Mumbai Climate Week 2026: NITI Aayog’s Suman Bery links growth, gender inclusion, and renewable energy

NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman Suman Bery. Pic/X (@NITIAayog)

NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman Suman Bery shared a vision connecting India's economic growth, women's workforce participation, and energy self-sufficiency at Mumbai Climate Week. He emphasised that clean technology and strong infrastructure could reinforce the country's development.

Bery drew on insights from Nobel laureates to highlight the role of women in economic growth.

"One of the Nobel Prize laureates a couple of years ago, Claudia Goldin, has documented even in the United States that there is a gender gap, a wage gap,"

He also referenced Sir Arthur Lewis, whose work connects growth and labour mobilisation.

"What Sir Arthur Lewis basically said… if economies grow, they will look for labour resources," Bery explained.

Bery also noted that in the US, the pattern was that women first entered the labour force, followed by migrants. In a way, these factors interact, as the economy grows faster, more women are drawn in. It's about priming the pump, encouraging female participation to accelerate growth. That's the "magic circle," the upward spiral we should aim to create.

Renewable energy and self-reliance

Bery aligned his remarks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of energy self-sufficiency. He noted that the underlying theme of Mumbai Climate Week reflects the PM's Red Fort address on India's push for energy independence. "We should celebrate the fact that technology now gives us a competitive edge in harnessing abundant resources like the sun and wind. That's where our advantage lies," he said as per ANI reports.

He noted the challenge of integrating renewable energy into India's existing grid. "The question of integrating these new resources… into the existing grid is the challenge," Bery said.

Infrastructure and manufacturing advantage

Highlighting India's cost competitiveness, Bery said, "A data centre in India… is much cheaper than a data centre in the US, for all kinds of reasons. So if we can be competitive in both the grid, and in mobilising, it plays to our comparative advantage."

He stressed the importance of reliable power for advanced manufacturing, particularly chip production.

"Quality of power supply… is incredibly important for our ambitions in chip manufacturing," Bery noted, adding that data centre operators could help ensure uninterrupted supply.

Bery pointed to the fast expansion of global capability centres (GCCs) and data infrastructure.

"Who would have thought the GCCs would be growing like mushrooms, or data centers might grow like mushrooms," he said.

(With ANI Inputs)