New Delhi (NVI): The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Invest India have launched the SDG Investor Map for India, laying out 18 investment opportunities areas (IOAs) in six critical SDG enabling sectors, that can help India push the needle forward on Sustainable Development.
The development pathway that India chooses will set an example for other emerging nations and determine the achievement of global environmental and social targets, the UNDP said.
It is thus critical to ensure that these pathways are sustainable, resilient and equitable.
“India occupies a key role in determining the success of the SDGs, globally. This initiative is an instrumental stride in India’s development trajectory, and I believe it couldn’t have come at a better time. We hope our data-backed research and insights serve as useful blueprints to understand how best the SDG financing gap can be narrowed in India,” Invest India MD & CEO Deepak Bagla said.
The 6 SDG-enabling sectors include education, healthcare, agriculture & allied activities, financial services, renewable energy & alternatives and sustainable environment, Ministry of Commerce & Industry said in a statement.
These sectors and the IOAs within them were selected through a rigorous analytical process that included extensive consultations with a number of major domestic and international investors, government stakeholders and think-tanks, the statement added.
This ensured that the Map’s findings were truly reflective of market sentiment, the Ministry stated..
Of the 18 IOAs identified, 10 are already mature investable areas that have seen robust private equity and venture capital activity, and feature companies that have been able to unlock scale and demonstrate profitability.
The remaining eight IOAs are emerging opportunities, which have seen traction from early-stage investors, the Commerce Ministry statement further read.
Nearly 50 per cent of the shortlisted IOAs have historical investments that have yielded IRRs (internal rate of return) in excess of 20 per cent. While 84 per cent of the IOAs have investment timeframes ranging from the short term (less than 5 years) to the medium-term (between 5- 15 years).
-CHK
