Inadequate Policy Support for RE Startups and SMEs in India: WWF India

There are only a handful of policies that help accelerate the growth of RE startups and SMEs to meet India’s clean energy demands, finds a new report.

While India’s move towards clean energy transition has led to the emergence of various startups and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), there are only a handful of policies that help accelerate the growth of these companies to meet India’s clean energy demands, according to a new report by World Wild Fund for Nature (WWF) India and cKinetics.

The report “Clean energy policy landscape in the SME sector” highlights that while almost 140 government interventions focus directly or/and indirectly on clean energy and startups and SMEs, only 38 policies actually target SMEs in the clean energy ecosystem, making it difficult for SMEs to reap the benefits of the provisions.

The report maps the clean energy ecosystem, attempting an analysis of the sector to identify individual constraints and to offer policy recommendations to propel the growth of cleantech SMEs in the country. It delves into six segments including solar rooftop, electric mobility, energy efficiency, smart energy, waste-to-energy and energy access, that are expected to have a considerable impact across key sectors such as industries, buildings, and transportation.

“The COVID-19 pandemic and its resultant lockdown have impacted SMEs and start-ups the most, leaving the sector to seek support from the government through policy reforms in order to bounce back and drive clean energy innovations in the country,” WWF India said in a statement announcing the launch of the report.

The report suggests practical steps be taken including credit guarantee and risk-mitigation mechanisms under public financing and augmenting funding under the public sector, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), and other avenues that would enable incubators to provide early-stage risk capital to start-ups.

In a report published last year, WWF India had detailed that 70 percent of top Indian corporates have shown increased uptake of renewable energy.

“The corporate sector has a critical role to play in supporting the sustainable growth of the economy, and for India to achieve its ambitious renewable energy targets. About 70 percent of the top 100 companies on the NSE are already procuring RE, 27 percent have made greenhouse gas commitments, and 22 percent have made renewable energy commitments,” said Ravi Singh, Secretary-General and CEO, WWF-India.