Solar Rooftop Investment Program (Tranche 3) (ADB-49419-004)

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
  • Asian Development Bank (ADB)
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
U
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."
Borrower
National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development
A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.
Sectors
  • Energy
The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.
Investment Type(s)
Loan
The categories of the bank investment: loan, grant, guarantee, technical assistance, advisory services, equity and fund.
Investment Amount (USD)
$ 150.00 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.
Loan Amount (USD)
$ 150.02 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.
Primary Source

Original disclosure @ ADB website

Updated in EWS Jun 18, 2024

Disclosed by Bank Oct 27, 2023


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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.

According to ADB documents, NABARD is mandated to provide finance/refinance grid-connected solar rooftop installations and contribute to achieving the Government of India's (GOI) ambitious set target in grid-connected solar rooftop installations. The GOI has set an ambitious goal of reaching 40 GW in total solar capacity, with 10.9 GW of grid-connected solar rooftop installations already in operation, and there is vast potential for augmenting the lending portfolio to solar rooftop installations across India. NABARD has thus drawn up plans to expand its lending portfolio/investments in this sector, enabling the transition towards low-carbon and climate-resilient operations and achieving the voluntary goal of carbon neutrality in the coming decade. NABARD already has a line of credit for the solar rooftop segment for commercial, industrial, and residential housing sectors to provide long-term and affordable financing through the Green Climate Fund (GCF). NABARD is accredited as a national implementing entity (NIE) for the implementation of feasible climate adoption projects in India under the Adaptation Fund (AF), set up under the Kyoto Protocol of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

On October 2023, the government submitted to ADB a periodic financing request (PFR) for each tranche 2 and 3 to be provided to the SBI and NABARD, respectively. Each PFR is aligned with a financing framework agreement (FFA), which was revised and agreed on the government, the SBI and NABARD. In the revised FFA, the MFF's roadmap and policy framework have been unchanged since the program remains highly important to achieve the government's intended outcome of increased solar rooftop capacity in India. To enable the SBI and NABARD to take over implementation, the MFF availability period was extended until 30 September 2026 over 10 years Along based on the major change. Furthermore, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) became the oversight body in place of the PNB Board to supervise overall program implementation.

PROJECT RATIONALE AND LINKAGE TO COUNTRY/REGIONAL STRATEGY

On 4 July 2023, ADB approved a major change in the facility to restructure the program. This was because PNB was unsuccessful in implementing the program effectively. In view of PNB's nonperformance, the Government of India, as the loan guarantor, has requested ADB to include additional borrowers in the program. Under the major change, the State Bank of India (SBI) and the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) were identified as the additional borrowers to implement the subsequent tranches of the MFF. PNB's tranche 1 loan of $100 million has been reduced to $9.5 millionas requested by PNB and consented to by the Government of India. Given the major change, the SBI was expected to be the additional borrower for the unutilized balance of $90.5 million under the existing tranche 1, which would be processed separately as a new tranche 2, while NABARD was expected to be the borrower in parallel under the existing tranche 2 ($150 million) and existing tranche 3 ($250 million), which would also be processed separately as new tranches 3 and 4.

 

Early Warning System Project Analysis
For a project with severe or irreversible impacts to local community and natural resources, the Early Warning System Team may conduct a thorough analysis regarding its potential impacts to human and environmental rights.

The ADB categorized the project risks as 'FI'.

Investment Description
Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.
Financial Intermediary
A financial intermediary is a bank or financial institution that receives funds from a development bank. A financial intermediary then lends these funds to their clients (private actors) in the form of loans, bonds, guarantees and equity shares. Financial intermediaries include insurance, pension and equity funds. The direct financial relationship is between the development bank and the financial intermediary.
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.

National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) is a development bank established in 1982 to foster rural prosperity and is wholly owned by the Government of India (GOI). NABARD partners with other banking and financial institutions and development-oriented government and non-governmental institutions with a mandate to promote sustainable and equitable agriculture and rural development. NABARD, with its headquarters in Mumbai, has 31 regional offices and over 400 development managers at the district level of all states and Union territories across India.


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.
Responsible ADB Officer Ogino, Kaoru
Responsible ADB Department Sectors Group
Responsible ADB Division Energy Sector Office (SG-ENE)
Executing Agencies
Nat'l Bank for Agriculture & Rural Dev (NABARD)

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

You can submit an information request for project information at: https://www.adb.org/forms/request-information-form

ADB has a two-stage appeals process for requesters who believe that ADB has denied their request for information in violation of its Access to Information Policy. You can learn more about filing an appeal at: https://www.adb.org/site/disclosure/appeals

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF ADB

The Accountability Mechanism is an independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who believe they are likely to be, or have been, adversely affected by an Asian Development Bank-financed project. If you submit a complaint to the Accountability Mechanism, they may investigate to assess whether the Asian Development Bank is following its own policies and procedures for preventing harm to people or the environment. You can learn more about the Accountability Mechanism and how to file a complaint at: http://www.adb.org/site/accountability-mechanism/main.

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