SBI, the country's largest lender, intends to bundle and require rooftop solar installations for residential projects funded by the bank's long-term climate action funds drawn from multilateral agencies. As of June, the SBI had a home loan book of over Rs 6.3 lakh crore and outstanding forex loans of USD 2.3 billion from multilateral lenders such as the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, and Germany's KfW.

"We intend to make rooftop solar installations mandatory for builders if the project is funded by our green funds," said Ashwini Kumar Tewari, Managing Director, Risk, Compliance, and Stressed Assets at SBI.

"We are, in fact, planning to make it a bundled deal for home loan applicants going forward," Tewari told reporters here on Sept 14 on the sidelines of the final day of the global SME summit organised by Sidbi.

These loans have 10-year or 20-year maturities, putting borrowing banks at risk of currency fluctuations.

Given the risks associated with long-term forex loans, Tewari urged multilateral lenders to allow borrowing banks to hedge their exposures in order to make green and financial inclusion funding more sustainable.

Tewari also stated that the bank is increasing its exposure to green initiatives such as green building funding, battery recycling, and solar rooftop plans, among others.