India Ranks Third Globally in Clean Industry Projects, But Investment Lags
India has the world’s third-largest pipeline of clean industrial projects, trailing only China and the US, but only six of these projects have reached the final investment decision stage. The pipeline, developed in partnership with BCG and the Industrial Transition Accelerator, represents over $150 billion in potential investment, 200,000 jobs, and significant CO₂ emission reductions. However, high costs, regulatory delays, and financing challenges are slowing progress toward operational status.
India’s clean industrial project pipeline is now the third largest globally, following China and the United States, according to a joint report by the Industrial Transition Accelerator (ITA) and BCG[2][5]. This pipeline includes 65 commercial-scale projects across sectors like chemicals, steel, cement, aviation, and aluminium, with a potential investment exceeding $150 billion, creation of over 200,000 jobs, and annual CO₂ emission reductions of 160–175 million tonnes—equivalent to 5–6% of India’s national emissions[5]. Despite this impressive pipeline, only six projects have so far reached the Final Investment Decision (FID) stage, highlighting significant barriers to progress[3][6]. Key challenges include high capital costs, limited access to affordable financing, regulatory and permitting delays, inadequate infrastructure, and a lack of robust demand-side policies such as blending mandates or green procurement rules[4][6]. The ITA’s India Project Support Programme aims to address these bottlenecks by mobilizing stakeholders to align policy, demand, and finance, and to help flagship projects achieve bankable status[1]. The report emphasizes that, without enabling policy frameworks and expanded financing, India risks missing out on the global clean industrial transformation already advancing in other regions[4][5]. Coordinated action across policy, finance, and technology ecosystems is critical to unlocking investment, strengthening value-chain linkages, and positioning India as a global hub for clean manufacturing and green exports[5].
