Government Working On Scheme To Manufacture More Efficient Air Conditioners

The Commerce Ministry's Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade is working on a scheme to boost manufacturing of more efficient cooling technologies, according to an official with knowledge of the matter.

The DPIIT will focus on the supply side and building up the manufacturing ecosystem for very efficient cooling devices, the official quoted above said on the condition of anonymity.

Currently, the department is still in the early stages of the project and is looking to leverage resources from multilateral partners, the person said. The new project will be partly funded by the government, according to the official.

The idea is to provide capacity-building support, R&D support and even some viability gap funding for setting up a manufacturing system for these super-efficient ACs, which initially will have a cost disability and be more pricier than existing products, the official said.

The DPIIT on Monday also held an industry workshop on cooling solutions in what was termed as a move towards climate adaptation. Organised in collaboration with the World Bank, with the support of the Ministry of Environment and Forests and the Bureau of Energy Efficiency, the ministry held an industry and stakeholder consultation workshop in New Delhi titled, 'Alleviating Heat stress by Enhancing production of Affordable cooling Devices' or AHEAD.

"(This) marks a pivotal step towards fortifying India against intensifying heat waves through sustainable and affordable cooling solutions. This was the first ever industry-led workshop that recognized cooling as an important climate adaptation issue," a ministry release on the matter said.

The Bureau of Energy Efficiency would handle the demand aspects of the project, like that of channeling the demand towards greater energy efficiency, proper labelling and consumer awareness, whereas the DPIIT will handle the supply side of things, the official quoted above said.

In terms of how this would compare against the existing PLI scheme for air conditioners, the official said that the scheme aims to bring in the latest technology and be even more efficient, in line with emerging needs.

The government approved a Production-Linked Incentive scheme for white goods, air conditioners and LED lights for up to Rs 6,238 crores as part of the existing 14 PLI schemes.

Forty two applicants showed interest in the overall PLI scheme for white goods, involving committed investments of Rs 4,614 crore. Of the 42, 26 were for air conditioner manufacturing, with committed investments of Rs 3,898 crore. It included prominent companies such as Daikin, Hitachi, Panasonic, Voltas, Blue Star, Mettube, Dixon and Havells.

Monday's workshop recognised the need for cost-effective, domestically-led technologies for ensuring affordability and catering to the large Indian population that will require cooling, the government release said. Sessions delved into manufacturing of space cooling, cold chain technologies, and district cooling systems, it said.

At the workshop, Secretary of DPIIT RK Singh spoke about "the cross-cutting nature of cooling", and indicated that the Ministry will take forward the workshop outcome with the World Bank Group and other stakeholders to formulate a tangible programme for implementation.  

India currently imports several of the cooling device components. A World Bank estimate said that the growing cooling sector in India provides a $1.6 trillion investment opportunity, and an expanded domestic manufacturing base will play a key role in tapping this opportunity.