Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian on Sunday said that India needed massive investment in clean energy to kick start the economy.
"We need to keep in mind and discuss more fully the respective roles of public and private sector in this (clean energy) and also if public sector is going to have role, how should that be financed and we do need public investment to kind of kick start economy at this stage and investment in solar will be an excellent way of spending some of that money," he said while speaking at the RE-Invest 2015, India's first Renewable Energy Global Investors' Meet and Expo, in New Delhi.
Subramanian said that the focus of renewable energy should be on major investment in greening coal.
"In all this (clean energy) rightful concern and obsession and focus on renewable energy, we should not lose sight of major investment that has to be made in greening coal and there is an international dimension to this. Internationally my sense is that this kind of obsession with renewable has taken away attention from investment from technology and R and D in greening coal," he added.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called for innovation and research to develop renewable energy like solar and wind power to provide affordable electricity to every household.