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The renewable energy sector is estimated to create a $220 billion (over ₹20 trillion) investment opportunity by the end of this decade, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday at the inaugural session of the Bharat Renewable Energy Summit and Expo 2026.
Addressing industry leaders and investors, he said the sector had attracted over ₹15 trillion ($164 billion) in investment over the past decade. Highlighting that the clean energy sector would offer a huge opportunity, Modi said, “From RE Invest Summit in 2024 till now, the sector has attracted ₹6 lakh crore or $63 billion in investment.”
Emphasising the economic hurdles due to the West Asia crisis, he said that if India had not invested in green energy and made new arrangements for it over the past decade, its problems would have been much more serious than those of the rest of the world. “Energy security is directly related to economic security and its future is in clean energy,” PM Modi said.
He further added that if countries remained dependent on fossil fuels, the global economy would continue to face repeated disruptions.
After achieving the target of 50 per cent installed capacity from non-fossil sources in 2025, India is committed to achieving the target of 500 gigawatts (GW) of installed non-fossil fuel capacity, he said. “In the coming 10-11 years, our target is to add 500 GW of new non fossil capacity,” he said.
Speaking about the PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana, Modi said 6.5 million homes had been covered, with 100,000 new homes joining the scheme every six days. Electricity bills for these homes had declined by 76 per cent, according to a study, he added.
Further, speaking about the government’s agricultural solar pump scheme, PM KUSUM, he said farmers were saving ₹1 lakh each year.
He also mentioned that India had set a target of ₹2 trillion in investment under the Green Energy Corridor Phase III scheme.
He called for the rapid solarisation of government buildings, including schools and hospitals, and street lighting systems. He suggested that there should be healthy competition among states and local bodies to encourage better performance in solar power installations.
Modi urged start-ups, innovators and entrepreneurs to create models that would enable households to meet most of their energy needs through solar power. He also said the country should move towards a clean cooking movement in which households could reduce their dependence on imported gas.
There is a huge opportunity for investors and researchers in India’s clean energy sector, he said. “The scale and scope that India offers is difficult to find elsewhere. India’s political and policy stability is also difficult to find anywhere else,” he said.
Speaking at the same event, New and Renewable Energy Minister Pralhad Joshi said total investment in the renewable energy sector over the past two years stood at $67 billion, or ₹6 trillion, making it one of the biggest investments in a single sector. Foreign direct investment during this period was $6.2 billion, or ₹5.89 trillion, he added.
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