NHB, AFD and EU expand competitive funding to green housing

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], Feb 24 (ANI/PRNewswire): India's apex housing finance institution National Housing Bank (NHB), the French Development Agency (AFD) and the European Union (EU) today reiterated their common commitment to allocation of resources for promotion of green and affordable housing projects through the 'SUNREF India Housing Programme'.
The programme, backed by a credit line of EUR100 million from AFD, allows banks, housing finance companies and homebuyers to fund green and affordable housing projects and investments therein.
"The SUNREF India program carries a subsidy of EUR12 million granted by the EU (Asia Investment Facility, or AIF) - including a technical assistance grant of EUR3 million for promotion of the programme in India. Further, up to EUR1 million is available to support the cost of green label certifications incurred by the project developer," said Kulasekhara Chakravarthy, General Manager, NHB.
"SUNREF India Housing Programme is in line with India's commitment under the Paris agreement as well as EU's global priorities to work towards a low carbon-emission pathway. Affordable green housing not only adds on to sustainable infrastructure but also ensures that they are environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout their life-cycle. Certified green buildings ensure as much as 40-50 per cent energy savings and 20-30 per cent water savings compared with conventional buildings in India," said Smita Singh - Senior Project Manager for the Delegation of the European Union to India at the regional promotional event in Mumbai.
At today's event, which was attended by representatives of housing finance companies, real estate developers and government agencies, as well as green-building experts, officials of NHB, AFD and EU underlined the many benefits -- environmental, economic and social -- of green housing for promoters, users and other stakeholders.
For one, compared with other major emitting sectors such as energy, agriculture and transport, the housing sector has a huge potential for significant reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
"By 2025, SUNREF India Housing Programme would have benefited 12,000 households, of which at least half would be from economically weaker sections and Maharashtra, which already houses around 40 per cent of green-rated residential buildings, emerges as a front runner in this important agenda," said Augustin DELISLE, Investment Officer - Energy and Financial Sector at the French Development Agency (AFD).
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