IIFL Home Finance inks agreement with Asian Development Bank

New Delhi: IIFL Home Finance (IIFL HFL), one of India’s leading housing finance company, has signed an agreement with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for Technical Assistance (TA) to support and foster the green building ecosystem in the affordable housing sector in India. This is ADBs first such private sector agreement in the country.

Thee cost of the activities to be exercised under this TA agreement is approximately $1 million, enabling activities addressing some of the key identified obstacles for building the ecosystem for green certified and affordable housing in India. IIFL HFL shall also contribute an additional amount of up to $150,000, for supporting the above mentioned activities and objectives as described in the TA agreement.

Speaking on the association, Mr. Monu Ratra, ED & CEO – IIFL Home Finance Limited, said, “We look forward to this association with the Asian Development Bank and intend to work towards our common and established goal of sustainable ecosystem, sparking a green affordable housing movement in the country. This initiative will integrate green lending and climate adaptation strategies in the context of affordable housing in India.”

IIFL HFL, through selected independent special consultants and with their Green Value Partners (certified Green Architects), will coordinate, support, direct and monitor the activities under the TA programme through its expertise and knowledge so as to achieve the desired outcome as envisaged.

Activities under the TA include:

1. Promotional Activities: Organizing knowledge programmes for increasing awareness among affordable housing developers, and other stakeholders regarding the climate risk mitigation and adaptation benefits to promote adoption of green certified housing standards in the affordable housing segment.
2. Capacity Building: Organizing training sessions for IIFL HFL’s technical team, staff of state housing boards and housing developers staff on subjects such as site risk assessment, climate adaptation measures and green certification process for climate resilient buildings.
3. Research and Innovation: Undertaking market research initiatives across the entire value chain of climate resilient green housing including                                                                                                                      a) assessing current awareness of prospective buyers and developers and establishing a baseline of consumer understanding                                                                                                                        b)formulating a unified green building ratings system to encompass tailored adaptations to the local climate zones of various regions across India                                                                                             c)establishing a system to integrate green lending and climate adaptation strategies in the context of affordable housing

IIFL HFL has already been propagating green affordable housing in India through its platform ‘Kutumb’, which is a green building initiative addressing the affordable housing projects regarding issues relating to financing, technical know-how of green construction and certification, and ESG compliance.