Governance Under Modi Has Boosted Green Growth: Indian RE Industry CEOs Study

The Indian RE Industry has given a pass certificate to the five years of Modi government rule with 78 per cent of the respondents in an assessment of CEOs of the industry feeling that this government has boosted industry growth by snowballing the renewable target to 175 GW.

In the face of policy reversals and various other operational challenges faced by the industry, a bulk of the respondents (73 per cent) are positive about its growth forecasts, the survey, steered by consultancy firm Bridge to India, discovers.

“Modi government has failed in maintaining a consistent policy and business environment. Imposition of trade barriers and GST has added uncertainty and confusion. Industry expects the new government to improve business execution and provide policy stability,” the firm said in a statement on the highlights of the CEO Survey.

It further that India is anticipated to add 80 GW of renewable energy capacity in the next 5 years and a bulk of this capacity addition (47 GW) is projected in utility scale solar segment while floating and grid scale storage are also estimated to pick pace.

Though, the most pressing issue for the industry is offtake risk, followed by challenges in land acquisition and uncertainty in overall policy environment, according to the CEO survey.

“49 per cent of the industry feels that bidding in the sector is irrationally aggressive. The industry remains unenthusiastic about the prospects of domestic manufacturing. However, in comparison to last year, the outlook has considerable improved,” according to the survey.

Based on the survey of the top honchos of the industry, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka top the list of preferred states on overall ease of doing business whereas Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana occupy the bottom three spots.