India cannot become next factory of world by copying China: Amitabh Kant

India cannot become the next factory of the world by copying China, Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said on Thursday, and stressed that the country needs to get into sunrise areas of growth if it wants to be a global leader.

Addressing a virtual event organised by industry body CII, Kant said India's private sector has to set ambitious targets for itself and focus on green hydrogen, high-end batteries, advanced solar panels to become competitive. "India cannot become the next factory of the world by copying China...We have always got into sunset areas of growth, this is the time to get into sunrise areas of growth," he said.

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According to Kant, India should not get into areas where China is already a leader. "India has the strongest global companies in the renewal sector...these (hydrogen, high-end batteries, advanced solar panels) are areas of technology of growth, if you want to be a global leader," he noted.

The Niti Aayog CEO said Indian Industry needs to strive to become lean, digital and invest in skills, steep increase in corporate R&D and cutting edge product innovations to be competitive. "The new technology has to be shared, connected and electric," he said.

Noting that disruption caused by Covid-19 pandemic must be used by the private sector to become globally competitive, Kant said, "The world is moving towards green technology. The old technology will die, the green technology is the future." He said India is looking at innovative projects for reducing costs in green energy projects.