Parul
The sovereign green bonds are likely to be issued during January-March 2023, Union minister of state for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary told the Rajya Sabha on December 13, 2022.
The minister was replying to a question about the objectives of Green Bonds and whether the government could raise funds for projects by issuing them.
Green bonds are financial instruments that generate proceeds for investment in environmentally sustainable and climate-suitable projects.
Green Bonds will help the government in tapping the requisite finance from potential investors for deployment in public sector projects aimed at reducing the carbon intensity of the economy.
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“The proceeds will be deployed in public sector projects which help in reducing the carbon intensity of the economy,” the minister said. In line with the ambition to significantly reduce the carbon intensity of the economy, the Union Budget for 2022-23 mentioned sovereign Green Bonds.
Earlier in October this year, a committee of experts on sustainable finance, constituted by the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) at the GIFT City, submitted a report to the authority.
The committee is headed by CK Mishra, former secretary of, ministry of environment, forest and climate change. Its main focus is to align the IFSCA regulations with international best practices.
Some of the recommendations by the committee are sustainable green products, issuance of sovereign green bonds via IFSC, innovative sustainable finance products, voluntary carbon market, sustainable finance for micro small & medium enterprises (MSMEs), enabling derisking mechanisms, developing a voluntary carbon market and promoting green, said an official statement on October 6, 2022.
