India pumps in ₹1500 cr to further boost renewable energy

The ₹1,500 crore equity infusion will help in employment generation of approximately 10,200 jobs per year and CO₂ equivalent emission reduction of approximately 7.49 million tonnes CO₂/year, according to an official statement.

The additional equity infusion by Government of India will enable IREDA to lend ₹1,200 crore approximately to the renewable energy sector, thus facilitating the debt requirement of renewable energy of additional capacity of approximately 3,500-4,000 MW.

It will also help IREDA to enhance its net worth, which will help it in additional renewable energy financing, thus contributing better to the Government of India targets for renewable energy. The Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government is determined to increase the use of renewable energy at a very fast pace, both to reduce the country’s import dependence on petrol and other fossil fuels, and to avert climate change and meet all targets much ahead of time.

At COP 21, as part of its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), India had committed to achieving 40 per cent of its installed electricity capacity from non-fossil energy sources by 2030. “The country has achieved this target in November 2021 itself,” states an official press note issued by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) last month.

At COP26 Climate Conference held in Glasgow last year, Modi pledged that India will achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2070. Incidentally, India is among the very few nations that have a special ministry to focus on renewable energy.

IREDA, which works under MNRE, was set up in 1987 to work as a specialised non-banking finance agency for the renewable energy sector. IREDA with more than 34 years of techno-commercial expertise, plays a catalytic role in the renewable energy project financing, which gives confidence to the financial institutions/banks to lend in the sector.