India, the world’s third-largest emitter of greenhouse gases, stands at a critical juncture where sustained economic growth must now be decisively decoupled from rising emissions. Projections indicate that India’s emissions could double by 2040 in a business-as-usual scenario. Addressing this trajectory will require a rapid expansion and scaling of technologies that mitigate emissions across high-impact sectors.

This report, ‘Catalysing Emission Mitigation Startups: Landscape and Policy Recommendations’, presents a comprehensive assessment of the intersection between India’s emission profile, policy response, and startup activity focused on green technologies. Specifically, it examines mitigation-focused technologies across five core sectors: power generation, transport and mobility, industry, buildings, and agriculture. Each of these sectors contributes significantly to India’s national emissions and presents distinct opportunities as well as structural constraints for innovation.

Despite early momentum, India’s green tech ecosystem remains underleveraged. Of the ~630 startups founded between 2014 and 2025, just over 230 have raised any capital, with over 90% of all capital concentrated in electric mobility solutions. While there is a growing base of solutions, only a fraction are IP-led, and fewer still have scaled beyond early growth stages. This is reflective of systemic gaps in R&D support and scale-up funding.

Our analysis of the emissions, policy, and startup landscapes reveals three systemic constraints:

1) Limited support for late-stage R&D and commercialization, particularly beyond TRL 2–3.

2) High friction in building and scaling physical products, due to capex intensity and limited manufacturing enablers.

3) Low customer uptake, driven by high cost of adoption, limited awareness, and rapid tech evolution creating obsolescence risks.

In response, the report outlines the contours of a green tech policy approach that can unlock greater innovation and adoption. Anchoring these recommendations within the government’s low-emission development strategy, the proposed interventions aim to catalyse green tech innovations that can materially shift India’s emissions curve. By strengthening the green tech ecosystem through coordinated policy action and startup support, India can accelerate its path to decarbonisation, spur innovation-led growth, and lead the Global South in climate action.