ADB to Lend $1.2B to India for Clean Energy Push

• Asian Development Bank to lend $1.2B to India in 2026 for clean energy, green hydrogen, transport electrification, and power reforms
• Key support includes PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana, agricultural solarisation, and battery storage expansion
• ADB leverages funding to attract private investment, promote green skilling, and ensure sustainable energy infrastructure

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) plans to lend $1.2 billion to India in calendar year 2026, maintaining last year’s level of support as it deepens engagement in climate resilience, clean energy, and sustainable infrastructure.

The ADB loan India 2026 of $1.2 billion clean energy India will support ADB climate financing initiatives, expanding India renewable energy funding and advancing climate projects India 2026 through multilateral funding India for sustainable infrastructure India.

The funding will support clean power generation projects, transport electrification initiatives, green hydrogen production facilities, and power distribution system upgrades while providing technical assistance, which will help develop policy frameworks and institutional support structures.

According to Sujata Gupta, Director of ADB’s Energy Sector Office, the bank has expanded support for India’s clean energy transition through central and state-level initiatives aligned with net-zero goals.

The PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana serves as the main program which promotes residential rooftop solar systems. The program has achieved more than two million installations since its launch in February 2024, which have enabled more than 2.6 million households to benefit from the system by December 2025.

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The Asian Development Bank supports solar energy projects for agriculture in Maharashtra by funding private power generation development and enabling state-owned utilities to improve their electricity distribution systems.

The organization partners with financial institutions to develop decentralized renewable energy systems that include battery storage technology, which will improve grid system reliability.

The Asian Development Bank supports the Union Ministries of Power and New and Renewable Energy through its policy assistance work, which helps them, develop their regulatory frameworks and plan their long-term strategies for solar panel recycling and circular economy waste management.

The organization established a green skilling program to develop technical skills among underprivileged communities with a focus on creating opportunities for women.

Gupta stated, “The scale of available resources with institutions such as the Asian Development Bank and other MDBs is inherently constrained. As a result, MDBs must increasingly focus on designing innovative financing mechanisms to maximise impact and crowd in additional capital”.

He noted that Multilateral Development Banks need to use their limited public funds for sovereign and concessional financial resources because this will help them create blended finance solutions needed to bring private sector investment into clean energy development projects.