KfW has lent €200 million to an Indian efficient energy provider.

The borrower is the state-owned Energy Efficiency Services (EES), and the funds will be used to roll-out energy efficient measures such as LED technology, replacing water supply pumps for domestic, industrial and agricultural use.

The German development bank has lent the money on a 12-year basis, priced at 1.15%. This takes its funding for energy efficiency initiatives in India to €600mn.

India is the world’s third-largest energy consumer and producer of greenhouse gases. EESL was established in 2010 as a joint venture of four other state bodies (Rural Electrification Corporation, Power Finance Corporation, NTPC and Powergrid) to tackle the need for cleaner energy measures.

Among EESL’s policies are the promotion of LED lightbulbs, street lights and energy efficient air conditioning. One of its primary aims is to save around 600,000 tonnes of C02 emissions per year by establishing LED lighting throughout the country.

“The plans will lead to major reductions in CO2 emissions for the world’s third largest energy consumer and producer of greenhouse gases. With this innovative business model, India is breaking new ground when it comes to promoting large-scale investments in energy efficiency, making it a global pioneer in this field,” says Norbert Kloppenburn, of KfW’s executive board.

Energy efficiency aside, KfW has been active in other areas of India’s move to electrify rural parts of the country. In 2014, it lent €1bn in total to Powergrid, which is the Indian state transmission company, for the construction of power lines along “green corridors”. The power transmitted along these lines is generated by renewable energy sources

At the time, it was estimated that a quarter of Indians (around 300 million) had no access to electricity. Electrification by renewable sources has been a key policy under Narendra Modi, who has been attempting to make it easier to invest in India’s power sector since his election in 2014.