Statement
I’ve had a very successful two-day trip to India, which included a meeting with Prime Minister Modi and another meeting with Finance Minister Jaitley.
From my discussions with Prime Minister Modi, we will continue our efforts to support the government's six priorities as well as give special emphasis to accelerating the country's renewable energy push. We also discussed ways of helping the government in its efforts to improve the nutrition of all children -- the best investment possible for India's future.
One of the reasons that I always appreciate my meetings with the Prime Minister is that he always pushes us to move faster and faster – to keep pace with him. We promised that we would do so, and in particular talked about supporting his government’s pace on expanding renewable energy sources.
We made two important announcements on solar power during this trip.
First, we signed an agreement with the International Solar Alliance, consisting of 121 countries led by India, to collaborate on increasing solar energy use around the world, with the goal of mobilizing $1 trillion dollars in investments by 2030. This Agreement establishes the World Bank Group as a financial partner for the alliance.
Second, we plan to provide more than $1 billion dollars to support India’s ambitious initiatives to expand solar through investments in solar generation. These projects now under preparation include solar rooftop technology, infrastructure for solar parks, bringing innovative solar and hybrid technologies to market, and transmission lines for solar-rich states. As part of our $1 billion dollar solar commitment to India, today we signed an agreement with the Government of India for a $625 million dollar grid connected rooftop solar program. The project will finance the installation of at least 400 megawatts of solar photovoltaic installations.
These investments for India will together become the Bank’s largest financing of solar projects for any country in the world. We are doing all we can to support Prime Minister Modi’s personal commitment toward renewable energy, especially in scaling up solar energy. India has become a global leader in implementing the promises made in Paris for COP21 and the global efforts to tackle climate change.
