Davos, Jan 21 (PTI) As the world leaders discuss dismal global economic growth and rising climate risks, Indian leaders attending the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting are highlighting the country’s
robust growth rate and sustainability features.
At a panel discussion organised by the CII, Union Minister Pralhad Joshi said India will soon become the world’s third-largest economy and underlined the need for greater investment in sustainability and grid stability.
Despite substantial renewable energy investment over the past decade, significantly more is required to reach the 500 GW target by 2030.
Joshi said India has already begun modernising its grid through digitalisation, smart metering, and decentralised renewable energy, which has strengthened system resilience and empowered citizens.
As India moves from the fourth-largest to the third-largest economy soon, the key need now is to ensure grid stability, he said.
While India is progressing with grid-forming technologies, support through technology sharing from developed countries, along with blended finance and capital investment, remains pivotal.
The minister said India offers strong returns on investment, supported by a stable regulatory regime and consistent policies that have helped transform it from a fragile economy into a global growth leader.
He emphasised that India offers strong returns on investment, with low NPAs, inflation, rising production, and rapidly improving infrastructure.
Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren highlighted the state’s extensive mineral resources, which account for 42 per cent of India’s mineral resources, including iron ore, coal and many other important rare earths, necessary for India’s growth and development.
He further emphasised the need to provide growth, development, and prosperity, while also protecting the state’s natural resources.
Gujarat’s Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Rameshkumar Sanghavi said, “Gujarat exemplifies sustainability at scale by transforming its industrial promise into a model of balanced growth, resource efficiency and environmental stewardship that aligns with global priorities”.
“Gujarat has long been India’s growth engine, contributing excessively to national GDP, exports and the manufacturing sector while leading sustainable practices that integrate economic ambition with environmental responsibility,” he said.
Andhra Pradesh minister Nara Lokesh said, “Looking ahead, there are four guiding pillars for us in sustainability. First, is an ecosystem first approach, second is speed of doing business, third is investing in green jobs and skills and fourth is having policy certainty and efficiency”.
Jayant Sinha, Chairman of the CII India Sustainability Taskforce and President of Eversource Capital and Visiting Professor in Practice at LSE, said there are four major areas where government support remains beneficial.
“One is around reporting, taxonomy and standards, second is having a green financing agency, third is digitisation of our grids, and fourth is to develop, strengthen and scale up our carbon markets,” he said.
Highlighting the importance of renewable energy, CII past president and TVS Supply Chain Solutions Executive Chairman R Dinesh said India has not only set the benchmark in terms of implementing sustainability, but most importantly, taken the lead in making this into a commercially viable operation.
The renewable energy capacity in India has reached close to 23 per cent and moved within one year by double-digit rates of growth, which is a testament to the large-scale expansion in solar power, he added.
CII Director General Chandrajit Banerjee said, “The Government of India has introduced many policies, which have been of great value to us. Of these, one is the national carbon capture utilisation and the CCTS framework, which really is signalling our country’s very strong readiness to support the next generation of decarbonisation technologies”.
“The second is India’s emerging climate taxonomy, which is another phenomenal development that brings transparency to sustainable finance,” he added. PTI BJ BAL
