The French Development Agency (AFD) is marking its 15th anniversary of engagement in India as lender-partner in shaping development that is sustainable, inclusive and amplifies the public benefit, with an exhibition on the sea-facing wall of the French Consulate.
The exhibition, which was opened by visiting of French Ambassador Thierry Mathou, the other day, will be on for a month and showcases some of the significant projects undertaken across India, including Puducherry by the AFD (Agence Française de Développement).
The motto of the AFD Group is to finance, support and accelerate the transition to a fairer and more sustainable world. Since 2008, AFD is supporting India with the implementation of a low-carbon, inclusive and resilient development trajectory, in line with the international climate and Indo-Pacific agenda.
The AFD, which engages with government agencies, its subsidiary Proparco, dedicated to financing actors in the private sector, and Expertise France, the inter-ministerial agency responsible for technical cooperation, have helped create infrastructure across domains of water supply, transportation, smart cities, renewable energy, health, biodiversity and climate, said Camille Severac, AFD Deputy Director, who was in the city.
Its India operations have involved 46 projects, a financing commitment of an estimated 4 billion euros and impacting the lives of over 2.8 million beneficiaries. It also has a City Investments to Innovate, Integrate and Sustain 2.0 (CITIIS) initiative with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs as collaborator, aimed to improving the lives of citizens across 12 cities, including in Puducherry, where at least 12 sites are mapped to the project.
The initiatives range from rapid transit metro lines in Surat (which the German Development Bank is a co-financier) and replacement of diesel-driven autorickshaws to e-rickshaws in Amritsar to digital and green infrastructure in 28 Chennai schools. The diverse nature of project financing has also streamed aid into forest conservation in Rajasthan and micro-financing rural women self-help groups across the country.
In Puducherry, the AFD is essentially engaged in smart city, urban slum rehabilitation and drinking water supply augmentation projects. The drinking water supply augmentation project is in the final phase of commissioning, Ms. Severac said.
AFD assistance takes the form of soft loans, grants, expertise or technical assistance that are granted to States, local authorities, companies, foundations and NGOs.
“As a rule of thumb, we leave the execution of projects entirely in the hands of the partnering agency. The sustainability and public benefit orientation of the project are factored in during extensive negotiations that precede sanction of funds”, Ms. Severac said.
