India is well-positioned to scale circular economy principles, paving the way for environmental conservation, economic growth, and job creation. Aligned with the Lifestyles for Sustainable Development (LiFE) initiative, India embarks on the journey of a circular economy which emphasises closed-loop processes where resources are renewable, and products retain their value and quality for longer durations.
The paper presents a succinct review of technology, policy and private sector development across diverse sectors, such as solar panel production, transitions to batteries, steel value chain, construction and demolition waste, agricultural waste, municipal (domestic) wastewater, and municipal solid waste, where circular economy principles can drive a significant impact.
However, to foster a sustainable and resilient future, challenges related to policy frameworks, infrastructure gaps, market dynamics, and social behaviour must be addressed to help the country foster a more sustainable and resilient future. Further, reliable data on waste generation, composition, and material flows, restricts proactive planning and decision-making.
By fostering innovation, building robust infrastructure, and addressing policy fragmentation, India can overcome the systemic challenges that hinder its transition to a circular economy. Bridging the demand and supply gap requires value-chain-focused targeted interventions backed up by data, technology, and innovative financial mechanisms. The study outlines a comprehensive roadmap to support the circular economy ecosystem and support economic growth and job creation that advance India towards a green transition.
This paper can be accessed here.
This article is authored by:-
CEEW: Akanksha Tyagi, Ajinkya Kale, Saiba Gupta, Nitin Bassi, Kartikey Chaturvedi, Ayushi Kashyap, Clark Kovacs, Adeel Khan, Priyanka Singh, Rahul Das, Srishti Mishra
G20 Secretariat, India: Sujit Jena
RMI: Akshat Aggarwal, Marie McNamara, Akshima Ghate, Tarun Garg, Sai Sri Harsha Pallerlamudi, Zoya Zakai
WRI India: Sree Kumar Kumaraswamy, Virabh Lad, Sanjar Ali, Prayash Giria, Aditya Ajith, Sampriti Baruah, Nupur Kulkarni, Kavita Sharma
