USD 70 bn invested in renewable energy biz: Power Minister

This assumes significance in view of India’s ambitious target of having 175 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy by 2022.

Singh was addressing at a recent event on ‘’Accelerating Citizen Centric Energy Transition’’ organised by The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE). It was conducted in collaboration with the Permanent Mission of India (PMI) to the United Nations and the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW).

The virtual event was organised on the sidelines of the Ministerial Thematic Forums week (June 21-25) for the UN High Level Dialogue on Energy to be convened on September 20 this year.

India has been designated a Global Champion for Energy Transition, one of the five themes at the dialogue.

Singh said, “During the past seven years, over $70 billion investment has been made in renewable energy in India. India has a liberal foreign investment policy for renewables allowing 100 per cent FDI through the automatic route in sector.”

He added ensuring ‘’ease of doing business’’ is the government’s utmost priority. “Our continuous focus is on maintaining sanctity of contracts and safeguarding investments.” The minister also talked about the establishment of dedicated project development cells (PDC) and foreign direct investment (FDI) cells in all ministries for handholding and facilitating domestic and foreign investors.

Adequate measures and safeguards have also been undertaken to address the concerns of businesses and investors arising out of the COVID-19 pandemic, Singh added.

A Renewable Energy Investment Promotion and Facilitation Board portal has also been developed to provide assistance and facilitation to the industry and investors for development of projects and bringing new investment to the renewable energy sector in India, he said.

While talking about the initiatives that will pave the way for future of energy transition in India, Singh said rules are being framed for ‘’green tariff’’ policy.