Product Linked Incentives (PLIs) and subsidies are detrimental to long-term growth and development of the clean energy sector, Commerce & Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said. “PLI schemes can only help kickstart the sector, but the clean energy sector must strive to become  self-sustaining and independent of the government,” he said while unveiling the Bharat Cleantech Manufacturing Platform at the Bharat Climate Forum 2025.

The Bharat Cleantech Manufacturing Platform is an initiative designed to enhance India’s cleantech value chains in the solar, wind, hydrogen and battery storage sectors, according to a press statement issued by the Commerce & Industry Ministry on Saturday.

Goyal hoped that the participants at the Forum would be able to achieve the target set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi of setting up 500 Giga Watt (GW) of clean energy sources by 2030 in the country, 

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy is implementing the PLI Scheme for National Programme on High Efficiency Solar PV Modules, for achieving manufacturing capacity of GW scale in High Efficiency Solar PV modules with outlay of ₹24,000 crore. The scheme has provision for PLI to the selected solar PV module manufacturers for five years post commissioning, on manufacture and sale of High Efficiency Solar PV modules.

‘Think innovatively’

Goyal asked the participants at the event to think innovatively, and increase manufacturing scale in the country. He said that the launch of the Bharat Cleantech Manufacturing Platform will provide an opportunity for the Indian firms to collaborate, to co-innovate and will help provide a platform for financing, to share ideas, technologies and resources. 

“This will help India become an attractive business case and a global leader in the sustainability and cleantech sector”, he added. 

India has been one of the best performing countries in terms of meeting the Nationally Determined Contributions (NCDs) submitted in 2015 to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Paris Agreement, the Minister noted. 

Ahead of schedule

“We have achieved the target of installing renewable or clean energy by 2022, eight years ahead of schedule. Having achieved the milestone of setting up 200 GW of clean energy, we are well poised to achieving 500 GW (by 2030),” he infomed. 

The challenges of climate change is not new to India, the Minister said, adding that Gujarat was one of the first States to adopt solar power.