The Indian Venture and Alternate Capital Association (IVCA), the apex body representing India’s alternate capital ecosystem, will host the second edition of the GreenReturns Summit on 24–25 November 2025 in New Delhi. As one of IVCA’s flagship platforms, the Summit brings together key voices shaping India’s climate finance landscape, including global and domestic investors, policymakers, multilateral institutions, and climate-focused entrepreneurs.
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IVCA GreenReturns Summit 2025 to Mobilise Capital for India’s Climate Transition
This year’s Summit is supported by leading institutions across finance, law, investment, and innovation. The partners for GreenReturns Summit 2025 are: SBI Ventures (Lead Partner), followed by AZB & Partners (Knowledge Partner), BIRAC – Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (Knowledge Partner), IDFC First (Banking Partner), Khaitan & Co. (Gold Partner), and Sundaram Alternates (Gold Partner). Their participation reflects the growing coalition of stakeholders committed to strengthening India’s climate capital ecosystem.
India today represents an estimated $10 trillion opportunity in climate and green investments-nearly three times its current GDP. Meeting its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) by 2030 will require $2.5 trillion in climate-linked capital, signalling the scale of private investment the country must unlock over the coming decade.
From the investor community, Prem Prabhakar, Managing Director & CEO, SBI Ventures Limited, noted, “As climate resilience and economic growth converge, the Green Returns Summit provides an important platform to showcase how catalytic capital can drive sustainable value creation. At SBI Ventures, through Neev Funds, we have seen first-hand that investing in climate-positive enterprises not only delivers measurable impact but also builds competitive and future-ready businesses for India’s green transition.”
Reflecting on investor preparedness for India’s accelerating climate shift, Shantanu Gupta, Partner, Khaitan & Co. shared, “India’s climate transition is advancing at an unprecedented pace, shifting decisively from ambition to action. As technologies like storage, electric mobility and green hydrogen mature, it is imperative to equip investors with transparent risk frameworks, bankable contracts and clear regulatory pathways. The opportunity is immense, but so is the need to safeguard returns while enabling climate ambition. Supporting funders and businesses through this transition will be key to scaling solutions that shape the future of India’s green economy.”
Adding a private-credit perspective, Karthik Athreya, Managing Director, Sundaram Alternates, said, “Private credit can be a powerful catalyst for sustainable change. At Sundaram Alternates, we are focused on financing businesses and projects that combine performance with purpose. The launch of our Impact Report at the IVCA GreenReturns Summit highlights how disciplined lending and responsible investing can accelerate India’s transition towards a more sustainable, inclusive, and climate-resilient economy.”
Dr. Jitendra Kumar, Managing Director, Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), said, “India’s climate and sustainability challenges demand innovation at scale, backed by committed capital. At BIRAC, we see deep scientific entrepreneurship as central to this transition. Platforms like the IVCA GreenReturns Summit help connect breakthrough biotech solutions with investors who can take them from lab to market, accelerating India’s green growth journey.”
India’s policy environment has also begun actively enabling alternate capital. Initiatives such as the National Green Hydrogen Mission and the draft Climate Taxonomy reflect the government’s efforts to de-risk investment pathways. At the same time, adoption of renewables, electric mobility, green fuels, and other climate technologies continues to grow rapidly.
Investor interest mirrors this shift. In 2024, India became the second-largest destination globally for climate-related investments, mobilising $5.1 billion, surpassing China. Domestic participation is also rising, with family offices and high-net-worth investors beginning to expand their exposure to climate finance. Blended finance and institutional capital structures are emerging as crucial mechanisms to support India’s energy transition.
Adding perspective on the direction India must take, AZB & Partners observed, “India’s transition underscores a simple truth – sustainability is now an economic and systems challenge, not just an environmental one. Unlocking climate capital will depend on policy certainty, credible carbon markets, and investable infrastructure – grids, storage and clean fuels. The next decade offers a defining opportunity to align technology, regulation, and finance to deliver scalable, long-term decarbonization.”
Platforms like the GreenReturns Summit play a vital role in bringing these stakeholders together—bridging gaps between innovators, capital providers, and policymakers, and helping shape a long-term climate finance architecture for the country.
Speaking ahead of the event, Aakriti Bamniyal, Senior Vice President, IVCA, said, “The second edition of GreenReturns comes at a time when the effects of climate change are no longer distant or abstract—they are shaping India’s economic, social, and environmental reality today. This summit is designed to bring clarity, capital, and collaboration to the centre of India’s climate transition. Our goal is to match the urgency of the moment with actionable pathways that enable investors, policymakers, and innovators to work together and unlock impact at scale.”
The GreenReturns Summit 2025 aims to drive these conversations forward, enabling capital mobilisation at the scale needed to support India’s net-zero ambitions and build a climate-resilient future.
About Indian Venture and Alternate Capital Association (IVCA)
The Indian Venture and Alternate Capital Association (IVCA) is a not-for-profit, apex industry body promoting the alternate capital industry and fostering a vibrant investing ecosystem in India. IVCA is committed to supporting the ecosystem by facilitating advocacy discussions with the Government of India, policymakers, and regulators, resulting in the rise of entrepreneurial activity, innovation, and job creation in India and contributing towards the development of India as a leading fund management hub. IVCA represents 500+ funds with a combined AUM of over $350 billion. Our members are the most active domestic and global VCs, PEs, funds for infrastructure, real estate, credit funds, limited partners, investment companies, family offices, corporate VCs, and knowledge partners. These funds invest in emerging companies, venture growth, buyout, special situations, distressed assets, and credit and venture debt, among others.
