Understanding Policy and Finance from the SME perspective for their Clean Energy Transitions
MSMEs holds a prominent position in the Indian economy and contributed to about 29.15% , 40.83% and 45.56% respectively to Gross Value Addition (GVA) in overall GDP; manufacturing GVA (both 2021-22), and all India exports in 2023-24. Further, the sector has employed around 155 million people since 2020 and has become the second-largest employment generating sector after agriculture. As India works to achieve its 450 GW of Renewable Energy target by 2030 and net zero emissions by 2070, it becomes necessary to adopt pathways to ensure environmental sustainability in addition to robust economic growth, given the country's current situation regarding resource extraction and disparate inequalities. Therefore, there is a great deal of room to develop a system that incorporates social justice, environmental responsibility, and economic efficiency into the new business models of SMEs.
The policies aimed for a clean energy transition in SMEs are essentially required to scale up the initiative. Further, the availability of finance is highly essential to accelerate adoption of clean energy technologies in SMEs in India. While clean energy schemes do offer direct financial incentives, grants, or subsidies aimed at encouraging the adoption of efficient technologies and practices that lead to energy savings; there are several challenges and gaps that need to be addressed immediately for accelerating clean energy adoption.
WRI will be launching a Working Paper titled ‘Analyzing the Policy Landscape for Supporting the Energy Transition in Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) in India’ and sharing a Conference Proceedings of series of roundtables on ‘Financing Clean Energy Technologies in SME in India’, respectively during the proceedings of the webinar which speak in detail about the policy and financial aspects required for enabling a green shift among the SMEs.
The launch will be followed by a panel discussion that will talk about the following points, among others:
- Why is policy push required for enabling a clean Energy Transition in SMEs.
- How public and private finance can enable a shift towards greening of SMEs.
- What is the current scenario and how the future looks like for SMEs and clean energy transition in India.
SPEAKERS
- Jarnail Singh, Deputy Director, India Office - MacArthur Foundation, (TBC).
- Manilal Chaudhary, Regional Manager, Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI).
- Sanjeev Chawla, Director, MSME DI, Haryana.
- Girja Shankar, General Manager, Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL).
- Neha Mudaliar, Senior Vice President & Head, Climate Finance, Northern Arc Capital.
- Ashim Roy, Program Lead – Energy Finance, WRI India (Moderator)
