Landscape of Green Finance in India Report

The report finds that tracked green finance in India averaged INR 124 thousand crores (USD 19 billion) per year for FY 2017-2018, representing only about 10% of the estimated annual requirement for climate action. Domestic private finance was the largest contributor, with the vast majority of funds flowing into renewable energy, specifically solar and wind power. While public finance increased due to government initiatives and the role of Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs), the report highlights significant data gaps and the need for a standardized green finance taxonomy and a national measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV) system to scale investments.

• Tracked green finance flows in India totaled INR 111 thousand crores (USD 17 billion) for FY 2017 and INR 137 thousand crores (USD 21 billion) for FY 2018, with an annual average of INR 124 thousand crores (USD 19 billion).
• Domestic private investors provided the largest share of green finance, contributing approximately INR 139 thousand crores through debt and equity across FY 2017 and FY 2018, with commercial financial institutions accounting for 40% of these funds.
• The power generation sector was the primary recipient of green finance, representing nearly 80% of annual flows, with solar PV and onshore wind power constituting over 80% of that sectoral finance.
• Debt was the predominant financial instrument, accounting for 54% of total tracked green finance, with an average of INR 70 thousand crores per year during 2016-2017; over 72% of this debt flowed through commercial banks.
• International public finance remained stable at 10% of tracked green finance (INR 12 thousand crores) for both FY 2017 and FY 2018, with 56% of bilateral funds directed toward sustainable transportation, specifically metro rail projects in Delhi (45%) and Mumbai (25%).
• Investments in energy efficiency and power transmission totaled INR 20 thousand crores over two years, with green energy corridors accounting for 47% and smart grids for 14% of these investments.
• Low-carbon transport investments totaled INR 27.50 thousand crores between FY 2017 and FY 2018, driven by public sector mass rapid transit systems and private household sales of electric 3-wheelers, which constituted 87% of total EV sales.
• Current tracked green finance in India is estimated to be only 10% of the total requirement across sectors, falling far short of the USD 2.5 trillion needed from 2015 to 2030 to meet India's Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC).
• The report identifies four primary barriers to measuring green finance: lack of disbursement data, absence of a harmonized green finance taxonomy, variations in state-level data granularity, and data confidentiality issues due to a lack of climate-related financial disclosure policy.

APA

Sinha, J., Jain, S., & Padmanabhi, R. (2020). Landscape of Green Finance in India Report. Climate Policy Initiative. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Landscape-of-Green-Finance-in-India-1-2.pdf

Chicago

Sinha, Jolly, Shreyans Jain, and Rajashree Padmanabhi. Landscape of Green Finance in India Report. Climate Policy Initiative, 2020. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Landscape-of-Green-Finance-in-India-1-2.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Sinha |first1=Jolly |last2=Jain |first2=Shreyans |last3=Padmanabhi |first3=Rajashree |title=Landscape of Green Finance in India Report |publisher=Climate Policy Initiative |date=September 2020 |url=https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Landscape-of-Green-Finance-in-India-1-2.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{sinha2020landscape, author = {Sinha, Jolly and Jain, Shreyans and Padmanabhi, Rajashree}, title = {{Landscape of Green Finance in India Report}}, institution = {Climate Policy Initiative}, year = {2020}, month = sep, url = {https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Landscape-of-Green-Finance-in-India-1-2.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }