JICA plans to scale up private investment operations in India

New Delhi: The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) plans to expand its Private Sector Investment and Finance (PSIF) operations in India, where its current commitment stands at about ₹6,500 crore across nine projects.

The agency focuses on sectors with development impact, including energy, agriculture, financial inclusion, women's empowerment and venture capital.

"We aim to expand the scale of PSIF operations in Indian market while financing to and investing in projects that pursue greater development impact and to contribute to mobilise private capital for impact investment in India," said Yosuke Sato, senior representative, JICA India Office.


About 80% of projects are debt-funded and 20% equity-based, Sato said.

JICA on Tuesday signed loan agreements worth ₹16,420 crore with the government of India to provide Japanese official development assistance loans for four projects.

These include a ₹1,112.1 crore programme to promote sustainable horticulture in Punjab; a ₹3,708 crore project to strengthen tertiary healthcare and medical and nursing education in Maharashtra; the ₹6,100 crore Bengaluru Metro Rail Phase 3; and the ₹5,500 crore Mumbai Metro Line 11. The loans carry interest rates of 2.7-2.9%, with consulting services at 0.8%. The repayment period is 30 years, including a 10-year grace period.

Sato said JICA does not raise funds within India. "The funding is composed of borrowing from government of Japan and international and domestic capital market through JICA bonds," he said, adding that funds are raised in US dollars and Japanese yen. JICA, which is involved in more than 300 projects in India including ODA loans and training programmes, plans to commit JPY 275 billion (about ₹16,000 crore) this year, compared with JPY 191 billion (about ₹11,100 crore) last year.