Geopolitical instability has disrupted global trade, creating a vacuum that India must use to boost its cleantech manufacturing and economic growth, former NITI Aayog CEO and India’s G20 Sherpa, Amitabh Kant said on Wednesday.
In his address at the annual Anil Agarwal Dialogue organised by the Centre for Science and Environment, Amitabh Kant highlighted India’s potential to become a global leader in battery manufacturing, electric two-wheeler, and three-wheeler production, and other sustainable industries.
“It’s a huge opportunity for India to do battery manufacturing. If you do not do this, we will become a colony importing goods from China and our imports in all these clean tech manufacturing will become huge, much more than what we do in terms of oil,” he said.
He recalled how China stepped up when US President Donald Trump withdrew from the Paris Agreement in 2016.
As a result, China now controls 80 per cent of the world’s critical minerals. Amitabh Kant believes a similar opportunity is emerging, and India should seize it to strengthen its clean-tech sector.
However, he also pointed out weaknesses in India’s municipal governance, stating that poor management has worsened pollution and urban challenges.
“If 42 of the cities in India are amongst the 50 worst polluting cities in the world, then there is a huge failure of municipal governance,” he said.
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He added that it has nothing to do with finances or the Central government.
He stressed the need for better pricing of water and electricity to prevent wastage, contending that free electricity has led to excessive groundwater extraction.
He suggested a pricing model where those who consume less should pay lower rates, while heavy consumers should pay significantly more.
“I entirely agree that water needs to be priced because India, with 17 per cent of the world’s population, has just 4 per cent of water,” he noted.
He added that 90 per cent of water is being consumed by agriculture.
“That means rice and sugar cane are consuming all your water. And we are actually exporting virtual water in the name of basmati rice,” he noted.
Citing Singapore’s transformation from a per capita income of $600 in 1965 to $90,000 today, he said India can achieve similar success through governance and economic reforms.
