MNRE takes initiative for Low Cost Financing for Renewable Energy

The Government has taken following major initiatives in coordination with different Ministries/Departments for mobilizing the low cost financing for renewable energy projects which inter-alia includes low cost borrowing through multi-lateral and bi-lateral agencies i.e. World Bank, Asian Development Bank, KfW Germany, etc.; inclusion of Renewable Energy Projects in Priority Sector Lending Norms of Commercial Banks; and approval for issuance of tax free infrastructure bonds for funding renewable energy projects during the FY 2015-16. This was stated by Mr. Piyush Goyal, Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal & New and Renewable Energy in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha

The Minister further stated that the Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) is providing Renewable Energy loans at the rate of interest which is 0.75% less than the Conventional Generation Projects. Moreover, there are no restrictions on the loan amount for Renewable Energy Projects and all projects found viable are eligible for funding. Further, in remote villages, Government is also providing grant through REC for Decentralized Distributed Generation under Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY).