India launched the National Green Hydrogen Mission (NGHM) in 2023 with ambitions that went well beyond clean energy. The goal was to reduce dependence on imports, strengthen energy security, and position India as a leader in the emerging low-carbon economy. The headline target was producing 5 million tonnes (mt) of green hydrogen annually by 2030.
Early optimism is now meeting operational reality. Production estimates suggest India may reach approximately 3 mt by 2030, with the original target potentially shifting to 2032. As of February 2026, only about 8,000 tonnes per annum of green hydrogen capacity had been commissioned. Fund utilisation, while growing from ₹0.11 crore in FY24 to ₹203.8 crore in FY26, remains modest relative to the Mission’s scale.
These figures should prompt a more important question than whether targets will be met on time: if production milestones slip, what must the Mission still deliver? The answer is capability. A hydrogen economy built on imported electrolysers, foreign components, and external expertise may produce clean fuel, but it will not produce genuine energy security. The Mission’s next phase must prioritise domestic manufacturing, intellectual property development, engineering depth, certification infrastructure, and reliable demand creation.
Logical starting point
If India wants a durable domestic anchor for its green hydrogen ecosystem, fertilisers are the logical starting point. Natural gas underpins ammonia production, which in turn drives fertiliser supply. This chain exposes India to global price volatility and supply disruptions, a risk that is both economic and strategic. Green ammonia offers a way to convert domestic renewable energy into a critical agricultural input, reducing long-term import dependence at the intersection of energy and food security.
The Union Budget has allocated ₹1.76 lakh crore for fertiliser subsidies in FY27, including ₹1.16 lakh crore for urea alone. Any disruption in global fertiliser markets amplifies this fiscal burden. Green ammonia will not displace conventional inputs overnight, but it can seed a domestic alternative in a sector where the strategic stakes are high.
Policy support is beginning to take shape. Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI)’s green ammonia tender seeks to produce and supply 724,000 tonnes annually across 13 fertiliser plants under the SIGHT Scheme. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has also notified a green ammonia standard to support certification and market development. These are meaningful steps, but auctions alone cannot build an industry.
Supporting policy architechture
Future tenders and incentive structures should assess not only price and volume commitments but also the domestic capabilities being created, such as local manufacturing content, technology transfer arrangements, supplier development, and linkages with research institutions and deep-tech startups. The green premium remains a genuine challenge: green ammonia currently costs significantly more than conventional alternatives, making policy instruments such as viability gap funding, contracts for difference, and targeted subsidy reform essential for scaling adoption.
The fertiliser sector represents a practical and strategically significant starting point for building green hydrogen capabilities in India. The combination of established demand, existing industrial infrastructure, and clear policy levers makes it well-suited for early-stage capability development in domestic manufacturing, intellectual property development, project engineering, financing structures, and supply chain depth.
The National Green Hydrogen Mission has created the policy architecture to support this. The opportunity now is to use that architecture to deliberately build capabilities in sectors where India has both the industrial base and the strategic need. Fertiliser-linked green ammonia is one such sector, and supporting capability creation there is a natural extension of what the Mission is already designed to do.
The author is Programme Director, Energy Leap, and Partner and Managing Director India, Xynteo
Published on June 6, 2026
