New Delhi: Minister of State (MoS) for New and Renewable Energy Shripad Yesso Naik on Thursday called on governments, industry, startups, academia, financial institutions and international partners to act in concert to build a green hydrogen ecosystem in India capable of competing globally.
Follow Energy Watch on X
He was addressing the second edition of the Bharat Green Hydrogen Summit 2026, held by industry body FICCI. Naik told the gathering that the worldwide shift in energy systems had moved into a fresh stage.
"The question today is no longer whether green hydrogen will become a cornerstone of industrial decarbonisation, but which nations will lead this transformation. India is uniquely positioned to emerge as a global leader in the hydrogen economy," he said.
He appealed to the audience to work jointly so that green hydrogen made in India comes to stand, in his words, as the world's trusted symbol of clean energy, technological excellence and sustainable industrial growth.
According to the minister, the National Green Hydrogen Mission has put in place an ecosystem that is both robust and prepared for what lies ahead. He listed the components he credited with converting policy intent into commercial activity: incentives on the production side, electrolyser manufacturing developed within the country, demand being generated in the refining and fertiliser sectors, pilot deployments spanning mobility, shipping and steel, and a regulatory structure designed to support the sector.
"Green hydrogen in India is no longer an idea of the future; it is becoming a fast-growing economic opportunity. From commercial-scale production to recently inaugurated India's first indigenously developed hydrogen-powered train, our progress reflects the breadth of capabilities needed to position India as a global hydrogen hub," he said.
Naik cautioned that manufacturing volume alone would not deliver hub status. He identified six further requirements: innovation, competitive costs, supply chains able to withstand disruption, standards that gain acceptance internationally, a trained workforce, and international partnerships built to last.
That combination, he said, is why the effort has to be shared across government, companies, startups, universities, lenders and overseas partners.
Gujarat's Minister of State for Energy, Rushikesh Ganeshbhai Patel, told the summit his state intends to serve as India's engine of green hydrogen growth.
Patel said Gujarat brings together plentiful renewable resources, port infrastructure he described as world-class, an established industrial base and what he characterised as a forward-looking Green Hydrogen Policy, giving the state a single integrated setting for production, innovation and export activity. He asked companies to take up partnerships in the state.
Ed Jager, Minister (Commercial) at the High Commission of Canada in India, said India's goal of establishing itself as a global green hydrogen hub was, in his assessment, both believable and within reach.
FICCI Director General Jyoti Vij said India is working towards a share of roughly 10 percent of the worldwide green hydrogen market by the end of the decade. Reaching that share, she said, means concentrating on export infrastructure of the highest standard, supply chains that buyers can rely on, and establishing India as a durable strategic partner to countries pursuing decarbonisation.
Follow Energy Watch on LinkedIN
A joint FICCI-EY study titled 'Towards a Green Hydrogen Economy: India's Export Competitiveness and Strategic Outlook' was launched at the summit. The report sets out the path India would need to follow to become a globally competitive exporter of green hydrogen and the derivatives made from it.