Recently, the ‘ASIA ECONOMIC DIALOGUE 2022’, a three-day event stretched from 23rd – 25th Feb concluded which was hosted by the Pune International Centre. It’s a flagship geo-economics conference of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), India which was held virtually due to the pandemic. It was the 6th Edition of the annual conference and the theme of the conference for this year was: “Resilient Global Growth in the Post-Pandemic world”. (Source – Indian News Sites)
Ambassador Gautam Bambawale, an Indian diplomat and former Indian Ambassador to China, Pakistan, and Bhutan was the convener of this conference. Various dignitaries from the neighboring countries like Bhutan and Sri Lanka along with our own Foreign Minister, Mr. S. Jaishankar were the chief guests for this three-day event.
Among multiple speakers, Mr. Mukesh Ambani, Chairman, and Managing Director, Reliance Industries was also present and shared his views on India’s role in the energy and technology sector in the upcoming decade. In the last 20 years, India has emerged as a superpower in the field of IT (Information Technology) and further possesses the potential to become the same in the fields of Technology and Energy, said Mr. Ambani. This indeed is true and can be possible with the help of accurate government policies towards the energy and technology sector as well as meticulous initiatives by the private sector.
According to Indian Renewable Energy Industry Report, India is the fourth most attractive renewable energy market in the world. India ranked 4th in wind power, 5th in solar power, and 4th in renewable power installed capacity. With the data on the current rankings of India in the world, India does possess the capacity to become a green energy export hub.
With the much harsh effects of climate change which are visible now to us in the form of harsh weather conditions, destabilized marine life, and compromising human health, it has become essential for humankind to shift our focus from utilizing conventional energy resources to renewable ones.
In this process of shift, our private sector has shown a proactive attitude by taking the initiatives and through crucial business decisions, they have started to set arduous benchmarks for their competitors.
Mr. Ambani went on to highlight 3 factors that will help India to become a superpower in green energy which are:
a) Entrepreneurial Spirit
b) Proactive and forward-looking policy support & actions from the govt.
c) Assured financing options
The shift in the mindset of the Indian youth from job seeker to job giver and the determination to solve real-life problems demonstrate that they possess the right quality of entrepreneurial spirits. The Indian government too is aware of the true potential of the Indian youth and currently working to provide the best support through business-friendly policies with the target to build India a $ 5 Trillion Economy by 2025.
Assured Financing Options as the third pillar will help the aspiring businesses to put more focus towards solving the business problems instead of putting efforts towards financing the business.
Energy transition will determine geopolitical transition in the 21st century as new fuel will replace conventionally. This transition will help in boosting job creation and lead to foreign exchange savings on energy and electronics import bills. He further highlighted some key challenges which India has to overcome in order to become a world leader in the energy and tech sector. Those challenges are –
a) The country must increase energy output at an affordable price to drive double-digit GDP growth.
b) It must increase the share of green and clean energy.
c) It must achieve the goal of Self-Reliance or Atmanirbhar Bharat.
India currently has 83+ unicorns (Unicorn is a startup whose valuation is above $ 1 Billion) and ranks 3rd in the world after the United States and China. This has become a reality because of the three pillars above mentioned. He mentioned how Reliance became a $ 1 Billion and $ 200 Billion company in 15 years and 38 years respectively. But with better financing options and supporting government policies, he foresees 20-30 new energy and tech companies will become as big as Reliance if not bigger in the coming 10-20 years.
