designated Authority set up in 2025 to align India’s market with Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, and notes the greenhouse gas emission intensity targets notified for more than 130 large industrial companies in 2025.
Compliance and disclosure risks. It highlights the exposure of companies that miss their targets, the need for listed companies to align carbon reporting with SEBI’s Business Responsibility and Sustainability Reporting framework, and the risk of greenwashing claims under SEBI’s rules and the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.
The opportunity. The authors close by looking at how companies can turn surplus credits into revenue and use verified reductions to improve their environmental, social and governance standing.
About Apalka Bareja and Aishwarya Rajput
Apalka Bareja and Aishwarya Rajput qare lawyers at S.S. Rana & Co. whose writing focuses on regulatory developments affecting Indian companies, start-ups and multinational corporations operating in India.
Apalka Bareja, Senior Associate. Apalka writes on corporate, financial and consumer regulation in India, including the RBI’s framework for self-regulatory organisations in the fintech sector, SEBI’s proposals on mutual fund regulation and the Press and Registration of Periodicals Act, 2023.
Aishwarya Rajput, Associate. Aishwarya has co-authored work with Apalka on FSSAI’s advisory for flight kitchens and in-flight catering, healthcare advertising compliance and whistleblower protection in India.
Working together. The two have written a series of joint articles on regulatory developments affecting businesses in India, of which the carbon credit piece is the latest to be recognised.
Continued recognition in Spring 2026
| Award | Recognition | Authors |
| Mondaq Thought Leadership Awards, India | #3, Energy and Natural Resources | Apalka Bareja and Aishwarya Rajput |
| Mondaq Thought Leadership Awards, India | #1, Intellectual Property | Ananyaa Banerjee and Mandeep Singh |
| Mondaq Thought Leadership Awards, India | S.S. Rana & Co.: Top Firms (India) | Firm-wide |
See the Mondaq Thought Leadership Awards for India, Spring 2026, the Energy and Natural Resources results and our page on the firm’s Mondaq Top Firms recognition. Each recognition is also recorded on our Awards page.
Frequently asked questions
Mondaq Thought Leadership Award, Spring 2026 Apalka & Aishwarya
Yes. Their article on India’s carbon credit market placed third (#3) for India in the Energy and Natural Resources category of the Mondaq Thought Leadership Awards, Spring 2026.
“India’s Carbon Credit Market: From Compliance To ESG Advantage”, published on Mondaq on 19 December 2025.
Mondaq decides the awards on total readership. The Spring 2026 results reflect readership between October 2025 and March 2026, across 16 countries and a range of topics.
It is a carbon market set up under the Energy Conservation (Amendment) Act, 2022. Companies that cut emissions below their targets earn Carbon Credit Certificates, one for each tonne of carbon dioxide reduced, which they can sell to companies that miss their targets.
The Bureau of Energy Efficiency administers the scheme and oversees monitoring, reporting and verification, while trading takes place on power exchanges under the oversight of the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission.
Large industrial companies face emission intensity targets, listed companies must report on sustainability, and exporters of goods such as steel and cement face the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism. Credits can also become a source of revenue for companies that cut emissions faster than required.
Apalka Bareja is a Senior Associate and Aishwarya Rajput is an Associate at S.S. Rana & Co., a law firm headquartered in New Delhi. They write regularly on regulatory developments in India, including food safety, fintech, healthcare advertising and corporate governance.
Yes. S.S. Rana & Co. is listed among the Top Firms for India in the Spring 2026 awards, which also placed a firm article first in Intellectual Property.
Write to info@ssrana.com with a short description of your matter, and the firm will connect you with the right team.
The article is available on Mondaq at https://www.mondaq.com/india/environmental-law/1721232/indias-carbon-credit-market-from-compliance-to-esg-advantage.
Closing
We congratulate Apalka and Aishwarya on this recognition and thank everyone in India and abroad who read and shared their work.
For more information on Energy Law, Renewable Energy, Carbon Credit Trading Scheme (CCTS), Carbon Credit Certificates, Emission Intensity Targets, Energy Conservation Act Compliance, ESG Advisory, ESG Disclosures, Business Responsibility and Sustainability Reporting (BRSR), Greenwashing Risk, Environmental Compliance, Environmental Clearances, Pollution Control Compliance, Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), Climate Regulation, Regulatory Compliance and Corporate Advisory in India
write to us at info@ssrana.com