Germany has signed two loan agreements with India—Rs 1,400 crore to the Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL)and Rs 1,796 crore to the State Bank of India for affordable housing in the country.
Germany has so far committed to a loan of Rs 4,200 crore for better energy efficiency in India. EESL invests in energy efficiency in various sectors like domestic households, public buildings, street lighting and agriculture and is aimed at reducing the emission of greenhouse gases. In addition to the EESL loan, Germany recently agreed to a Rs 5 crore loan with Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency, which focusses on solar power projects.
Scaling up renewable energy use is part of India's commitment to the Paris Climate Agreement under its INDC (Intended Nationally Determined Contribution). India has a goal of installing 175 gigawatts of renewable power capacity by 2022 to increase its share of non-fossil based power capacity from 30 per cent at present to 40 per cent by 2030.
The loan to State Bank of India by the German Development Bank is part of Prime minister Narendra Modi's aim to provide housing for all under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana. Lower income households account for 95 per cent of the shortage of 20 million housing units in India. Under the scheme, economically weaker sections can avail easy loans to construct houses.
