The Prime Ministers of India and the U.K. met in New Delhi to discuss a range of collaboration efforts between the two nations, including the commitment to jointly fund a £10 million ($12.4 million) India-U.K. Clean Energy R&D Centre on solar energy.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi confirmed the collaboration during British PM Theresa May’s official state visit to the country, designed to strengthen ties between the two trading partners. India is the third-largest investor in the U.K., while Britain is the largest G20 investor in India.
The solar PV markets of the two nations have diverged wildly over the past 18 months, with India’s rising mirroring the contraction of solar installations in the U.K. However, the two leaders evidently believe that they can work from the same page when it comes to solar and, more widely, renewable energy and climate change in general.
A joint statement issued by the two leaders detailed the role that the U.K. will play in funding low carbon infrastructure in India, largely via the issuance of green bonds denominated in the Indian currency, rupees. Since July this year London has issued in excess of $1.1 billion of rupee-denominated bonds, paving the way for the first green bonds.
The two governments also announced plans for the introduction of an inaugural India-UK Energy Summit to be hosted early next year.
By Baishakhi Dutta
