KfW Bank of Germany plans to finance India’s 10,000 electric buses initiative

Germany's KfW bank is in talks with the Indian government to introduce 10,000 new electric buses for sustainable urban mobility. India will also contribute INR 20,000 crore to the scheme.

The state-owned development bank of Germany - KfW is in talks with the New Delhi government to provide financial support to India’s ambitious electric mobility scheme. The Union Cabinet approved a scheme of INR 57,613 crore in August to launch 10,000 new electric buses across 169 Indian cities.

The Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi and Chancellor Olaf Scholz had a meeting in 2022 concerning the development of India. As a result of the meeting, Germany will contribute a sum of 10 billion euros to India’s development funding by 2030.

India, aiming to improve urban bus service, will spend INR 20,000 crore on the ‘PM e-Bus Sewa’ scheme. The scheme will be implemented as a public private partnership.

The KfW bank works on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and financially helps developing countries to build new infrastructure.

The KfW has been working in India since 1958. Throughout these years, the bank has financially helped many high-profile metro projects in India. Now, the bank is in talks with the Indian government including the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs to lend financial support to introduce new electric buses in India.

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In regards to the infrastructure investments in India, the KfW’s website reads, “As the percentage of the Indian population living in urban centres is expected to rise to 50% by 2050, the development of climate-resilient infrastructure in cities is an important factor for India.

Green urban mobility is also being promoted. This includes expanding metro and underground lines in Mumbai and other cities, improving bus transport, switching to electric buses and creating better links between the various transport systems."

KfW has financially helped India on various occasions. In 2016, a loan agreement of 85 million euros was signed for the development of a water metro system in Kochi. The same year, a 500 million euro loan to finance the Nagpur metro was also agreed upon.

The website also reads, “Since the beginning of the German development cooperation in 1958, India has received government commitments totalling €13 billion, which is the highest amount worldwide.”

The financial support of KfW will play a crucial role in shaping India’s urban transportation. The partnership signifies a step toward sustainable and innovative urban mobility in India.