More than Rs 18,000 crore not sanctioned under Hydrogen Mission

The Minister of State for New & Renewable Energy Shripad Yesso Naik has informed the Lok Sabha that more than Rs 18,000 crore of the Rs 19,471 crore allocated under key components of the National Green Hydrogen Mission (NGHM) is yet to be sanctioned. Presenting the financial status, the minister noted that detailed figures on allocation, sanction and utilisation have been provided in Annexure-V.

The Mission’s largest component — the incentive scheme for green hydrogen production — accounts for Rs 13,050 crore. Of this, Rs 5,533.98 crore has been sanctioned so far, leaving over Rs 7,500 crore pending approval. In contrast, the incentive scheme for electrolyser manufacturing has seen full sanction of its allocated Rs 4,440 crore, making it one of the few components with complete financial clearance.

Pilot projects in sectors such as steel, shipping and road transport show significant gaps between allocation and sanction. In the steel sector pilot, only Rs 131.38 crore has been sanctioned against an allocation of Rs 455 crore. The shipping pilot has received Rs 35 crore out of Rs 115 crore, while the road transport pilot has seen Rs 207.91 crore sanctioned out of Rs 496 crore.

Progress under research-related components has been uneven. Of the Rs 400 crore allocated for Research and Development, Rs 114.98 crore has been sanctioned. Testing and infrastructure facilities have received Rs 113.72 crore out of Rs 200 crore. Hydrogen Valleys and Hubs (HVIC) show relatively stronger progress, with Rs 169.89 crore sanctioned against a Rs 200 crore allocation.

Some mission components remain largely untouched at the sanction stage. The New and Innovative Technology category, allocated Rs 200 crore, has not received any sanction yet. Skill development activities have seen only Rs 0.55 crore sanctioned out of a modest Rs 35 crore allocation.

The minister also highlighted the capacities awarded under the Mission’s incentive schemes, which include 8.62 lakh tonnes per annum of green hydrogen production capacity and 3,000 MW per annum of electrolyser manufacturing capacity, along with several ongoing pilot projects and R&D initiatives across multiple states.