₹2.7 lakh crore in sanctions shows India’s green shift is speeding up, Ireda chief says at Puri summit

At the Global Energy Leaders’ Summit in Puri, Pradip Kumar Das, Chairman & Managing Director of Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Limited (IREDA), highlighted IREDA’s key role in supporting Odisha’s clean-energy shift and promoting India’s sustainability goals.

Speaking at the panel on “Green and Clean: Balancing Ecology & Economy,” CMD of IREDA emphasised that ₹2.7 lakh crore in sanctions shows India’s green shift is accelerating. IREDA's chief said at the Puri summit that, from India’s perspective on renewable energy development, decarbonisation, and energy transition, responsibility cannot fall only on national leaders or corporate chiefs. Leaders at every level—states, districts, panchayats, villages, and even within families—must collectively share the responsibility of achieving net zero. He highlighted that this can only be achieved through a holistic approach that creates a strong ecosystem supporting both renewable-energy development and ecological balance.

He highlighted that IREDA, India’s largest pure-play green lender, has sanctioned over ₹2.7 lakh crore and disbursed more than ₹1.7 lakh crore nationwide, supported by strong governance, digital paperless processes, and industry-leading asset quality. This performance, he noted, continues to attract substantial interest from global and domestic climate-finance investors.

Emphasising the increasing importance of circular-economy practices, carbon markets, biodiversity offsets, and climate finance, Das stated that these tools are now vital for achieving sustainable and inclusive economic growth. Odisha, a major steel and aluminium producer, is well positioned to adopt circular manufacturing, including metals recycling and green hydrogen integration, enabling the production of premium green steel for export and boosting the state's GDP.

He also highlighted the potential of a Green Hydrogen Highway across Odisha, supported by more than 7 MTPA of announced green ammonia capacity and several industrial clusters. Co-locating hydrogen production with steel, aluminium, cement, and chemical units, he said, could unlock significant industrial efficiency and competitiveness.

On carbon markets, he observed that Odisha’s extensive forests and India’s largest mangrove ecosystem offer unique opportunities to mobilise climate finance through advanced Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) and digital carbon registries.

Reaffirming IREDA’s commitment, Shri Das said the agency has already disbursed over ₹2,400 crore in Odisha, with a loan book of about ₹1,800 crore across Hydro, Solar, Ethanol, and Manufacturing. He added that IREDA is ready to finance shared hydrogen infrastructure, plug-and-play renewable energy parks, distributed solar, and foreign-currency loans through its GIFT City subsidiary.

“Circularity, climate finance, and nature-positive development must move together. IREDA stands ready to partner with Odisha to deliver sustainable, community-centred growth for the future,” he said.

The event was honoured by the Deputy Chief Minister of Odisha, Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo, and Vishal Kumar Dev, Principal Secretary (Energy), Government of Odisha, along with senior officials from various states, developers, academia, researchers, and other dignitaries.

Along with Das, the panel discussion featured Lena Backer, former Enforcement Director at the Government of Sweden and Chairperson for Life of The Royal Foundation for Peace Global Fund; Prof. Madhavi Srinivasan, Executive Director of the Energy Research Institute at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore; and was moderated by Dr. Dhruba Purkayastha, Advisor (Climate and Energy) at the Observer Research Foundation.

Organised by the Government of Odisha in association with the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change and IIT Kanpur, the summit was held from 5–7 December.