The AFAI National Summit & Indian Climate Leader Awards 2025 has successfully concluded, bringing together industry leaders, policymakers, and financial institutions to explore sustainable finance and investment strategies.

Notable speakers included Vivek Kumar Dewangan (CMD, REC Ltd.), Dr. Padmanabhan Raja Jaishankar (MD, IIFCL), Sudhendu J. Sinha (Advisor, NITI Aayog) and other industry leaders. Joining them were Rajiv Ranjan Jha (Director, PFC Ltd.), Virender Pankaj (CEO, Aseem Infrastructure Finance Ltd.), Nishant Arya (Vice Chairman and MD, JBM Group), and Sabyasachi Majumdar (Senior Director, CareEdge Group).

The discussions provided key insights, such as the necessity of credit enhancements for low-rated infrastructure SPVs to access bond markets and the transformative role battery-as-a-service (BaaS) will play in electric mobility.

"To meet the target of 500 GW non-fossil fuel capacity for electricity generation and storage by 2030, REC estimates that a total investment of about 20 lakh crore will be required. REC is targeting a market share of about 3 lakh crore by 2030. Our renewable energy portfolio, which is currently about 10% of our AUM, will increase to about 30% by 2030," announced Vivek Kumar Dewangan, CMD of REC"

The talks underscored that a significant portion of debt financing for infrastructure is managed by a small number of non-bank financial companies. It was emphasized that the government is currently doing the heavy lifting in terms of funding, which is unsustainable in the long run.

Jyoti Prakash Gadia, President of AFAI, and Ashish Agrawal, Summit Chair and Founder Member of AFAI, led the discussions at the event. Resurgent India Ltd. was the presenting partner for the event that concluded with the prestigious AFAI Indian Climate Leader Awards 2025.

Indian Bank and IDFC First Bank were honored for their achievements in green finance, while Aseem Infrastructure Finance Limited and UC Inclusive Credit Pvt Ltd excelled in the NBFC sector. Green Artha was acknowledged as an exceptional PE/VC Fund in Environmental Impact Investments.

Ashok Leyland, Ather Energy, and Priyam Industries were celebrated for their advancements in electric vehicles. In the cleantech and renewable energy categories, Koshish Sustainable Solutions, Kosol Energie, n3e Technologies, and Shreeniwas Innovations were recognized for their significant contributions.

The Association of Financial Advisors of India (AFAI) is an industry body dedicated to developing a transparent funding infrastructure in the country.