Last week, leading global investors, thought leaders and CEOs met in New Delhi to deliberate on broadening and deepening clean technology business in India. The participants included Rajat Gupta, director McKinsey; Tejpreet S Chopra, president & CEO, GE India; Raja Parthasarathy, MD, IDFC Private Equity; Anupam Yog, founder, Mirabilis Advisory and Nitin Desai, former UN under secretary-general. They were brought together by US-headquartered Cleantech Group, a global network of investors and companies, with more than $3 trillion in assets. Nicholas Parker, Co-founder & chairman, Cleantech Group, spoke to FE’s Rajiv Tikoo & Prachi Raturi Misra about the meet, global trends and outlook for India. Excerpts:
What was the outcome of the global clean technology investors meet?
We looked at a host of issues. How do we move the needle in a capital scarce world when there are a lot of competing priorities I think its less about government funding and more about government setting the standards or sending price signals. Secondly, it is about how do we allocate capital.
Last but not the least, we looked at the capital inflows in India. Though cleantech investment in India is relatively small from dollar or Re terms, India is second only to the US from a PPP angle or bang for the buck perspective. As the world wakes up, it will realise that India is not just the place for business process outsourcing, but also for knowledge processing. India has a culture of social and grassroots innovation, robust capital market, and a lot of intellectual property.
But its not translating into more venture capital investment into India. Why?
Its going down everywhere. The bad news is that it has gone down because of the economic crunch. A lot of capital is out there, which is waiting for valuations to be right. Its waiting for signals from the government policies. The good news is we are down to 2006 or 2007 levels. We are not down to 2002 levels or ground zero.
But the rest of the world has done better than India in the last quarter?
India will also pick up, but there has not been what I call a signature deal. When Suzlon went public, its a signature moment. There has not been something like that,but its going to be there soon.
How come China is doing much better than India?
China is a phenomenon in itself. China is seeing it differently than India. China has been viewed with suspicion on the world stage. So, it needs a calling card. It wants to be seen as a progressive superpower. Climate change and cleantech present an opportunity. China doesnt have capital scarcity. Besides, they have the ability to move very quickly. They dont have coalition governments to deal with.
What are the bottlenecks in India?
India is not seeing it as a business opportunity. Its seen as a western induced agenda. Infrastructure is a big problem. Its an Achilles heel of India.
What is your impression of CEOs take on clean technology in India?
Firstly, they tell me is what they are doing in the community. Then they tell me how do they improve their efficiency. But they dont get the full range of opportunities. Those are the major industrial houses. They are trapped in a corporate social responsibility (CSR) mentality. Then there are companies that get it and have the potential to be world leaders. They do their CSR, but they also have a world vision. For example, Kirloskar, Praj, Thermax and Moser Baer fall in this league.
So, what are the strengths India should work on?
India has a robust capital market. You can allocate capital. You do have a history of social innovation. Indian companies are much better at brand building than companies from other developing markets.
Well, it applies to all the sectors. Does India have any specific advantages in clean technology?
India is sitting on a lot of intellectual property in both government and private labs that has not seen the light of the day. We should see innovation at grassroots level.
What is your role? What do you bring to the table?
Our mission is to accelerate the deployment of clean technology. We do that by creating opportunities and relationships. We try to provide ground breaking research insights that people can access to make decisions. We create a platform for networking people. We also provide advisory services. We help people who get it to do it.
What do you see Copenhagen climate talks playing out How will it affect clean technology sector?
We got problems for two reasons. One, we have got a bureaucratic approach. It does not work in the 21st century. Secondly, Americans are still not there. Without Americans, let us assume that we dont get there or we dont get there in a meaningful way. As far as repercussions for clean technology are concerned, my belief is that price signals will kick in and drive change as they did when oil prices went up. It means its probably going to come in a chaotic way and with a great social disruption. And it might not necessarily be a benign outcome. For example, it may lead to more security problems and social unrest.
What is your outlook for clean technology in India?
I want to be an optimist, but its not easy to be an optimist. In India, its all about food. That is why I think India has a role in agriculture cleantech. For example, efficient water pumps.
Source: The Financial Express
Published on 20 October 2009