Rural Electrification eyes Rs10,000 crore renewables lending push

New Delhi: Rural Electrification Corp (REC), a government-owned company backing India's power sector, is planning to triple its lending in the clean-energy sector by setting aside about Rs 10,000 crore (US$ 1.5 billion) for financing renewable energy projects, evacuation infrastructure and equipment manufacturers in FY 2017-18.
Mr P V Ramesh, Chairman, REC stated that the company plans to mobilize resources via green bonds in Europe and social impact bonds in Scandinavia. The company is also interested in investing in Tesla Inc, electric vehicles manufacturer, if it enters the Indian market. REC's lending shift to clean energy is influenced by Prime Minister of India, Mr Narendra Modi's vision of 175 gigawatts (GW) of renewable capacity addition by 2022.