What's Still Needed in Indian Infrastructure Financing?

THIS INTERSECTION of post-pandemic growth in economic activity and a resolute commitment to achieving net zero emissions, presents a golden opportunity for India to reimagine its infrastructure development and financing strategies, with a focus on sustainability, and future-readiness

- Srinath Sridharan & Dakshita Das

While promoting green finance is crucial for sustainability, prioritising projects that enhance the transportation of goods and services that can bolster manufacturers’ competitiveness and provide an overall boost to the economy is equally important.

To begin with, India’s ambitious Net Zero 2070 plan sets forth enhanced targets for renewable energy deployment and carbon emission reduction. Achieving these goals would require a staggering $10.1 trillion to decarbonise the power, industrial, and transport sectors, according to an independent study by the Council for Environment, Energy and Water - Centre for Energy Finance. India needs to establish its own taxonomy of economic activities that align with net-zero goals, to enable regulators to propose norms for climate-labelling of financial products that facilitate sustainable investments.

Overall, the Indian government has already taken several steps to enhance the nation’s attractiveness to international infrastructure investors. These measures include improved regulatory frameworks, efficient offtake arrangements through central government-backed counterparties, and a range of financial products such as toll operate transfer, InvITs, sovereign-linked commercially managed equity funds, production-linked incentive schemes, and tax benefits for large international institutional investors.