India signs $5.19 mn grant agreement with IBRD for MSMEs

India The government on Tuesday signed a $5.19 million grant agreement with International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) for financing energy efficiency at micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) project, an official statement said.

"An agreement for Global Environment Facility (GEF) grant of $5.19 million for additional financing for energy efficiency at MSMEs project- programmatic framework for energy efficiency was signed here," said a Finance Ministry statement.

The parent project -- India: Financing Energy Efficiency at MSME Project (FEEMP) - became effective on September 29, 2010 with an original GEF grant amount of $11.3 million. The development objective of the project was to increase demand for energy efficiency investments in select micro, small and medium enterprise clusters and to build their capacity to access commercial finance.

"The proposed additional financing would be used to help further scale up the initiatives taken up under the parent project. It will also contribute to bridge the current gap in understanding between different stakeholders, mainly energy professionals/technology suppliers, entrepreneurs, banks and financial institutions," the statement said.

--IANS

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