16-Sep-2021: Power Minister addresses energy industry under US India Strategic Partnership Forum

The Union  Minister of Power, New & Renewable Energy, Sh. R. K. Singh addressed the US India Strategic Partnership Forum and industry leaders, in a Virtual Energy Industry Roundtable, today here. Shri Singh apprised about the  Government of India's priorities for the energy sector as the ministry begins to work on Hon'ble Prime Minister’s vision of energy independence by 2047.

The Minister said that India and USA have similar goals and share the same zeal towards climate change issues. We want to have a partnership which can be an inspiration to the rest of the world on the fight towards mitigating climate change. The industry plays a critical role in this partnership.

Shri Singh observed that India has set an ambitious target of having 175 GW capacity of RE by 2022 and 450 GW RE capacity by 2030.  India has reached 100 GW in Installed Solar and Wind Capacity and after adding Hydro capacity also, the total installed renewable capacity is 146 MW. Further, 63 GW of renewable capacity is under construction which makes India one of the fastest growing economies in terms of renewable capacity addition.

Talking about India's vision on using Hydrogen as an energy use, India would be conducting competitive bids for green hydrogen in next 3-4 months to pave the road for viable usage of hydrogen as a fuel.

About the efforts of Indian Government in encouraging storage capacity Shri Singh said that to further support the integration of large renewable capacity, we have been working continuously to increase our Pumped Hydro Storage Capacity. In the near future, India will have bids to invite global and domestic manufacturers for developing battery storage in India on the cards. India will soon have bids for 4000 MWhr BESS bids and later will take up 12 GWhr project in Ladakh. He further added that  the world needs to come up with more number of eletrolyzers, battery storage facilities, etc. to bring economies of scale in these technologies and make these commercially viable. Only then, we will be able to truly shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy.

His address was followed by discussion with Industry Participants, moderated by Mr. Nolty Theriot, Senior Vice President – USISPF. The interaction is significant in light of the recently concluded US-India Strategic Clean Energy Partnership (SCEP) dialogue and the achievement of the GW renewable energy capacity addition milestone. Additionally, the interaction  provided platform for the private sector to give inputs on how energy cooperation between the US and India can support sustainable development, technology development & infrastructure development and facilitate investments to create opportunities for businesses and people, while being mindful of the need to create low carbon pathways.

24-Jun-2021: Finance Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman addresses US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) Board of Directors Investment Roundtable

The Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman today participated in the Global Investors Roundtable organised by the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) through video conferencing which witnessed participation from some of the largest foreign investors, including Mastercard, MetLife, Prudential, Air Products, Dell, SoftBank and Warburg Pincus amongst others. 

The event provided investors with an opportunity to engage with the Union Finance Minister and senior officials of Indian Government to discuss potential investment opportunities and deliberate on the role of ongoing policy reforms that will enable greater Ease-of-Doing-Business in India.   

Smt. Sitharaman discussed India’s opportunities for growth and investment pertaining to India’s wide-ranging reforms which continues to position the country as an attractive destination for foreign investors. The Finance Minister remarked that macro-economic stability, infrastructure-led economic growth opportunities, financial sector reforms, and positioning as a strong player in global supply chains are just some of the ways India continues to rise as a global economic powerhouse. The broad messages conveyed to the investors were:

1. Significant drop in new COVID infections in the country and decline of second wave
2. Strong Relief and Reforms undertaken by Government during the pandemic times
3. Continued macro-economic stability and resilience in economic recovery in the recent months
4. Vision to make India Self-Reliant (Aatma Nirbhar Bharat)
5. Steps taken for Infrastructure led economic growth
6. Creating multi-sectoral opportunities for investors
7. Strong track record of reform implementation in the last 6 years
8. Other strengths/advantages of India as an investment destination
9. Opportunities for investment in Climate, ESG and Sustainability focused investments.

In her concluding remarks, Smt. Sitharaman spoke about going ahead with an overall vision to build a self-reliant modern India driven by 5 “I’s” viz. Intent, Inclusion, Investment, Infrastructure and Innovation. The Finance Minister stated that the country is committed for long term relationship with US investors and proposes to meet twice yearly.

1. The continuous reforms make India a great place to do business.
2. Covid and its aftermath has shown Indian economy’s resilience.
3. Highest ever GST collections shows the bright spot-More formalisation of economy and tax compliance
4. Innovation and R&D got a great potential.
5. New opportunities emerging for foreign investors with recent FDI reforms privatisation policy and PLI scheme.
6. Fiscal situation is under control and expect to improve further.
7. 15 new unicorns in first 5 years of 2021 itself reflecting growing startup ecosystem to be amongst the best in the world.

Economic affairs Secretary Shri Ajay Seth highlighted about the broad themes of Budget 2021 and how changes made are far reaching and set the tone of interactive discussion that followed.

Shri Ajay Banga, CEO, Mastercard mentioned, “When United States and India, along with the best of the private sector, work together with a level playing field and fair competition to drive innovation and progress in India and for India, a great deal can be accomplished. “

Mr. George Oliver, Chairman and CEO, Johnson Control, mentioned, “We are extremely excited about the growth opportunity in India and expand further in India, one of the fastest emerging global economies. India has made significant progress and is expected to double its energy demand by 2040 and we are keen to support this growth story.”

Mr. Mark Widmar, CEO, First Solar, said, “Applaud the effort done already towards the investment opportunities in India, especially with the combination of Industrial policy and the trade barriers that have enabled this initiative. Also, encouraged to see the vaccination and economic progress”

About USISPF: The US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) is a non-profit organization, with the primary objective of strengthening the India-US bilateral and strategic partnership through policy advocacy in the fields of economic growth, entrepreneurship, employment-creation, and innovation.