About
The Government of India has made it a national priority to drive development and access to electricity through cleaner growth, such as renewable energy and energy efficiency, including through an ambitious target of 40% of its electricity generation capacity from non-fossil fuel sources by 2030. However, India will need more capital, and at more attractive terms, in order to build the green infrastructure required.
Increasing investment from the private sector will be essential to driving the country’s infrastructure growth. Currently, high risks and other poor terms of financing may be limiting investment potential in India.
The India Innovation Lab for Green Finance was developed in response to this need for better investment vehicles. The India Lab, launched in November 2015, is a public-private initiative that identifies, develops, and accelerates innovative solutions to finance infrastructure for renewable energy and other channels for green growth.
It is a first-of-its-kind initiative that aims to provide concrete solutions to the unique financing challenges to investment in green infrastructure in India. By addressing investors’ needs, it can unlock billions of dollars of private investment for clean growth in India.
The Indian Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has endorsed the India Lab and is a key stakeholder. The India Lab is hosted and funded by Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation, with additional funding from the David and Lucille Packard Foundation, the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and the Oak Foundation. Climate Policy Initiative’s team in India serves as the Lab Secretariat and provides analytical support.
India Lab Members
India Lab Steering Group
Walt Reid – Lab Principal
Director, Conservation and Science Program, The David and Lucile Packard Foundation
Craig Neyman – Lab Advisor
Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, The David and Lucile Packard Foundation
Sahba Chauhan – Lab Principal
Programme Officer, Oak Foundation
Krishan Dhawan – Lab Principal
CEO, Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation
Pustav Joshi – Lab Advisor
Programme Manager, Clean Energy Finance, Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation
India Lab Principals and Advisors
Philippe Serres – Lab Principal
Regional Manager, South Asia, PROPARCO, Agence Française de Développement
Jean-Baptiste Imatte – Lab Advisor
Investment Officer, PROPARCO, Agence Française de Développement, New Delhi Office
Sanjeev Aggarwal – Lab Principal
Managing Director & CEO, Amplus Energy Solutions Private Limited
Akhilesh Kumawat – Lab Advisor
Manager, Amplus Energy Solutions Private Limited
Mayank Choudhary – Lab Principal
Senior Investment Specialist, Asian Development Bank
Amit Kumar – Lab Advisor
Investment Officer, Asian Development Bank
Dipender Saluja – Lab Principal
Managing Director, Capricorn Investment Group
Dr. Sushanta K. Chatterjee – Lab Principal
Joint Chief of Regulatory Affairs, Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC)
H.T. Gandhi – Lab Advisor
Deputy Chief of Finance, Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC)
Jayant Prasad – Lab Principal
Executive Board Member, cKers Finance
Santosh Janakiram – Lab Principal
Partner, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas
Mohan Kranti – Lab Advisor
Partner, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas
Vinod K Kala – Lab Principal
Managing Director, Emergent Ventures India
Snigdha Kala – Lab Advisor
Investments, Emergent Ventures India
Ronnie Khanna – Lab Principal
Senior Energy Specialist, KfW Development Bank
Sashi Kumar – Lab Advisor
IGEN-ACCESS Programme, GIZ India
Suvir S Davda – Lab Principal
Director, Global Market Corporate Services, HSBC India
Ankur Gupta – Lab Advisor
Sr. Manager, Corporate Risk Solutions, Global Markets Corporate Services, HSBC India
Aditya Aggarwal – Lab Principal
Partner, Infrastructure, IDFC Alternatives Limited
Mahendra Bisht – Lab Advisor
Director, IDFC Alternatives Limited
Gaurav Bhatiani – Lab Principal
Chief Operating Officer, IL&FS Trust Company Limited (ITCL)
Parag Baduni – Lab Advisor
Associate Director, IL&FS Trust Company Limited (ITCL)
Rajeev Kumar Gupta – Lab Advisor
Assistant Manager – Credit Monitoring, India Infrastructure Finance Company Ltd (IIFCL)
Venkataraman Rajaraman – Lab Principal
Senior Director and Head – Infrastructure and Project Finance, India Ratings & Research
Divya Charen C – Lab Advisor
Analyst – Infrastructure and Project Finance, India Ratings & Research
S.K. Bhargava – Lab Principal
Director of Finance, Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA)
Debjani Bhatia – Lab Advisor
Assistant General Manager, Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA)
Dr. Chandan Chowdhury – Lab Principal
Executive Director, Punj Lloyd Institute of Infrastructure Management, Indian School of Business
Kinshuk Saurabh – Lab Advisor
Associate Director, Punj Lloyd Institute of Infrastructure Management, Indian School of Business
Swapan Mehra – Lab Principal
CEO, IORA Ecological Solutions
Sriya Mohanty – Lab Advisor
Manager – Climate Policy, IORA Ecological Solutions
Prashant Sinha – Lab Principal
Head (Energy) – Credit Risk, L&T Infra Finance
Sanjeev Mishra – Lab Advisor
Team Manager – Energy Risk Vertical, L&T Infra Finance
Rajesh Cherayil – Lab Principal
Managing Director, Nereus Capital
William Pegues – Lab Principal
Director, Structured Finance, Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC)
Stephen Morel – Lab Advisor
Climate Finance Specialist, Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC)
Kailash Vaswani – Lab Principal
Deputy CFO, ReNew Power
Nikunj Kathuria – Lab Advisor
Corporate Finance, ReNew Power
Neeraj Jain – Lab Advisor
Assistant Vice President of Infrastructure, SBI Capital Markets
Paul Needham – Lab Principal
Chairman, Simpa Networks
Piyush Mathur – Lab Advisor
CEO, Simpa Networks
Pankaj Sindwani – Lab Principal
Head – Debt Origination and Syndication, Tata Cleantech Capital
Sunil Agrawal – Lab Advisor
Vice President, Tata Cleantech Capital
Guneet Singh – Lab Advisor
TAS Manager, Tata Cleantech Capital
Neeraj Menon – Lab Principal
Partner, Energy and Infrastructure team, Trilegal
Megha Kaladharan – Lab Advisor
Consultant, Trilegal
Sandy Sheard – Lab Principal
Head, Energy, Climate and Growth Unit, UK Government
Amit Rama – Lab Advisor
Director, International Investment Team, Green Investment Bank, UK Government
Udit Mathur – Lab Advisor
Senior Advisor, Low Carbon Growth at DFID, British High Commission, UK Government
Gabriel Eric Naranjo – Lab Advisor
Field Investment Officer, India, USAID
Simon Stolp – Lab Principal
Lead Energy Specialist, India, World Bank
Amit Jain – Lab Advisor
Energy Specialist in Renewable Energy, World Bank
Deepak Malhotra – Lab Advisor
Investment Officer, International Finance Corporation (IFC), World Bank
Preeti Sinha – Lab Principal
Senior President & Global Convenor, YES BANK and YES Institute
Gaurav Kapur – Lab Advisor
Vice President, YES BANK and YES Institute
India Lab Mentors
Praveen Kumar
Additional Secretary, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy
Veena Sinha
Director of International Relations, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy
Sharmila Chavaly
Former Joint Secretary, Ministry of Finance
India Lab Observers
Clean Energy Access Network
Council On Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW)
MacArthur Foundation
National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD)
National Resources Defense Council (NRDC)
Shell Foundation
Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI)
Tata Trusts
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
Ideas

Battery Subscription Facility
An electric bus battery financing mechanism to provide long-term debt financing to the electric transit sector in India, and reduce the ownership cost of electric buses to compete with diesel buses

Financing for Low-Carbon Auto Rickshaws
A facility to deploy more electric auto-rickshaws in Indian cities and provide better livelihoods for auto-rickshaw drivers, through a model that provides up to 100% debt financing at competitive rates, and opportunities for driver ownership

The Residential Rooftop Solar Accelerator
A vehicle to accelerate mass adoption of residential rooftop solar to power 200 million households in India, through standardized product offering, easy financing and efficient execution at scale

Solar Investment Trusts (SEITs)
A solar-specific investment trust to mobilize capital to the rooftop solar sector in India

Sustainable Energy Bonds (SEBs)
A class of bonds to drive impact investment to sustainable energy in India by offering debt exposure, sufficient returns, and standardized impact measures

The Matchmaker Service
A platform to drive needed private capital to sustainable urbanization projects in India by connecting investors and municipalities with a pipeline of investment opportunities

P50 Risk Solutions
Insurance to reduce the cost and increase the amount of long-term debt to the utility-scale renewable energy sector by transferring the risk of revenue uncertainty from banks to insurers, through a blending of commercial and donor capital

Rooftop Solar Private Sector Financing Facility
A facility to drive capital at a lower cost for financing rooftop solar projects in India, by providing long term financing through securitization

FX Hedging Facility
A hedging facility to facilitate large-scale foreign investment into renewable energy in India by providing a cheaper currency hedging solution
News & Events
California Clean Energy Fund invests in India Lab instrument Sustainable Energy Bond
September 17, 2018SAN FRANCISCO: The Innovations arm of the California Clean Energy Fund announced that it is investing $3 million in cKers Finance’s Sustainable Energy Bond issuance for India. These bonds are a new and innovative instrument, incubated by the India Innovation Lab for Green Finance in 2017, that allow impact investors to finance sustainable energy assets exclusively, […]
India Climate Dialogue: Financing initiative to boost the renewable sector
February 23, 2018A public-private initiative composed of experts in sustainable investment from governments, development finance institutions and the private sector — called the Lab — has picked a new class of investment vehicles to drive much-needed finance to low-carbon, climate-resilient global development out of over 100 ideas submitted into a competitive pool. The nine new instruments would […]
CleanTechnica: New Finance Instruments Will Help Fund India’s Green Infrastructure Targets
November 21, 2017Two new green finance instruments launched at the end of October by the India Innovation Lab for Green Finance are intended to help India meet its green infrastructure goals. The India Innovation Lab for Green Finance is one of four “Labs” set up by The Lab, a clean energy financing group which “identifies, develops, and […]
Investor group launches new investment vehicles for clean energy in India
October 26, 2017New Delhi, 27 October 2017 – The India Innovation Lab for Green Finance – a group of investors and government representatives that accelerates green finance instruments to meet India’s green infrastructure goals – launched two new instruments that could help catalyze millions of dollars for clean energy in India. The launch is in partnership with […]
Four instruments move forward to drive investment for green growth in India
June 21, 2017The India Innovation Lab for Green Finance – a group of public and private investors and finance experts on clean energy and green growth in India – continues to make progress on analysis and development of four innovative ideas for green finance instruments, with the aim of launching them for implementation in the fall of […]
Loans4SME wins $50,000 from Village Capital, and completes transactions worth USD $5.7 million
April 30, 2017Loans4SME is a 2015-2016 India Lab instrument that launched in April 2016 as a marketplace to catalyze cash-flow based loans for small businesses. Since July 2016, it has closed transactions with a total deal size of INR 38 crore, or USD $5.7 million. 80% of these transactions have been in support of SMEs in renewable […]
New class of transformative green finance instruments for India
March 27, 2017New Delhi – The India Innovation Lab for Green Finance has selected three new ideas for green finance instruments to move forward for further analysis, development, and preparation for piloting. The new instruments for the India Lab’s 2016-2017 cycle could help catalyze millions of dollars for clean energy and sustainable urbanization in India. Through an […]
OPIC, the Government of India and Leading Foundations Announce New US-India Clean Energy Finance Initiative
December 16, 2016Delhi, India, 16 December 2016—Today, during a signing ceremony at the Taj Mahal Hotel in Delhi, the US-India Clean Energy Finance (USICEF) initiative announced its formal launch. The launch of USICEF marks a critical milestone on the commitment made between the United States and Indian Governments to mobilize finance for Indian distributed clean energy projects. […]
Investor network launches three new instruments to accelerate millions to renewable energy and green growth in India, and opens a new call for ideas
October 25, 2016New Delhi, 25 October 2016 Today, the India Innovation Lab for Green Finance (the India Lab) announced endorsement of three innovative investment vehicles that will help drive millions of dollars of needed investment to India’s clean energy and green growth targets. This announcement is in partnership with the India Lab’s public and private Lab Members, including the […]
India Lab launches three new instruments
The India Innovation Lab for Green Finance (the India Lab) announced endorsement of three innovative investment vehicles that will help drive millions of dollars of needed investment to India’s clean energy and green growth targets. They include a rooftop solar financing facility, a new lending platform for green investments, and a currency exchange instrument. Read […]
Investor network seeks powerful, actionable ideas to drive finance for a low-carbon, climate-resilient economy
September 19, 2016Submit ideas at http://www.ClimateFinanceIdeas.org New York—Today, in the margins of Climate Week, a network of investors, governments, businesses, and foundations launched a call for ideas to accelerate finance for climate mitigation and adaptation. “Nations and businesses have put forward strong targets for climate action, but implementation is still a challenge, particularly when it comes to investment,” […]
India Lab moves forward, selects four new ideas
February 26, 2016The India Innovation Lab builds on the successes of The Global Lab, but adapts them to India’s unique opportunities and challenges. Following a successful call for ideas, the India Lab has selected four new ideas for green finance instruments to move forward in development. Read more
The India Lab selects four innovative ideas to drive finance to renewable energy and green growth in India
February 22, 2016New Delhi – The India Innovation Lab for Green Finance has selected four new ideas for green finance instruments to move forward for development in the next phase of its inaugural year. Lab Members, consisting of experts from government, finance, renewable energy, and infrastructure, met on 22 February in New Delhi to vote on four ideas showing […]
India Innovation Lab for Green Finance, a New Initiative Supported by Government and Business Leaders, Seeks Innovative Ways to Drive Finance to Cleaner Growth in India
November 12, 2015Call for ideas to boost investment in green infrastructure in India to open November 23, ahead of COP21 NEW DELHI– Today, with the endorsement of the Government of India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, a first of its kind initiative has been launched to identify and develop innovative finance instruments that can unlock investment […]
India Innovation Lab for Green Finance, a sister to The Global Lab
With the endorsement of the Government of India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, The India Innovation Lab builds on the successes of The Global Lab, but adapts them to India’s unique opportunities and challenges. Read more