NITI Aayog released a landmark report titled Roadmap for Green Transition of MSMEs on January 21, 2026, alongside separate decarbonisation strategy documents for the cement and aluminium sectors. The Roadmap is a strategic 10-year action plan designed to guide India's 69 million Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises toward sustainable, low-carbon growth through energy efficiency improvements, renewable electricity adoption, process optimisation, and access to green financing instruments.
India's MSME sector contributes approximately 30 percent of GDP, has a 36.2 percent share in manufacturing, 45.7 percent share in exports, and provides 25 crore employment, making the sector's green transition critical for India's overall climate commitments. The report identifies key barriers to green transition including high upfront capital costs for clean technology adoption, limited awareness of energy-efficient technologies among small enterprises, restricted access to green finance and concessional lending, and significant technology gaps particularly in micro and small enterprises.
The roadmap recommends a phased approach beginning with mandatory energy audits for medium enterprises, followed by efficiency upgrades through technology modernisation schemes, adoption of rooftop solar and renewable energy procurement, and scaling implementation through phases from 2025-2030, 2030-2032, and 2032-2035. The report also proposes establishment of sectoral green hubs in industrial clusters, a dedicated Green MSME Fund with an initial corpus of ₹10,000 crore, and integration of sustainability metrics into MSME credit ratings. NITI Aayog recommended that the Ministry of MSME develop implementation guidelines within six months.