NEW DELHI: India’s renewable energy Industry received foreign direct investment (FDI) worth $7.27 billion from 2014-15 till June 2021, said the ministry of New and Renewable Energy on Tuesday.
The ministry also mentioned that India’s renewable energy programme is driven by private sector investments.
“As per Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) data Cell, DPIIT, the Indian ‘Non-Conventional Energy’ sector received approximately US$ 7.27 billion as FDI from the year 2014-15 up to June 2021. Of this, FDI of US$ 797.21 million was attracted during 2020-21,” said the ministry in a statement.
The credit for hike in FDI, the ministry gives to its liberal foreign investment policy that allows the foreign investors to enter into joint ventures with an Indian partner for financial and/or technical collaboration and for setting up of renewable energy-based power generation projects. Up to 100 % foreign investment as equity qualifies for automatic approval, under the extant FDI policy of the government.
As per REN21 Renewables 2020 Global status Report , during the period 2014 -2019, renewable energy programmes and projects in India attracted an investment of US$ 64.4 billion. In the year 2019 alone, US$ 11.2 billion were invested.
“New opportunities have emerged, and altogether new business space has been created. Indian companies have begun to explore foreign stock exchanges as a source of funds. India is progressively becoming a favored destination for investment in renewable energy,” said the ministry.
At COP 21, India had committed to achieving 40% of its installed electricity capacity from non-fossil energy sources by 2030. The government claims to have achieved this target in November 2021 itself.