Roundtable discussion on Financing Clean Energy Technologies in SMEs in India

Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) form the backbone of the Indian economy and are considered to be the driver of economic growth, job creation and development. The 63.38 million enterprises provide employment to about 111 million people and contribute about 45% to manufacturing output, 40% to exports and nearly 28% to the country’s GDP. This makes the MSMEs a significantly energy intensive sector of the Indian economy and are characterized by a resource intensive technology profile. The sector accounts for consuming about 25% of the total electricity consumed by the industrial sector of the country and its total energy consumption is expected to increase from 30 million toe in 2016-17 to 72.17 million toe in 2029-30. The energy intensive nature of the sector consequently results in higher emissions.

India’s recently, updated Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) submitted to the UNFCCC, commits the nation to achieve 50% of its installed electricity energy base capacity in 2030 from non-fossil fuel sources. There is an additional 500 GW target for Renewable Energy (RE) by the same period. Clean Energy Technology solutions that encompass RE expansion and enhancement of energy efficiency in the SME unit are equally important to realize the net zero emissions target of India. The Government of India and State Governments at their respective levels have announced a series of policies, schemes and initiatives that are aimed at decarbonizing the SME sector in India but adopting clean energy measure, finance is one of the major challenges.

This roundtable is organized as part of the Working Paper on “Financing Clean Energy Technologies for SMEs in India”. The objective of the roundtable is to enhance the knowledge, gain valuable insights to accelerate financing for clean energy technologies for SMEs in India. The roundtable is being organized to solicit view, opinion, ideas from multiple stakeholders including banks/ FI, DFI, Nodal agencies for clean energy/ energy efficiency for MSMEs, MSME Cluster Association, MSMEs, Industry association on financing challenges and opportunities for financing clean energy technologies for SMEs.

This roundtable will consist of two sections of 45-50 min each:

• Part I will be a discussion with experts from different backgrounds, including banks/FIs, MSMEs, nodal agencies and DFIs to introduce the concept and set the agenda for further discussion.

• Part II will be break out group session, using micro board to gather views/ opinions from multiple stakeholders for recommended action to accelerate the scale of financing for clean energy technologies in SMEs in India.

The panel will address the following questions, among others:

• What factors are leading to limited uptake of clean energy technologies SMEs in India and what is the relative significance of finance among these factors?
• What are the key barriers that restrict present demand and supply of credit for clean energy technologies adoption in SMEs?
• What kind of possible financial solutions will facilitate wider adoption and scaling of clean energy technologies in SME across different states and industrial clusters?
• Explore different financial mechanism, schematic lending programs, risk sharing arrangements available for SMEs in India
• What are the possible ways to utilize identified existing financial instruments for implementing clean energy technology in SME?
• What are the possible recommended solutions for scaling implementations in SME?

SPEAKERS

• Deepak Gupta, cker Finance
• Pamli Deka, Private Financing Advisory Network (PFAN)
• Sachin Kumar, Shakti Foundation*
• Sachin Verma, Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI)*
• Ashim Roy, Program Lead Energy Finance, WRI Energy Program (Moderator)

*To be confirmed