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Varad, Akhilesh, welcome.
Varad,to you first.

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Climate finance is very high on
the agenda at the moment.

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Why is that the case?

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Why is it given such prominence
right now?

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You know, climate finance is the
real elephant in the room in the

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climate change crisis.

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All the estimates that we have,
including BCG analysis, shows we

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need between $3 to $5 trillion a
year until 2050 to tackle this issue.

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And currently, we're doing about
one-fifth of that.

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So this is the challenge.

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However, I see the glass as half
full for the reason that you can

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see around you.

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Everybody is showing up to try
and solve the problem.

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And in the first three days of
COP, we have seen some massive

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commitments on climate finance,
led by the host country, the

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UAE, but also supported by other
governments, by the private

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sector, and by the multilateral
development banks.

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Akhilesh, let's talk
specifically about blended

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finance.

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It's another area that we're
hearing a lot about.

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What does it mean in the context
of India?

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So blended finance is an
important tool in trying to

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complement wherever markets for
finance have failed in some

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sense.

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There are either newer
industries, newer technologies,

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newer ecosystems that need to be
set up, which may not

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necessarily meet either the cost
of capital that typical

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commercial investors may want or
not have the time horizon or the

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risk horizon that typical
investors may have.

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So you need different types of
capital, which can then offer

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some more respite, let us say,
to some of these ecosystems,

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some of these projects, etc., so
that they can come into

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fruition.

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There is a lot of
experimentation that is required

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in just getting the carbon out
of the air and reducing the

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amount of carbon.

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So we need some amount of
blended finance.

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Having said that, in our own
understanding and estimate, and

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we've been doing a lot of
climate investing in India

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specifically, even getting to a
double-digit number for blended

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finance in the capital stack, a
10% sort of a number, is

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fantastic.

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So there we go.

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So, potential there.

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Let's talk specifically about
your fund. Where are the

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opportunities? Talk to me about
that, if you would.

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National Investment and
Infrastructure Fund is a $5

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billion fund, raises capital
from the government of India,

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which offers in 49% of the
capital that we invest.

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The rest 51% comes in from
global sovereign wealth funds,

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MDBs, and pension funds,

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so people who have very long
term sort of outlook and hence

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for whom climate is an important
opportunity as well as a risk

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that they need to protect
against.

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We've invested across the board
on climate-related technologies,

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whether it's in renewables,
whether it's in smart meters,

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whether it is in electric
vehicles.

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We also run a couple of what are
called shadow banks, about a $4

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billion portfolio which again
provides a debt financing to

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some of these sectors.

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But what is your takeaway for
leaders in this debate?

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I'm going to shamelessly steal
something I heard earlier today,

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which is the "ABC." We need to
accelerate, we need to blend,

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and we need to commit.

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I think that's the that's the
bottom line.

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And, as I said, there is a lot
of hope and optimism, given the

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kind of commitments and
announcements that have been

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made this week, including on
often forgotten aspects of the

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climate crisis like adaptation
and resilience and loss and

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damage.

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So, overall, I think a lot of
hope and optimism coming out of

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this week.

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Varad, Akhilesh, thank you so
much.

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Thank you.