Wold Bank to lend a record $1 billion loan to India for Modi's solar goals

The World Bank has said that it would lend India over USD 1 billion for its huge solar energy programme. This comes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi met World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim. PM Modi had sought climate change funds from the World Bank chief.

Rather than going for emission cuts, PM Modi is banking on 300 days of sunshine to generate power and fight climate change. This is World Bank’s biggest solar aid for any country. India has set a goal of raising its solar capacity nearly 30 times to 100 gigawatts by 2020. Top companies and institutions are sending mega investment proposals for the same.

"Prime Minister Modi's personal commitment toward renewable energy, particularly solar, is the driving force behind these investments," World Bank President Jim Yong Kim said in a statement released after he met the PM.