India has well-established infra to attract FDI in renewables, telecom: Eco Survey

New Delhi, July 22: India has a well-established infrastructure to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) in sectors like greenfield projects such as renewables, digital services such as telecommunications, software and hardware, and consultancy services, the Economic Survey 2023-2024 said on Monday.

Over the medium term, India is focusing on integrating its value chain with that of the West, particularly in sectors like renewable energy and advanced technology, including AI, semiconductors, and next-generation telecommunications.

The Survey said this strategy is being pursued through agreements such as the Australia-India Free Trade Agreement and the US-India Clean Energy Initiative.

“As a result, the trading patterns within these sectors are starting to develop. For example, the tariff classifications for environmentally friendly technology, such as solar water heaters, waste recycling devices, and wind turbines, show an increase in exports to the USA from $199.2 million in FY20 to $326.9 million in FY24,” according to the Survey.

Further, leading American and European companies in the renewable energy sector, such as First Solar, Vesta, and Scatec, have established their operations in India to take advantage of the growing demand for green technologies.

India ranks second in the world in telecommunication, computer, and information services exports, sixth in personal, cultural and recreational services exports, eighth in other business services exports, 10th in transport services exports, and 14th in travel services exports.

Keeping in view India’s vision of becoming ‘Aatmanirbhar’, Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes for 14 key sectors were announced with an outlay of Rs 1.97 lakh crore to enhance India’s manufacturing capabilities and exports.

Over Rs 1.28 lakh crore of investment was reported until May 2024, which has led to production/sales of Rs 10.8 lakh crore and employment generation (direct & indirect) of over 8.5 lakh.

Exports were boosted by Rs 4 lakh crore, with significant contributions from sectors such as large-scale electronics manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, food processing, and telecom & networking products.

The Survey said that telecommunication is the gateway to the fast-paced growth of digital services in India.

The overall teledensity (number of telephones per 100 population) in India increased from 75.2 per cent in March 2014 to 85.7 per cent in March 2024.

The number of wireless telephone connections stood at 116.5 crore at the end of March 2024.

Currently, India is amongst the fastest-growing 5G networks in the world.

The Bharat 6G Alliance was launched in July last year as a collaborative platform of public and private companies, academia, research institutions and standards development organisations to enable India to become a leading global supplier of IP, products and solutions of affordable 5G, 6G and other future telecom solutions.

The total number of mobile towers in the country is 8.02 lakh as of June 2024 while the number of Base Transceiver Stations (BTSs) stood at 29.37 lakh and 5G BTSs were 4.5 lakh.