Ontario to invest Rs.3 bn in Indian cleantech

Canada's Ontario plans to invest around (Canadian) $59.4 million (Rs.300 crore) for India's cleantech sector towards boosting renewable and other innovative clean technologies, an official statement said on Friday.

A recent trade mission here led by Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne entered into a number of agreements with Indian businessmen and the government across sectors, including 13 in cleantech, among which major ones were with the Advanced Energy Centre, the Himachal Pradesh State Electricty Board Ltd, Tech Mahindra and India Smart Grid Forum, it said.

"India's energy sector has a huge potential for renewable and other innovative clean technologies to address the energy supply gap, which is where the partnerships assume a strategic importance for the country," the statement said.

"This opens up door for setting up of more cleantech microgrids in India, and also importing of advanced technological solutions for Indian beneficiaries from their Ontarian counterparts," it added.

Ontario is currently implementing its new 'Climate Change Strategy' with an investment of nearly $100 million from the Ontario Green Investment Fund.

These would be channelized into projects that would reduce the greenhouse gas emissions, increase energy efficiency and support cleantech innovations.