The Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), Ministry of Finance, Government of India, in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme India launched the Sustainable Finance Collaborative on 26th August 2020. The consultation was held on 26th, 27th and 28th August over virtual platform which brought forth thematic discussions around some key aspects of Sustainable Finance.

The Collaborative saw a host of thematic discussions centred around the broad scope of Sustainable Finance architecture in India. It included dialogues on critical elements such as the barriers to deploying new and innovative financing such as impact investing, role of blended finance instruments, green finance instruments for sustainable development, need for taxonomy of environmentally sustainable activities, sustainability related disclosures by corporates, and preparing the financial sector for the risks posed by climate change and other environmental and social issues.

Around 220 delegates representing different ministries and departments of Government of India, Indian financial sector regulators, Multilateral Development Banks, bilateral partner agencies, UN entities, financial institutions, impact and commercial investors, corporates, industry associations, Civil Society Organizations and academia participated in the dialogue.

The Collaborative provided valuable insights and tangible recommendations that would be helpful in developing a Sustainable Finance framework/roadmap for India.

Sustainable finance: consultation yields recommendations on taxonomy, disclosures, blended and green finance to guide framework development. Launch of a Sustainable Finance Collaborative to design India's sustainable finance architecture, focusing on impact investing, the role of blended and green finance instruments, barriers to deployment, the need for an environmental taxonomy, and enhanced sustainability related disclosures; the consultation also addressed preparing the financial sector for climate and environmental social risks and produced recommendations to inform a national Sustainable Finance framework and roadmap.