The UK government, during the 11th Economic and Financial Dialogue (EFD) on Thursday, announced a $1.2 billion package for public and private investment in India’s green and renewable energy projects.
The announcement, which comes ahead of the UK hosting the COP26 climate conference in November, is expected to help drive India's green growth, the UK government said.
The package comprises a $1 billion investment from CDC, the UK’s development finance institution in green projects in India and joint investments by both governments to support companies working on innovative green tech solutions. The package also includes a new $200 million private and multilateral investment into the joint 'Green Growth Equity Fund', which invests in Indian renewable energy.
Both countries have also welcomed the launch of the Climate Finance Leadership Initiative (CFLI) which will be led by a group of leading financial institutions responsible for $6.2 trillion of assets and chaired by Michael Bloomberg, UN Special Envoy on Climate Ambition and Solutions.
UK Finance Minister Rishi Sunak and his Indian counterpart Nirmala Sitharaman have agreed to be ambitious when considering services in the upcoming UK-India trade negotiations, a statement said, adding that it could also open up new opportunities for UK financial firms and help more Indian companies to access finance in London.
Notably, services account for 71% of UK GDP, and 54% of Indian GDP. Sunak said these important new agreements will boost the India-UK relationship and deliver for both countries.
"Supporting India’s green growth is a shared priority, so I’m pleased that we’ve announced a $1.2bn investment package and launched the new CFLI India partnership, to boost investment in sustainable projects in India as the UK gears up to host COP26," he added.
He added that with trade negotiations coming up, India and the UK's agreement to be ambitious when considering services will create jobs investments in both countries.
The UK-India bilateral trade stood at over £18 billion in 2020 and supports nearly half a million jobs in the two economies. Both the nations aim to double mutual trade by 2030, including through negotiating a Free Trade Agreement.
At Thursday's Economic and Financial Dialogue, the UK also welcomed India’s recent decision to lift the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) cap in the insurance sector from 49% to 74%, which will help British firms take greater ownership of their operations in India.
Also read: India invites UK firms to invest in insurance sector