New Delhi: India is ranked second after China among the emerging market economies in terms of issuance of green bonds, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary informed Lok Sabha on Monday. India's statement at COP26 had noted that substantial scaling up of climate action would require greater resources and low cost climate technologies from the developed countries, he said in a written reply.
According to him, the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), submitted under the Paris Agreement in 2015, provides a preliminary estimate that at least USD 2.5 trillion (at 2014-15 prices) would be required for meeting India's climate actions from 2015 to 2030. "India has seen an increasing number of issuance in the overseas green bond market. India is currently ranked 2nd (after China) among the emerging market economies in green bonds issuance," he said.
Till date, the minister said there have been 11 issuances of green debt securities, under SEBI guidelines, by private and public sector entities in India amounting to Rs 3,099 crore, he said.
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The Union Budget 2022-23 has emphasised sovereign green bonds and thematic funds for blended finance in areas, including climate action, he added.
Replying to a question on virtual currencies, Chaudhary said the government had constituted an Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) on November 2, 2017 under the Chairmanship of Secretary Economic Affairs with member representatives from Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (Meity), Securities & Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for examining the issues. The committee, he said, recommended that all private crypto currencies, except any crypto currency issued by the state, be banned in India.
"The government examined the IMC report in consultation with concerned ministries and regulators (RBI & SEBI). However, this sector is still evolving and issues connected with this sector require careful examination, consultation with experts and stakeholders, and international coordination," he said. Accordingly, he said, the government is in the process of having such a consultation.
With regard to introduction of Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), the government has included necessary amendments to the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 in the Finance Bill, 2022 to provide for an enabling framework for introduction of CBDC, he added.
In reply to another question, he said the accounts opened under the Sukanya Samriddhi Scheme has seen an increase in the last three financial years.During 2020-21, he said, there were 40.18 lakh accounts opened as compared to 37.15 lakh opened during previous financial year while 31.05 lakh accounts opened during 2018-19.
PTI
