India’s green economy may attract $4.1 trillion investments, create 48 million jobs: Study

India could attract USD 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 USD 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.

Amitabh Kant, former G20 Sherpa and former CEO, NITI Aayog, said as India moves beyond a USD 3 trillion economy, the country cannot follow the development models of the West.

“With much of our infrastructure yet to be built, we have a unique chance to design cities, industries and supply chains around circularity, clean energy and the bioeconomy. Just as digital public infrastructure enabled India to leapfrog technologically — achieving in seven years what would have taken decades — we must now pole-vault into a green economy.

“While much of the world remains locked into legacy systems, a Viksit Bharat built on circular and resource-efficient value chains can define a new development pathway and set a global benchmark for green growth,” he said.

According to CEEW analysis, energy transition alone could generate 16.6 million FTE jobs and attract USD 3.79 trillion in investments across renewables, storage, distributed energy and clean mobility manufacturing.

Electric mobility would be the single largest employer within the green economy, driving over 57 per cent of all energy-transition jobs. Bio-economy and nature-based solutions, anchored in India’s rural and peri-urban landscapes, could create 23 million jobs and unlock USD 415 billion in market value.

The top job-generating value chains within this segment include chemical-free agriculture and bio-inputs (7.2 million FTE jobs), agroforestry and sustainable forest management (4.7 million FTE jobs), and wetland management (3.7 million FTE jobs).

Abhishek Jain, director, Green Economy and Impact Innovations, CEEW, said pursuing a green economy will not just create jobs and economic prosperity for India, it will also help us secure the fuels and resources of the future.

“India today imports 87 per cent of its crude, which can be reduced to zero with electric vehicles, solar energy and next-generation bioethanol and biodiesel. We import 100 per cent of our lithium, nickel and cobalt, and even 93 per cent of copper ore — all of which can become zero-import with a circular economy.

“We are heavily dependent on fertiliser imports — all of our potash is imported, and 88 per cent of urea is directly or indirectly import-dependent. With bio-inputs for agriculture and the bioeconomy at large, we can secure our food and material needs. For India, green is not a choice; it is an imperative,” he said.