India’s green investments to surge fivefold through 2030

Over half will specifically go to renewable energy.

India is expected to record a five fold increase in its green investments to reach INR31 lakh crore between 2025 and 2030, according to Crisil.

Of the  total projected investments, around INR19 lakh crore is expected to go into renewable energy and storage, around INR4.1 lakh crore into transport and automotive sectors, and around INR3.3 lakh crore into oil and gas.

The INR31 lakh crore green investment is a crucial part of an estimated $10t needed through 2070 to achieve India’s net-zero goals as per the Updated First Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement.

Amongst India’s key NDC commitments are a 45% reduction in the carbon intensity of its gross domestic product by 2030 from 2005 levels, and an increase in the share of cumulative installed power capacity from non-fossil-fuel-based energy resources to 50%.

“Accelerating grants and incentives, scaling up blended finance initiatives with multilaterals, policy support and flexibility to drive initiatives for carbon market development and industrial decarbonisation are imperatives in the road ahead,” said Amish Mehta, managing director and CEO, Crisil Limited.

Crisil said there is adequate debt financing for low risk technologies such as solar, and wind power. These can be availed through banks, sector-focused development finance institutions, and bond markets.

However, for relatively high-risk projects such as green hydrogen, carbon capture, utilisation and storage, energy storage, and other emerging technologies, government grants and incentives will hold the key in improving project viability.

Equity financing will play a significant role, with private sector involvement, specialised climate/venture funds, and multilateral institutions all contributing. To facilitate the scaling up of certain technologies in the early stages, blended finance and first-loss guarantees from multilateral organisations will be crucial, Crisil said.