IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, and the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Ltd. (IREDA) - the financing arm of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy - are to partner in a bid to boost infrastructure financing for renewable energy projects in India.

This collaboration is expected to help standardize steps that lenders take when co-financing projects with IFC. The ultimate aim is to make local currency financing available in shorter time-frames and reduce financing costs for lenders and borrowers.

"The partnership will help IREDA increase its portfolio in financing renewable energy projects, to support the government of India's plans to establish up to 175 gigawatts of renewable energy projects over the next seven years," said K. S. Popli, Chairman and Managing Director, IREDA. "Our clients will have access to global best practices including IFC's environmental and social guidelines."

IFC's master cooperation agreement was created in 2009 in response to calls for finance institutions to collaborate more closely to help meet shortfalls in private sector financing during the global financial crisis.

"Enhancing India's power generation capacity is critical to expand access to electricity and support domestic manufacturing and agribusiness sectors," said Vivek Pathak, IFC's Director for Asia-Pacific. "Partnering with IREDA will enable developers to speedily commission renewable energy projects while having a positive environmental footprint and creating jobs."

Since the master cooperation agreement was created, signatories have co-invested more than $3 billion with IFC to support private sector development across the world.

"IFC and IREDA will play a catalytic role in private sector development by providing long-term risk capital where it is needed most," added Hyun Chan Cho, IFC's Head for Infrastructure and Natural Resources - Asia Pacific. "With this partnership, we can respond more swiftly to private sector financing needs and boost job creation."