JOIN USWorld Bank to lend $1 bn loan to India
In its biggest ever loan provided for solar projects, the World Bank on Thursday decided to lend India $1 billion to support the government’s plan to generate 1 lakh mW power through solar energy by 2022.
These projects include solar rooftop technology, infrastructure for solar parks, bringing innovative solar and hybrid technologies to market, and transmission lines for solar-rich states.
“As part of our $1-billion solar commitment to India, we signed an agreement with the Government of India for a $625-million grid-connected rooftop solar programme. The project will finance the installation of at least 40 mW of solar photovoltaic installations,” World Bank President Jim Yong Kim said.
Largest project
“These investments for India will together become the bank’s largest financing of solar projects for any country in the world.”
“We are doing all we can to support Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s personal commitment towards renewable energy, especially in scaling up solar energy,” he said.
India has become a global leader in implementing the promises made in Paris for COP21 and the global efforts to tackle climate change.
The World Bank also signed an agreement with the International Solar Alliance (ISA), consisting of 121 countries led by India, to collaborate on increasing solar energy use around the world, with the goal of mobilising $1 trillion in investments by 2030.
The ISA was launched at the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris in November last year by Modi and French President Francois Hollande.
Earlier, during his meeting with Kim, Modi told him about the need for climate change financing for countries like India that are consciously choosing to follow an environmentally sustainable path.
In a tweet, Kim congratulated Modi for his “Swachch Bharat” initiative, which he said was vital to fight against mal nutrition.