Blue bonds: India’s new ocean of finance
India is launching its first blue bond under the Sagarmala programme to raise ₹1,000 crore for maritime infrastructure projects. This initiative aims to tap into capital markets for sustainable ocean-related development while setting new standards for environmental disclosure.
Why it matters
It represents a shift in infrastructure financing from traditional bank loans to sustainable thematic bonds, potentially unlocking massive capital for India's maritime economy.
India’s maiden blue bond, under the Sagarmala programme, seeks to bring the ocean economy to the capital markets, even as doubts linger on its timing given the signs of hardening global interest rates.
As much as ₹1,000 crore is slated to be raised through a blue bond issuance by Sagarmala Finance Corporation Ltd. (SMFCL), the financing arm associated with the Sagarmala programme, one of the critical parts of India’s mammoth multimodal infrastructure programme called PM GatiShakti. The funds are intended to support maritime projects.
The proposed thematic bond issue by SMFCL is small in size compared with Sagarmala’s overall investment pipeline, as it represents only 0.17% of the total identified project cost of more than ₹6 lakh crore.
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