India’s green economy may churn 48-mn jobs, get $4.1-trn inflows

New Delhi: India could attract $4.1 trillion in cumulative green investments and create 48 million full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs by 2047, according to an independent study by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW).

The analysis further projects that India could also unlock a $1.1 trillion annual green market by 2047.

The first-of-its-kind national assessment identifies 36 green value chains across energy transition, circular economy and bio-economy and nature-based solutions that together represent a defining green economic opportunity for India’s journey towards Viksit Bharat.

A green economy is often viewed narrowly as solar panels and electric vehicles.

However, the study highlights a far broader opportunity that extends to bio-based materials, agroforestry, green construction, sustainable tourism, circular manufacturing, waste-to-value industries and nature-based livelihoods, each of which could scale into billion-dollar sectors over the next two decades while strengthening resource security and resilience.

“India’s green transition is fundamentally net positive: it can create millions of jobs, accelerate growth, improve public health and strengthen national security by shifting to domestic energy sources. The value chains identified in this CEEW study point to where this trillion-dollar opportunity lies,” said Jayant Sinha, president, Everstone Group and Eversource Capital and former Union minister of state.

“Policy stability addressing bottlenecks like land and usage of blended finance tools is now needed to de-risk investment. With a whole-of-government approach, India can mobilise the capital required to drive a green frontier development model,” he added.