India needs an investment of $100 billion to add 50 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity by 2020, the federal minister for renewable energy said Wednesday.

The South Asian nation has an installed renewable power generation capacity of 20 GW, which comprises 6% of the total electricity mix. According to the national action plan on climate change, the share of renewable power in the electricity mix is to be increased to 15% by 2020.

"The renewable energy scenario in India is buoyant and promising and in the next year alone, India plans to add over 3 GW of renewable energy capacity with an investment opportunity of over $6 billion," he said.

Abdullah, who was speaking at an economic summit in Chicago , U.S. , said investments in the renewable sector in India grew by 25% last year at $3.8 billion and should continue to rise, with the government working on a favorable policy framework.

"India's large solar demand will provide the committed market and its excellent manufacturing ecosystem, technical skills and cheap labor will help make manufacturing profitable and successful," he said, inviting investors to the country's renewable sector.

The minister was confident that with more investment in the sector, the challenge of the high per-unit cost of electricity produced from renewable sources such as solar and wind will be addressed.

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