Project Beacon (IFC-51177)

Regions
  • South Asia
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Countries
  • India
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Financial Institutions
  • International Finance Corporation (IFC)
International, regional and national development finance institutions. Many of these banks have a public interest mission, such as poverty reduction.
Project Status
Proposed
Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.
Bank Risk Rating
B
Environmental and social categorization assessed by the development bank as a measure of the planned project’s environmental and social impacts. A higher risk rating may require more due diligence to limit or avoid harm to people and the environment. For example, "A" or "B" are risk categories where "A" represents the highest amount of risk. Results will include projects that specifically recorded a rating, all other projects are marked ‘U’ for "Undisclosed."
Voting Date
Jun 25, 2025
Date when project documentation and funding is reviewed by the Board for consideration and approval. Some development banks will state a "board date" or "decision date." When funding approval is obtained, the legal documents are accepted and signed, the implementation phase begins.
Borrower
Bharat Grid Private Limited
A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.
Sectors
  • Energy
  • Infrastructure
The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.
Investment Type(s)
Equity
The categories of the bank investment: loan, grant, guarantee, technical assistance, advisory services, equity and fund.
Investment Amount (USD)
$ 20.00 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Project Cost (USD)
$ 100.00 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Bank Documents
Primary Source

Original disclosure @ IFC website

Updated in EWS Jun 12, 2025

Disclosed by Bank May 5, 2025

Contribute Information
Can you contribute information about this project?
Contact the EWS Team

Project Description
If provided by the financial institution, the Early Warning System Team writes a short summary describing the purported development objective of the project and project components. Review the complete project documentation for a detailed description.

As stated on the project disclosure page, IFC, already an investor in Actis Asia Climate Transition (Actis or AACT), proposes to invest up to US$20 million (alongside an investment of US$80 million by AACT) through an Actis partnership, which together with other Actis partnerships will indirectly hold, subject to regulatory approvals, a 49% stake in Bharat Grid Private Limited (BGPL).

BGPL is an Indian smart meter platform established through a Joint Venture (JV) between EDF India (EDF India) and AACT.  IFC will not have direct ownership or governance rights in BGPL and will rely on Actis as the fund manager.  BGPL while leveraging EDF’s expertise in smart meters globally was established to participate in India’s smart metering rollout under the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS), a Government of India (GoI) initiative aimed at improving distribution efficiency through the deployment of smart prepaid meters.

BGPL deploys, manages, and maintains smart meter projects in India under the Design, Build, Finance, Own, Operate, and Transfer (DBFOOT) model, with concessions for up to 10 years. BGPL has already secured three concessions, totaling 7.3mn meters, and aims to win additional concessions. Installation activities for the first 3 concessions are expected to begin following Distribution Company (DISCOM) approvals, with indicative rollout timelines from 2025 to 2028.  

For project execution, BGPL will adopt a lean corporate structure, supported by EDF International Networks (EDF IN) as primary contractor. EDF IN will be responsible for managing subcontractors and delivering key services including installation, logistics, warehousing, and field operations. Separate SPVs will be established for each of the 3 concessions for coordination with EDF-IN.

Investment Description
Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.
Private Actors Description
A Private Actor is a non-governmental body or entity that is the borrower or client of a development project, which can include corporations, private equity and banks. This describes the private actors and their roles in relation to the project, when private actor information is disclosed or has been further researched.

As stated by the IFC, Actis, the fund manager of AACT, is a leading global investor in sustainable infrastructure. Actis was founded in 2004 and has a team of approximately 120 investment professionals across a network of 17 offices. To date, Actis has deployed billions of dollars of capital in c.300 investments. The firm currently has approximately US$15.5 billion of assets under management on behalf of over 400 limited partners.

Électricité de France (“EDF”) is a French electric utility owned by the Government of France. EDF’s core operations include (i) electricity generation and distribution, (ii) power plant design, construction, and dismantling, (iii) energy trading, and (iv) transport. It has an installed capacity of 125GW across 20+ countries.

Private Actor 1 Private Actor 1 Role Private Actor 1 Sector Relation Private Actor 2 Private Actor 2 Role Private Actor 2 Sector
- - - - Actis LLP Investor Finance
Actis LLP Parent Company Finance owns Bharat Grid Private Limited Client Energy
Electricité de France (EDF) Parent Company Energy contracts with Actis LLP Parent Company Finance
Electricité de France (EDF) Parent Company Energy owns Bharat Grid Private Limited Client Energy
Electricité de France (EDF) Parent Company Energy owns EDF International Networks (EDF-IN) Contractor Energy

Contact Information
This section aims to support the local communities and local CSO to get to know which stakeholders are involved in a project with their roles and responsibilities. If available, there may be a complaint office for the respective bank which operates independently to receive and determine violations in policy and practice. Independent Accountability Mechanisms receive and respond to complaints. Most Independent Accountability Mechanisms offer two functions for addressing complaints: dispute resolution and compliance review.

General IFC Inquiries - IFC Communications:

Address: 2121 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington DC 20433
Telephone: +1 202-473-3800
Fax: +1 202-974-4384

Parent Company - Actis LLP:

Asanka Rodrigo - Partner
Email: arodrigo@act.is

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

You can submit a request for information disclosure at: https://disclosures.ifc.org/#/inquiries

If you believe that your request for information from IFC has been unreasonably denied, or that this Policy has been interpreted incorrectly, you can submit a complaint at the link above to IFC's Access to Information Policy Advisor, who reports directly to IFC's Executive Vice President.

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF IFC/MIGA

The Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO) is the independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who believe they are likely to be, or have been, adversely affected by an IFC or MIGA- financed project. If you submit a complaint to the CAO, they may assist you in resolving a dispute with the company and/or investigate to assess whether the IFC is following its own policies and procedures for preventing harm to people or the environment. If you want to submit a complaint electronically, you can email the CAO at CAO@worldbankgroup.org You can learn more about the CAO and how to file a complaint at http://www.cao-ombudsman.org

How it works

How it works