The role of sub-national Governments in India’s green hydrogen transition: a multilevel perspective

India’s national government has offered strong support for the development of green hydrogen as part of the clean energy transition. However, much of the actual progress in this transition will depend on subnational governments. This paper argues India’s subnational governments have significant potential to capitalise on diverse natural resource endowments while creating jobs and growing the local economy when promoting green hydrogen. At the same time, the national government will need to offer direct and indirect support to address technological, financial, and institutional constraints at the subnational level. The paper therefore recommends a six-point agenda that can strengthen the multi-level collaboration needed to capture the full benefits of green hydrogen. That agenda consists of the following: 1) tailoring skill development programme to support the green hydrogen ecosystem; 2) closing infrastructure gaps; 3) incentivising off-takers; 4) attracting investment and encouraging public-private partnership; 5) encouraging research and development (R&D); 6) promoting co-innovation. These six points can help India realise the potential while addressing the attendant limitations needed to pull off the difficult multi-level balancing act required for a green hydrogen transition.