Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman approves Sovereign Green Bonds framework

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has approved the final Sovereign Green Bonds framework of India. Green bonds are financial instruments that generate proceeds for investment in environmentally sustainable and climate-suitable projects.

This approval will further strengthen India’s commitment towards its Nationally Determined Contribution targets, adopted under the Paris Agreement. It will help in attracting global and domestic investments in eligible green projects.

The proceeds generated from the issuance of such bonds will be deployed in Public Sector projects which help in reducing carbon intensity of the economy.

The Finance Ministry said, the framework comes



close on the footsteps of India’s commitments under Panchamrit as elucidated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, at COP26 at Glasgow in November last year.

The Ministry has constituted a Green Finance Working Committee (GFWC) with representation from relevant Ministries and chaired by Chief Economic Adviser, Government of India.

The committee will meet at least twice a year to support Ministry of Finance with selection and evaluation of projects.

The allocation of the proceeds will be reviewed in a time-bound manner by the GFWC to ensure that the allocation of proceeds is completed within 24 months from the date of issuance.