INDIA will support offshore wind as a step towards its net zero ambitions, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in her budget speech on Thursday (Feb 1), galvanising markets but leaving observers cold.

Despite a lack of detail on how the initial target of one gigawatt capacity will be funded, wind turbine maker Suzlon Energy jumped as much as 5.1 per cent in Mumbai, the biggest intraday gain in almost three months.

The minister reiterated an intention to install rooftop solar panels over 10 million homes, a pledge first announced in January by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The speech fell short of giving a practical roadmap to reach the target.

“As far as net zero is concerned, it just scratched the surface,” said Vibhuti Garg, South Asia director with the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis.

“A lot more needs to be done in the space of deploying large-scale clean energy solutions for transport and industries in particular,” she said, adding that the speech failed to mention support for energy efficiency and other demand-side measures.

As part of the interim budget, to be fleshed out by a new government after this year’s elections, Sitharaman announced support for electric vehicle makers, including a financial mechanism to boost EV bus manufacturing.

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“We hope that the July budget has more capital outlay and tax concessions for domestic manufacturing of battery storage, electrolyzers and other components for decarbonising various sectors,” Garg said, as well as more support for EVs in the public and freight sectors.

The government has set bold targets for clean energy, while also expanding fossil fuels capacity to match accelerating demand. The world’s third-biggest emitter has leaned increasingly towards coal and adoption of electric vehicles has been slow to replace oil. BLOOMBERG