Pariksha SaathiPIB backgrounder on green hydrogen: the National Green Hydrogen Mission targets at least 5 MMT of annual production capacity by 2030
A PIB backgrounder of 28 October 2026, 'Green Hydrogen: Emerging Pillar of India's Clean Energy Transition', describes green hydrogen as hydrogen produced by splitting water using renewable electricity, mainly through electrolysis, and says it can help cut emissions in hard-to-abate sectors such as fertiliser production, petroleum refining, iron and steel, heavy-duty road transport and shipping. Under India's Green Hydrogen Standard, notified by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) in August 2023, hydrogen qualifies as green if emissions do not exceed 2 kg of CO2 equivalent per kg of hydrogen on a well-to-gate basis, measured as a 12-month average; the backgrounder says India thus became one of the first few countries to define green hydrogen formally. MNRE is implementing the National Green Hydrogen Mission (NGHM), approved by the Union Cabinet in January 2023 with an outlay of Rs 19,744 crore, to make India a global hub for green hydrogen and its derivatives; it targets production capacity of at least 5 million metric tonnes (MMT) a year by 2030, which could reach 10 MMT a year with export demand. Its Strategic Interventions for Green Hydrogen Transition (SIGHT) programme, with an outlay of Rs 17,490 crore up to 2029-30, offers incentives for domestic electrolyser manufacturing and green hydrogen production. Incentives have been awarded to 15 companies for 3,000 MW per annum of electrolyser manufacturing capacity, incentives have also been awarded for 8,62,000 tonnes per annum of green hydrogen production capacity, and about 8,000 tonnes per annum of green hydrogen capacity had been commissioned by February 2026. MNRE has recognised Deendayal Port (Kandla, Gujarat), V.O. Chidambaranar Port (Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu) and Paradip Port (Odisha) as hubs, and four Hydrogen Valley Innovation Clusters (HVICs) have been awarded: Jodhpur, Odisha, Pune and Kerala. Green hydrogen and green ammonia plants commissioned by 31 December 2030 are exempt from Inter-State Transmission System (ISTS) charges for 25 years, and MNRE launched the Green Hydrogen Certification Scheme of India in April 2025, under which the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) accredits agencies for monitoring, verification and certification. The backgrounder also notes that India's first indigenous hydrogen-powered train was inaugurated on 17 July 2026 on the Jind-Sonipat section, and that six States (Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and West Bengal) have notified dedicated green hydrogen policies. The Mission is expected to reduce cumulative fossil fuel imports by approximately Rs 1 lakh crore by 2030, to mobilise over Rs 8 lakh crore in investments and to generate more than 6 lakh jobs, and the production and use of the targeted green hydrogen quantum could help avert nearly 50 MMT of carbon dioxide emissions annually, in line with India's commitment to net-zero emissions by 2070.
Drafted with AI assistance from the official PIB release linked above and checked against it by a second AI pass. Not line-edited by a human.
Learning context
On 4 January 2023 the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy announced that the Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, had approved the National Green Hydrogen Mission with an initial outlay of Rs 19,744 crore, including Rs 17,490 crore for the SIGHT programme, Rs 1,466 crore for pilot projects, Rs 400 crore for R&D and Rs 388 crore for other Mission components. The likely outcomes it listed for 2030 were green hydrogen production capacity of at least 5 MMT per annum with an associated renewable energy capacity addition of about 125 GW, over Rs 8 lakh crore in total investments, over 6 lakh jobs, a cumulative reduction in fossil fuel imports of over Rs one lakh crore, and the abatement of nearly 50 MMT of annual greenhouse gas emissions. The release said that SIGHT would provide two distinct financial incentive mechanisms - for domestic manufacturing of electrolysers and for production of green hydrogen - that regions capable of supporting large-scale production and/or use of hydrogen would be identified and developed as Green Hydrogen Hubs, that a public-private partnership framework for R&D, the Strategic Hydrogen Innovation Partnership (SHIP), would be facilitated, and that MNRE would be responsible for overall coordination and implementation of the Mission.
Check yourself: when the Cabinet approved the National Green Hydrogen Mission, how much of its initial outlay of Rs 19,744 crore went to the SIGHT programme, and what renewable energy capacity addition was linked to the 5 MMT target?
Rs 17,490 crore; about 125 GW.
Revision task: from this release, note how green hydrogen is defined, the emission ceiling in India's Green Hydrogen Standard, the Mission's outlay and 2030 target, the SIGHT outlay and progress, the three port hubs, the ISTS charge waiver and the outcomes expected by 2030; from the note, how the initial outlay was split and the renewable energy capacity addition linked to the target.
Test yourself
Under India's Green Hydrogen Standard, notified by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy in August 2023, hydrogen qualifies as 'green' if its emissions, on a well-to-gate basis measured as a 12-month average, do not exceed how much per kg of hydrogen?
Show the answer
Answer: 2 kg of CO2 equivalent
India's Green Hydrogen Standard, notified by MNRE in August 2023, sets a ceiling of 2 kg CO2 equivalent per kg of hydrogen, well-to-gate, averaged over a 12-month period; the backgrounder says India thus became one of the first few countries to define green hydrogen formally. The National Green Hydrogen Mission, approved by the Union Cabinet in January 2023 with an outlay of Rs 19,744 crore, targets green hydrogen production capacity of at least 5 MMT a year by 2030.
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