As we grow materially and economically as a nation, we need to ask ourselves an important question: do we have only two choices—dwindling resources or dangerous ones? Dwindling resources are those that are scarce and whose shortage can halt our growth. Dangerous resources, on the other hand, are those that are abundant but whose excessive use causes pollution and climate change, hampering our growth and harming the health and well-being of the nation.

India significantly contributes to global economic growth, accounting for nearly 15% annually. This trend is expected to continue for decades, driven by infrastructure development, urbanization, increased innovation and productivity across various sectors, and substantial energy consumption.

However, these growth drivers are resource-intensive not only during their development stages but also throughout their productive lifetimes. This continuous cycle of resource conversion to valuable goods brings associated risks, such as climate change from GHG emissions, impacts people's lives and health and threatens food and industrial supply chains. These risks ultimately jeopardize the very growth this value creation aims to achieve. Additionally, relying on other countries for these resources is not a safe strategy, particularly in light of the ongoing de-globalization trends.

Let's assess some of the critical resources required for India’s development, and see how we can secure what's crucial for our growth without endangering it. We need to look at all these materials in terms of how to reduce their usage intensity, ensure circularity in their supply chains and, where possible, replace them with low carbon, abundant alternatives. These alternatives can be developed into major industrial wins for India,  not only by scaling within our borders but by becoming global leaders in these areas.

Key Sectors for Unprecedented Growth

• Real Estate and Infrastructure: Driven by massive urbanization and infrastructure growth, it is expected that more than 100 million households in India will become capable of home ownership in the next 10 years. This will require enormous expansion of our cities and need massive quantities of resources such as cement, steel, aluminum, copper, glass, and plastics.

• Energy Transition: Driven by our Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) of 50% installed capacity being renewable by 2030, the demand for renewables and battery storage is going to significantly increase.

• Clean Transportation: Parallel to a greening grid, a significantly electrified modern transportation system including electric and hybrid vehicles, public transport is going to transform how we move. It will be supplemented also by hydrogen-fueled long-haul mobility.

Real Estate and Infrastructure 

Concrete, the second most consumed material by mankind after water, accounts for approximately 50% of all materials produced by mass each year. It is also one of the industries where carbon emissions are most difficult to abate. However, with innovative cleaner concrete mixes, higher use of alternative and supplementary cementitious materials, and the deployment of dematerialization through innovative design and construction technologies, we can reduce the need for cement, saving resources, costs, and emissions. This will also enable us to build India more durably and at a pace that is the need of the hour.

Steel demand is a major marker of progress and India also reasonably aspires to more than double production and per capita consumption by 2030. The national steel policy acknowledges the limited availability of essential raw materials like high quality ore, chromite, coking coal, steel-grade limestone, refractory raw materials, nickel, and ferrous scrap. Due to the shortage of domestic coking coal, Indian pig iron producers and BF operators significantly depend on imports. Additionally, the lack of sufficient scrap and a proper scrap supply chain ecosystem prevents us from fully tapping the potential of recycled steel, which is easier to produce through electric arc furnaces and has much lower emissions compared to virgin steel. The development of a green hydrogen ecosystem promises a transformation in steel production, not only making it cleaner and by giving a boost to our economy by developing international markets for clean steel. Hydrogen economy will be quite wide in its reach, with a direct climate impact by replacing carbon dioxide by water in various use cases, and will not only impact steel but long haul transportation, chemicals and fertilizers as well.

Energy Transition and Clean Transportation

The entire energy transition rests on three major pillars: the technology twin of renewables and energy storage, and the top material for electrification, copper. Local production of renewable energy systems and battery technology, not only for cars but also at a grid scale, is essential for India’s energy security. If done proactively and ahead of the competition, this can also help us achieve global dominance in this ever-growing market. While India is not sufficiently endowed with copper and several battery minerals, strategic global partnerships with resource-rich nations in Africa and South America, combined with a technological edge in exploration and use, can help us overcome this challenge and create outsized value from these minerals in our economy.

By becoming a leader in the battery storage industry and the hydrogen economy, India can transform its transportation sector, which currently accounts for 10-12% of its greenhouse gas emissions and is a significant contributor to air pollution that causes over a million premature deaths annually. Emphasizing shared transportation and creating walkable cities can reduce the reliance on personal vehicles, further decreasing the resource demands of scaling up urban transportation.

By focusing on technological rigor and innovation, we can overcome the dilemma of dwindling or dangerous resources and choose sustainability as the pathway to consistent growth.

We also need to instill in our youth the importance of science and technology for the country's future, encouraging them to become passionate about overcoming some of these technical challenges to build the nation. We should guide them to shift their focus from merely following trending fields of study to addressing what truly needs their attention for our nation’s growth in the long term. By doing so, we will cultivate a generation that drives significant industrial transformation and prepares us for a sustainable future. These efforts will not only safeguard our unprecedented growth but also ensure it remains responsible, inclusive, and sustainable.