India gets $1 billion for its $200 billion target for cleaner air

India got an additional $1 billion plus of green bonds, bringing it closer to the $200 billion Prime Minister Narendra Modi has to invest by 2022 to clean the country's polluted air and shift to clean energy projects.

Bloomberg reported that IDBI Bank Ltd got $3350 million from investors coming from various countries this week. This makes the bank the third issuer of notes for clean energy projects in India. Modi's 2022 $200 billion investment target aims to shift the country's dependence on fossil fuel to renewable energy. 70 percent of that fund is expected to come from debt.

The air India's major cities and other smaller provinces have become very polluted, according to The Financial Times. New Delhi is now recognized as having the dirtiest air among any city in the world. This distinction is due to construction dust, diesel exhaust, burning of biofuels, and industrial emissions.

Smaller Indian cities like Raipur, Patna, and Gwalior are also suffering from filthy air. The air in these cities is filled with PM2.5, which are particulates that go deep into people's lungs, increasing the risk for cancer. 13 of the most polluted cities in the world are found in India, according to the World Health Organization.

The Indian Express reported that US embassy's environmental scientist in Delhi, Dr. Srikanth Nadadur, said that the study on India's filthy air should be focused only on air pollution, but also on the population.

"Basic research using some animal models is going on, which is needed but not a lot of epidemiological studies are being done. Population studies are really needed," he said. "It is better to know what is causing pollution and how much. In my understanding, the majority of pollution in Delhi is from the vehicular traffic."

Meanwhile, global green bond issuance is projected to go beyond $40 billion in 2015, 10 percent higher than the previous year.