Green transition

India needs better, long-term planning

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New research published by the NITI Aayog this week has brought India’s long-term climate strategy into sharper focus. It lays out pathways to a “Viksit Bharat” by 2047 while keeping the country on track to achieve net-zero emission by 2070.

India’s cumulative investment needs by 2070 are estimated at $14.7 trillion under a current-policy scenario and $22.7 trillion under a net-zero scenario. This implies an average annual investment of roughly $500 billion over the coming decades. By contrast, the current investment is estimated at around $135 billion per year, leaving a large and persistent gap. Even under optimistic assumptions about domestic capital formation, the study estimates that India could mobilise about $16.2 trillion by 2070. This still leaves a financing gap of around $6.5 trillion, which would have to be bridged largely through international capital, concessionary finance, and grants.