The conference commenced with the welcome address by Dr. Jatinder Singh, Deputy Secretary General, PHDCCI, in the presence of Guest of Honour Mr. Satyaki Rastogi, Chief General Manager, SIDBI, and Guest of Honour Mr. Saurabh Diddi, Director, Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), Ministry of Power, Government of India. The session also featured Mr. Ravinder Bhan, Senior Director, Indian Steel Association (ISA); Mr. Ajay Sharma, Joint Director, National Accreditation Board for Certification Bodies (NABCB); and Mr. R. R. Rashmi, Distinguished Fellow – Green Shipping, TERI, as Special Guests, who shared their perspectives on India’s preparedness for CBAM and the country’s low-carbon industrial transition.

Welcoming the participants, Dr. Jatinder Singh said that with the European Union’s CBAM entering its definitive phase from 1 January 2026, carbon competitiveness has become a permanent determinant of global market access. He highlighted that the EU, India’s third-largest trading partner with bilateral goods trade of nearly €118 billion, is a key destination for Indian exports in sectors such as iron & steel, aluminium, cement and fertilisers. Referring to the early impact of CBAM, he noted that India’s steel and aluminium exports to Europe have already witnessed pressure, signalling the urgency for industry to strengthen emissions monitoring and carbon reporting systems. He emphasised that while large enterprises may be better equipped to respond, MSMEs require urgent support through technology adoption, affordable verification infrastructure, cleaner energy access and simplified reporting mechanisms. He further called for strengthening India’s carbon pricing framework, accelerating industrial decarbonisation and building robust institutional capacity for Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV) to ensure India’s long-term competitiveness in global trade.

Addressing the conference, Mr. Satyaki Rastogi highlighted that CBAM is likely to impact not only exporters but the entire manufacturing value chain, with MSMEs bearing the highest compliance burden due to the costs associated with technology upgradation, audits, certification and verification. He stressed the need for coordinated policy interventions, common testing and certification facilities, awareness and capacity-building programmes, and affordable financing solutions to facilitate the transition. Highlighting SIDBI’s commitment to sustainable industrial growth, he informed that SIDBI has been promoting green finance since 2011, and today over 40% of its ₹50,000 crore direct lending portfolio supports energy-efficient and environmentally sustainable manufacturing.

Delivering the Government’s perspective, Mr. Saurabh Diddi stated that while CBAM directly affects sectors such as steel and aluminium, its implications extend across the entire supply chain, including indirect exporters and MSMEs. He informed that the Government is actively engaging with the European Union and the United Kingdom to secure recognition of India’s Carbon Credit Trading Scheme (CCTS), facilitate acceptance of Indian Accredited Carbon Verification Agencies for CBAM compliance, and explore comparative benchmarking mechanisms that better reflect India’s energy profile. He also announced that draft compliance targets for the steel sector under the CCTS have been released for public consultation, while trading under the Indian Carbon Market is expected to commence by October 2026, creating a domestic ecosystem to support industrial decarbonisation and reduce compliance costs.

Speaking on behalf of the steel industry, Mr. Ravinder Bhan observed that CBAM has emerged as a significant trade barrier for India’s steel sector, the world’s second-largest steel producer, with an installed capacity of around 220 million tonnes and a target of 300 million tonnes by 2030. He stressed that while leading steel manufacturers are investing heavily in decarbonisation technologies, MSMEs continue to face significant financial and technical challenges in meeting international verification requirements. He advocated internationally recognised carbon credits, affordable verification mechanisms, public procurement of green steel, accelerated deployment of green hydrogen and resource-efficient technologies, and greater diversification of export markets to safeguard India’s competitiveness.

Sharing the broader policy perspective, Mr. R. R. Rashmi said that India’s response to CBAM should go beyond compliance and focus on building a strong domestic carbon governance framework. He called for establishing a nationwide emissions inventory and data management system, mandatory energy and emissions reporting, and cost-effective MRV mechanisms covering industries of all sizes. He also recommended mutual recognition of Indian verification agencies with the European Union and the creation of a dedicated carbon transition support fund under India’s Carbon Credit Trading Scheme to help industries, particularly MSMEs, invest in cleaner technologies and improve their global competitiveness.

Mr. Ajay Sharma, Joint Director, National Accreditation Board for Certification Bodies (NABCB), highlighted the pivotal role of accreditation, conformity assessment and internationally recognised certification systems in enabling Indian industry to meet evolving global sustainability requirements. He emphasised that strengthening India’s domestic verification ecosystem and building internationally credible accreditation mechanisms will be critical to ensuring reliable Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV), reducing compliance costs and enhancing the global acceptance of Indian exporters in carbon-regulated markets.

A common theme across the inaugural session was the need for India to transition from awareness to action by strengthening domestic carbon markets, expanding access to green finance, promoting clean technologies, reducing compliance costs for MSMEs and creating internationally credible emissions reporting systems. Speakers agreed that while CBAM presents immediate challenges, it also offers an opportunity to modernise India’s manufacturing sector, accelerate decarbonisation and enhance long-term global competitiveness.

The conference continued with two insightful technical sessions on “CBAM Compliance & India’s Industrial Readiness” and “Industrial Decarbonisation, Clean Tech & Green Finance”, bringing together leading policymakers, industry experts, financial institutions and technology providers to deliberate on practical pathways for carbon compliance, clean technology adoption, green finance, carbon markets and industrial decarbonisation. The conference concluded with a shared resolve among stakeholders to strengthen collaboration and accelerate India’s transition towards a sustainable, resilient and globally competitive manufacturing ecosystem, well-positioned to thrive in the emerging low-carbon global economy.

#TERI #AIDA #DISCOMs #RKC #SustainableEnergy #KnowledgeSharing #EnergyTransition #PowerDistribution #CleanEnergy #Innovation #Collaboration

Bengaluru, September 23, 2025: The Tata Chemicals Limited (TCL)–TERI Centre of Excellence (CoE) on Biochemicals was inaugurated today by Mr Nitin Desai, Chairman, TERI; Mr R Mukundan, Managing Director & CEO, Tata Chemicals Limited; and Dr Vibha Dhawan, Director General, TERI.

Established jointly by Tata Chemicals Limited (TCL) and The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), the Centre has been conceived to develop cost-effective, innovative technologies for platform and specialty biochemicals from renewable first- and second-generation feedstocks. The Centre is equipped with state-of-the-art bioreactor facilities of different scales—small, medium, and large—for upstream production of fermentation-based biochemicals. These are complemented by pilot-scale downstream recovery systems, enabling advanced research and development. Together, the facilities provide a platform to validate integrated bioprocess technologies at demonstration scale–a critical step towards commercialization.

The Centre’s initial research focus is on the low-cost, demonstration-scale production of 2,3-Butanediol, a versatile platform chemical with wide applications in plastics, polymers, pharmaceuticals, paints, food additives, rubber, and as a precursor for bio-jet fuel. Co-ordinated by Dr Sanjukta Subudhi, Associate Director, TERI, the Centre builds on TERI’s pioneering work in bio-based 2,3-Butanediol and will serve as a biomanufacturing hub for demonstrating scalable technologies for various specialty biochemicals, while also fostering domain expertise and training skilled professionals in this emerging field.

In his welcome address, Mr Nitin Desai, Chairman, TERI, said, “India’s chemical industry is at a critical juncture. To achieve the vision of a US$1 trillion market by 2040 while meeting our climate goals, we must shift from fossil-based processes to sustainable alternatives. The Tata Chemicals–TERI Centre of Excellence represents a significant step in that direction by marrying scientific innovation with industrial application.”

Speaking on the significance of the Centre for India’s bioeconomy, Mr R Mukundan, Managing Director & CEO, Tata Chemicals Limited, remarked, “India’s chemical industry is undergoing a transformative shift, from fossil-based production to sustainable biomanufacturing. The inauguration of the Centre of Excellence on Biochemicals is a step towards harnessing the power of biotechnology being explored for solutions of the future. With this beginning, we expect to see advancing innovations in the sector, as well as the development of a resilient, circular bioeconomy. The CoE will serve as a crucible for cutting-edge research, scalable technologies and skilled talent – paving the way for India to lead the global transition to green chemistry.”

Emphasising the role of industry–academia partnerships in driving green growth, Dr Vibha Dhawan, Director General, TERI, observed, “This Centre is more than a research facility, it is a biomanufacturing hub designed to bridge the gap between lab-scale innovation and commercial-scale production. By building expertise, infrastructure, and partnerships, we are laying the foundation for India’s leadership in sustainable biochemical production, aligned with the Government of India’s Bio-E³ policy.”

With India’s chemical industry currently valued at around US$220 billion and projected to reach nearly US$1 trillion by 2040, there is a growing imperative to transition towards sustainable production pathways. The sector, ranked sixth globally, supplies critical inputs for industries such as pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, textiles, paints, and polymers but remains heavily dependent on fossil-based feedstocks that contribute to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Biotechnology offers a viable alternative through fermentation-based production of platforms and specialty chemicals from renewable resources. Fermentation-derived products including enzymes, metabolites, fatty acids, bio-pigments, and biopolymers; already have wide industrial applications across pharmaceuticals, textiles, nutraceuticals, personal care, and plastics. However, specialty biochemicals such as 2,3-Butanediol, propanediol, and succinic acid are not yet produced at commercial scale in India, primarily due to high costs of downstream recovery, which account for nearly 70% of total production costs.

Aligned with the Bio-E³ (Biotechnology for Economy, Environment and Employment) policy of the Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India, the Centre will foster high-performance biomanufacturing of clean biomolecules and support green growth through innovative, collaborative research in the public-private partnership (PPP) mode.

The inauguration of the TCL–TERI Centre of Excellence on Biochemicals marks a milestone in India’s journey towards a bio-based economy. By bridging the gap between laboratory innovation and commercial-scale production, the Centre is set to play a pivotal role in reducing reliance on fossil-based feedstocks, advancing green technologies, and positioning India as a global leader in sustainable biomanufacturing.

The MoU signing ceremony took place at Hyderabad, in the esteemed presence of Shri Manohar Lal, Union Minister of Power and Housing & Urban Affairs, and Shri A. Revanth Reddy, Chief Minister of Telangana. Senior officials from the Ministry of Power, BEE, TERI, and the Government of Telangana were also in attendance.