'India can't be next factory of the world by copying China'

India can't become the next factory of the world by copying China, NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said on Thursday and emphasised that the country needs to get into sunrise areas of growth if it wants to be a global leader.

Addressing a virtual event organised by industry body CII, Kant said India's private sector has to set ambitious targets for itself and focus on green hydrogen, high-end batteries and advanced solar panels to become competitive. "India cannot become the next factory of the world by copying China... We have always got into sunset areas of growth, this is the time to get into sunrise areas of growth," he said.

According to him, India should not get into areas where China is already a leader. "India has the strongest global companies in the renewable sector... these (hydrogen, high end batteries, advanced solar panels) are areas of technology of growth, if you want to be a global leader," he noted. Kant said India can be a major exporter of both green hydrogen and green ammonia, and also added that in the next five years, solar energy prices should come down to Re 1 per unit. "And, therefore, this will create a situation where India's green products will be cheaper than India's high carbon products," he emphasised.

Pointing out that only 18 per cent of India's final energy consumption is in the form of energy, he said that the rest 82 per cent needs other forms of decarbonisation. Citing Niti Aayog's analysis, Kant said Europe and America together will be importing close to 500 gigawatts of green hydrogen and green ammonia. "India should target to export at least 200 gigawatts of this green hydrogen and green ammonia by 2030," he said. Further, he said the Indian Industry needs to strive to become lean, digital and invest in skills, corporate R&D and cutting edge product innovations to be competitive. "The new technology has to be shared, connected and electric," he said. Noting that disruption caused by the Covid pandemic must be used by the private sector to become globally competitive, Kant said, "the world is moving towards green technology. The old technology will die, the green technology is the future". He also said that India is looking at innovative projects for reducing costs in green energy projects. Kant said Niti Aayog is working closely with many states on electric vehicles and green mobility, and appreciated the progress made by the states in promoting green mobility.