"Cleantech" The Greatest opportunity for India.

What is CleanTech?

Clean tech encompasses a constellation of environmentally-sustainable technologies spanning multiple value chains in four primary economic sectors - energy, water, materials and transportation. Individually, these technologies are focused on the optimization of natural resources. Collectively, they are the basic elements of a broader systemic response to the systemic challenges of sustainability. The following taxonomy provides a basic snapshot of the core technologies that define the cleantech space:

Energy Generation
Energy Storage
Energy Infrastructure
Energy Efficiency
Transportation
Water & Wastewater
Air & Environment
Materials
Manufacturing/Industrial
Agriculture
Recycling & Waste

Clean tech has also been defined as:

“Clean tech is a diverse range of products, services, and processes that harness renewable materials and energy sources, dramatically reduce the use of natural resources, and cut or eliminate emissions and wastes . . . [which are] are competitive with, if not superior to, their conventional counterparts.”

–Clean Edge, Inc.

Its widely believed that cleantech is the single biggest investment opportunity of the 21st century. As far as market size is concerned, if you add up energy and transport sector, that’s $6 trillion worldwide. That is massive; it dwarfs sectors like IT. But that does not mean you will have hundreds of companies with billion dollar market caps immediately. The risks and hurdles are also big. The biggest hurdle is obviously that you need more capital.

The 1-2-3 factors driving investors to cleantech are -A Global Conseus on the menace of climate change, followed by a early shape to global policy on carbon pricing & volatile swings of fossil fuel pricings.

Cleantech is not a theory, and people have made money in India. Perfect example is Suzlon which has reported revenues of more than $1 billion. Like India made IT services industry hugely strategic 10-15 years ago, I think the country has a fantastic chance of making cleantech strategic too.

The biggest problem for the country is infrastructure.Mainly energy and transport. We have massive scarcity of power.

India did a complete quantum leap in telecom.We didn’t make investments in wire line, we went straight to wireless. We skipped a generation of technology. Why won’t you do the same thing in energy? Why would you go to 50-60 year old technology of coal and natural gas, when you can go to something new in energy business.

The thought of desalination of sea water for the ever scarce drinking water problem in chennai has been there for some time now. The government needs to create a viable atmosphere for private players to invest in this area as water is going to be all the more scarce with climate change rendering monsoons unpredictable.

India is one of the fastest growing automobile markets in the world.Like in telecom we can afford to skip several manufacturing & engineering bottle necks and leap frog into battery powered auto mobiles cutting down emission dramatically. Think about the opportunity of coding intelligent software to manage power grids and battery hubs from a SW lab at Hitech City @ Cyberabad.

It would be a right step forward if the government assigns a minister of state for Cleantech to channelize investments. Recognizing this sector as a separate industry is a huge step forward. A visionary move that the UPA government will take which can create as many jobs as the IT sector has given the nation. This may not get them the vote bank as did the 60000 cr loan waiver but will surely create greener pastures for a Green Global India as a hub of cleantech source.

It’s a huge opportunity India & the world has to benefit from in a hurry !

New WORK is to THINK

The new "WORK" is to think ! From workers to thinkers ! Knowledge economy will be powered knowledge workers who dont merely sift tera bytes of data in excel , adobe & word sheets but who think posibilities & solutions by thinking through the data templates.Data are the means to the productivity purpose for the thinkers who energise the economy with their intellect.

But then what are leaders there for..here's the prescription..

Leaders are like conductors of a Symphony @ an Orchestra. Orchestrating the thought streams with meaningful macro templates. Intellect at the knowledge workers end & emotional blend at the leadership end will blend in to a fine brew of way forward.

Way forward to change avenues is critical in many ways.the fundamentals of business it seems today increasingly weighed in cutting costs.Cutting cost most certianly in most cases meant slashing work force. At cases a near nil in intake of new blood to rejuvenate the system.

The balancing act was always the forte of the corporate leaders from the finance,marketing , sales quaters.But the seasons initiative & reins should be with the Human Capital managers for more reasons than one. They have the locus standi to shape the culture,make good of the asstes they took in & transform them. Its a cost that corporates need to invest instead of writing them off as write offs. Thats the kind of leadership which will reinstate the faith in the world economy that its all about peoples business & not that of manchines & raw balance sheet datas.

Tha onus of managing , orchestrating & blending the new & freash talents to grew a refreshing culture is with the the Human Capital head. For starters he is entitled to take charge as the tile is already in place.

Next Giant Steps!

Putting a man on moon was Kennedy's vision to levitate human endeavor. The next giant steps must be walked in our minds impacting the citizens of the globe. Bringing the Berlin Wall was a great mini next step. International borders need to be more porous than they are now.. The borders serve only the purpose of mindless defense spending drained at protecting man made barriers which man kind is better off without.

Instead the next giant steps should be to build impregnable walls of immunity against killer epidemics& pandemics. Thats building with purpose serving a cause of sustaining life.

Moon is still far off. Before which lets secure our ozone layer, the snow peaks. We must realize global warming is just a tip of the iceberg. I am sure there are lot many more natural barriers and more sinister human barriers constituting of global terror & religious fundamentalism which impede & stumble us from moving ahead.

Even as we celebrate 40 years of man stepping his foot on world , the most lasting impact is the beautiful picture of blue earth brought home by the crew. A step forward then would be to keep planet earth as beautiful as it was with its multi hues & myriad uniqueness.A vision of a New,Clear globe!