State Bank of India and Small Industries Development Bank of India have signed separate agreements with Japanese development finance institutions to lend to Indian companies and fund projects. Sidbi said it signed a 30 billion yen (about $290 million) loan agreement with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) to lend to small enterprises for an energy saving project in India. The objective of the project is to promote energy saving by providing financial assistance to MSMEs directly, through Sidbi, and through indirect schemes to primary lending institutions (PLIs) and non-banking financial companies (NBFCs), Sidbi said in a statement. It is a 15-year line of credit backed by a government guarantee. SBI said it has signed an agreement to set up an export credit line with Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, totalling $152 million. It is a dual currency credit line worth 13.5 billion yen ($130 million) and $21 million. The credit line will be utilized by Meja Urja Nigam to finance the procurement of steam turbine generator equipment from Japanese companies and their subsidiaries in India to construct a super critical pressure coal-fired power plant (660MWx2 units) in Meja, Uttar Pradesh. MUNPL is a joint venture equally invested by NTPC and Uttar Pradesh Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam, said SBI.
