India''s Carbon Market (CCTS & GEI Rules)

India is building a compliance carbon market, and 2025-26 is when it grew teeth. The Carbon Credit Trading Scheme (CCTS), framed in 2023, set up the Indian Carbon Market; the Greenhouse Gases Emission Intensity (GEI) Target Rules then attached real numbers to it - India's first legally binding limits on how much carbon a tonne of cement, aluminium or paper may emit. Starting with four sectors and 282 plants in October 2025, the net widened in January 2026 to refineries, petrochemicals, textiles and secondary aluminium, lifting coverage to 490 obligated units, on the way to nine sectors and roughly 740 plants. Beat your target and you earn tradable credits; miss it and you buy them or pay. Paired with a Rs 20,000-crore carbon-capture push and fresh Article 6 credit deals, it is India's core tool for decarbonising heavy industry without capping output.