How Prahlad Joshi’s New Green Hydrogen Certification Scheme Powers India’s Clean Energy Goals

Union Minister of New and Renewable Energy, Prahlad Joshi launched the Green Hydrogen Certification scheme in India on April 29. The scheme will help establish a comprehensive framework for certifying green hydrogen production and ensuring transparency, traceability and market credibility.

The GHCI mandates that all green hydrogen producers—except those producing solely for export—must undergo a certification process to verify that their hydrogen is produced exclusively using renewable energy sources, reported The New Indian Express.

The certification process will be conducted by Accredited Carbon Verification (ACV) Agencies listed by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE). Once India’s carbon market is launched in 2026, the green hydrogen certificates will also become tradable assets within the market.

Empowering MSMEs in Hydrogen

While speaking at a national workshop in New Delhi, the minister also emphasised that MSMEs will play a critical role in realising the National Green Hydrogen Mission’s objectives of building a self-reliant green hydrogen ecosystem by 2030, reported IANS.

The workshop was aimed to explore opportunities and discuss the role of MSMEs in development of green hydrogen ecosystem in India. Over 300 delegates including MSMEs, policymakers, technology providers, industry associations and international partners, participated in the workshop.

Santosh Kumar Sarangi, Secretary, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), highlighted some key achievements in the implementation of National Green Hydrogen Mission, cited IANS.

He underscored the importance of building capacities, facilitating finance and strengthening technology linkages to empower MSMEs to meaningfully participate in this new industrial landscape. He reiterated the Ministry’s commitment to building institutional and infrastructural support for green hydrogen, with MSMEs playing a crucial role.

At the workshop, panelists deliberated on R&D collaboration models, indigenisation of components such as bipolar plates and electrolysers and the role of knowledge institutions.

India’s Green Hydrogen Goals

Union Minister Prahlad Joshi reiterated India’s commitment to emerging as a global leader in hydrogen production. “Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, we are committed to achieving our target of 5 million metric tonnes of green hydrogen production by 2030,” he told The New Indian Express.

The government also plans to award an additional 7.8 lakh tonnes per annum (LTPA) of green hydrogen production capacity in 2025.

According to Moneycontrol, this follows the awarding of 4.12 lakh tonnes per annum (LTPA) capacity to 10 companies for production of green hydrogen with a total subsidy of Rs 3055 crore.

According to CNBCTV18, the World Bank Country Director Auguste Tano Kouame shared that India could be one of the leading producers of green hydrogen in the world and has already attracted commitments of $70 billion in investments.