The government and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) are working on a framework for the issuance of Sovereign Green Bonds, the finance ministry said on March 31.
"The issuance of Sovereign Green Bonds will be announced once the preparatory work is completed," the ministry added.
On March 22, Network18 had exclusively reported, citing sources, that the framework for green bonds would likely be read by the end of May. According to the sources, the first tranche of these bonds may only be issued by November-December.
In her Budget speech on February 1, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had said the Green Bonds issued would be part of the overall borrowing programme for FY23.
The money raised from the Green Bond issuances will fund public sector projects that help in reducing the carbon intensity of the economy.
The central government is set to borrow Rs 14.31 lakh crore via the issuance of bonds in FY23. The first half of the record-breaking borrowing programme will see Rs 8.45 lakh crore worth of bonds being issued in the first half of the next financial year.
According to some media reports, the government will issue at least Rs 24,000 crore of these Green Bonds.
India's decision to issue Green Bonds comes amid a push for clean energy. Speaking at the Asia Economic Dialogue last month, Sitharaman had said the country's post-pandemic recovery would be driven by the transition to green energy.
At the COP26 conference in Glasgow in November, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had pledged to cut India's emissions to net-zero by 2070.
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