Government Grants Approval To Raise Rs 2,360 Crore Via Bonds For Renewable Projects
The funds raised will be used for solar park, green energy corridor.
The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved raising Rs 2,360 crore through bonds for renewable energy projects in the current financial year.
The bonds will be raised by the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) through the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) during the 2017-18, the ministry said in a statement.
The funds raised would be used by MNRE in the approved programmes/schemes for solar park, green energy corridor, generation-based incentives for wind projects, CPSU and defence solar projects, viability gap funding for solar projects, roof-top solar, off-grid/grid-distributed and decentralised renewable power, investment in corporations and autonomous bodies among others.
The government had declared additional finance mobilisation of Rs 31,300 crore bonds through National Highways Authority of India, Power Finance Corporation, Rural Electrification Corporation, IREDA and Inland Waterways Authority of India in the budget for 2016-17. As part of this, the government had allocated Rs 4,000 crore to IREDA to raise “GOI fully serviced taxable bonds” on behalf of the MNRE in 2016-17. Out of this allocation, IREDA had raised Rs 1,640 crore as per the requirement of MNRE.
The MNRE subsequently sought Cabinet to approve to raise the balance Rs 2,360 crore.