The Green Climate Fund (GCF) has approved $200 million (~₹17.07 billion) for a new program led by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to enhance large-scale public and private investments in India’s high-impact and emerging clean energy sectors.

This funding is ADB’s first partnership with GCF in India.

GCF will provide the concessional funding for ADB’s India Green Finance Facility. The facility aims to crowd-in investments in emerging clean energy technologies from the country’s private sector development finance institutions (DFIs).

ADB will use the facility to support lines of credit with qualifying DFIs. These institutions will develop the project pipelines and utilize the lines of credit to accelerate funding for technologies such as round-the-clock renewable energy, green hydrogen, compressed biogas, electric transport in rural areas, and decentralized renewable energy solutions.

According to ADB Director for Energy Transition Pradeep Tharakan, while India had made progress in scaling up wind and solar energy, it was now seeking to decarbonize hard-to-abate sectors such as industry, agriculture, and transportation.

The funding includes a $65 million (~₹ 5.55 billion) risk-sharing facility to provide partial credit guarantees, supporting smaller developers with accessible finance for compressed biogas projects. Commercial lenders usually overlook such projects due to their inherent risks.

In March this year, the ADB provided a $150 million (~₹ 12.81 billion) loan to non-banking financial services company Shriram Finance to enhance access to finance for electric and low-emission commercial vehicles in India. The funding is part of a larger $306 million (~₹26.14 billion) financing package, which includes an additional $150 million (~₹ 12.81 billion) from the Japan International Cooperation Agency and ₹500 million (~$5.83 million) from the Export-Import Bank of India.

Last October, ADB announced it would invest $25 million (~₹2.13 billion) in a certified climate bond issue by Vivriti Capital. The proceeds will be used to finance companies operating in sectors such as electric vehicles, solar and wind energy, and waste management.