This thought leadership document is aimed at examining the huge opportunities for India to emerge as a credible alternative frontier for clean energy manufacturing, as the world marches towards energy transition and looks to address its supply chain vulnerabilities.
The paper offers insights into the market opportunities available for India, its strengths in developing a manufacturing story for clean technologies including electrolysers, renewables power equipment, lithium-ion batteries and discusses the key enablers for India in this regard. Clean technology manufacturing in India is estimated to present a USD300-400 billion opportunity by the end of this decade. High captive demand, increased supplier base, government support, regulatory enablers, unique domestic capabilities and increased global efforts to have a credible and diversified "China+1" supply chain are some of the key drivers to help propel India become a credible, alternate manufacturing base in clean technologies.
The discussion on energy transition is incomplete without providing focus on skill development of the workforce, hence, to that end, the paper brings the spotlight on to the need for re-skilling and upskilling of the workforce and touches upon the vast numbers of sustainable and "green" jobs expected to be generated on account of energy transition. India currently enjoys a massive advantage in terms of the availability of a sizeable population of relatively young and skilled workforce, emerging culture of innovation and experience in core commodities manufacturing, which can be geared up and reskilled to cater to the needs of clean technology manufacturing. As per KPMG in India, energy transition could create a demand for approximately 5-6 million jobs by 2030 and 9-10 million by 2047, spanning across three major manufacturing dimensions - India for India (I for I), India for the world (I for W) and the World from India (W from I).
The paper discusses about various key levers which need to be harmonised to help India reap maximum benefits of the unique advantages it enjoys and develop a large and credible clean technology manufacturing base. India possesses a well distributed manufacturing ecosystem and clusters spread across India which can leveraged across the various themes of energy transition. The Government support in the form of numerous business-friendly policies, including various PLI schemes, Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP), PM Gati Shakti, India Industrial Landbank, and the National Single Window System collectively aim to position India as an appealing destination, not only for investment but also for conducting business activities. A well thought through collaboration strategy can offer numerous benefits, encompassing several key aspects like R&D, innovation, sourcing of raw materials and offtake of finished equipment and commodities, which will ultimately be helpful to propel India take up a leading position as a global manufacturing hub for energy transition technologies.
Startups can play a key role in the development of an innovation ecosystem. KPMG in India through its Energy and Natural Resources’ (ENR) annual conclave, ENRich, conference provides a platform to start ups in energy and climate solutions to showcase their innovation and supports them in their journey through mentorship and business opportunities through a structured innovation programme.
KPMG in India believes that an all-round cooperation of all stakeholders in energy transition can make clean technology manufacturing in India a reality and ensure that the transition is economically rewarding, environmentally responsive and helps the society in many ways.
