Oct 19, 2022

The US government's Development Finance Corporation (DFC) also signed an agreement for a USD 10 million loan guarantee for Punjab Renewable Energy Systems, which will help fund the construction of seven biomass plants. PTI Representative image A US government arm on Tuesday announced a USD 35 million loan to domestic microlender Creditaccess Grameen (CAG), which will eventually help 5 lakh women entrepreneurs gain access to credit. The US government's Development Finance Corporation (DFC) also signed an agreement for a USD 10 million loan guarantee for Punjab Renewable Energy Systems, which will help fund the construction of seven biomass plants. The agreements were signed by DFC's visiting chief executive Scott Nathan on the first day of his visit to India, as part of the President Joe Biden administration's efforts to deepen the Indo-US ties and also help the broader causes it has committed to support. Nathan said the DFC, which has so far committed USD 3 billion of support to Indian private sector enterprises since getting formed in 2019 making the country the largest beneficiary of the programme, is committed to support financial inclusion and clean energy causes. It will also announce support on the healthcare front during the New Delhi-leg of Nathan's visit, and is also looking at other focus areas including bridging the digital divide and upping infrastructure. In remarks that came after a recent report highlighting India slipping on the global hunger index, Nathan told reporters that food security is also an important priority for the DFC, which it does through supporting the technology solutions, cold storages and logistics areas. He said that it has committed USD 30 million for an agritech fund and also given USD 10 million support to a milk company towards the same area. CAG's managing director and chief executive Udaya Kumar said the USD 35 million loan facility has a tenor of seven years and there is also a dedicated allocation for unwed women as part of the loan agreement.