Japan–India Technology Matchmaking Platform: Approach to Promote Japanese Low Carbon Technologies in Indian Industries

Abstract

This paper details the efforts made by Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) and The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), under their Japan–India collaborative projects, to promote low carbon technologies (LCT) among small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in India. The empirical evidence gathered during the projects show that three key barriers hinder faster adoption of Japanese LCT among the Indian SMEs: (i) information and knowledge gaps; (ii) networking and communication challenges; (iii) higher cost of the LCT. To bring stakeholders from the two countries together, a multi-stakeholder platform called Japan–India Technology Matchmaking Platform (JITMAP) was developed. The paper outlines how JITMAP, through its online information sharing and on the ground activities, is addressing some of the barriers by promoting awareness enhancement, arrangement of business meetings, study on LCT application (feasibility studies), access to financial schemes, and arrangement of policy and regulatory discussions. There is ample scope to scale-up the JITMAP activities and replicate it as a model for LCT cooperation between other developed and developing countries.