Green energy will play an important role in India’s economic growth, senior leaders at two Indian companies have said.
“Green energy is fundamental [to growth] and India stands tall among most large economies and as a developing economy without any kind of reliance on cross-subsidies,” said executive vice chairman of the engineering and construction major Hindustan Construction Co. (HCC), Arjun Dhawan, further adding, “India has met its [climate change] targets irrespective of COP27 not having done enough.”
Dhawan shared these observations during a panel discussion on balancing growth with sustainability moderated by the managing editor of Business Today TV, Siddharth Zarabi, on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos.
CEO & managing director of renewable energy company Greenko, Anil Chalamalasetty was of the view that given the pace at which India was developing clean energy solutions, it should be able to meet 50 per cent of its energy requirements through renewable sources by 2030.
“Up until now, we were looking at decarbonising only the power sector. But interestingly renewables are now playing an active role in other industries as well,” said Chalamalasetty.
He pointed out how companies in the steel and aluminium sectors such as Arcelor Mittal, Hindalco and Essar were now trying to get their captive coal and gas-based power plants to run on renewable sources of energy. He also said those interested in investing in renewable energy must have deep pockets, patience and a basic understanding of how to drive things.
Expressing his confidence in the India growth story, Dhawan said the country had not only been resilient but also exercised tremendous restraint while spending its resources.
“We haven’t increased the size of the welfare state, we have kept our budget deficit low and our corporate tax rates are among the most competitive in the world. We can’t be a proud country without being a clean one,” he observed.
Expressing confidence that India would continue to attract FDI into the clean energy sector, he said that an area that had scope for improvement was contract enforcement.
“Once that is done the cost of the capital will decline and we will be able to do much more with less,” he said.
Chalamalasetty said that today the country was well-integrated with the global economy and the ongoing energy transition.
“We have been leading the solutions not only internally but also externally. We are moving from renewables to round-the-clock renewables to green hydrogen, green ammonia and chemicals,” he said.
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Expressing confidence that India would continue to attract FDI into the clean energy sector, it was said that an area that had scope for improvement was contract enforcement. 
