IREDA to increase MSME participation in renewable energy by offering more loans – EQ Mag Pro
NEW DELHI: The Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) on Friday said it is committed to increasing participation of MSMEs in the green energy sector by offering more loans, its Chairman and Managing Director Pradip Kumar Das said. He was speaking at the MSME Banking Conclave 2022.
Addressing the conclave organized by MSME Business Forum India, Minister of State for Finance Bhagwat Karad lauded the efforts of the IREDA for the overall development of the renewable energy sector.
Das said while MSMEs only represent 1.86 per cent of the company’s total loan assets of Rs 33,884 crore (as of May 2022), the IREDA is attempting to address the issues of MSMEs in order to increase their participation in the renewable energy (RE) sector.
He emphasised that the target of 500 GW of RE capacity by 2030 cannot be achieved without the considerable participation of MSMEs, and therefore, their efforts will be a crucial driver of Aatmnirbhar Bharat.
He further said he is quite confident that India will easily achieve the target of 50 per cent share of energy from non-fossil fuels and also the 500 GW RE capacity before the deadline of 2030 set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
A major barrier for MSME entrepreneurs is the inability to get loans with reasonable interest rates, but the IREDA has significantly improved the ease of doing business in terms of faceless loan sanctions and disbursements, reduction in loan sanction, documentation and disbursement cycle, and increased geographical footprint in the country, added Das.
He also highlighted that despite the second and third waves of the pandemic, the IREDA reported all-time high annual profit after tax of Rs 634 crore and profit before tax of Rs 834 crore in 2021-22, registering a massive growth of 82.88 per cent and 46.41 per cent, respectively over 2020-21.
He said the company is committed to addressing the adverse effects of climate change and reducing pollution levels through financing support for RE projects.
Source: PTI
