India, US ink MoU to establish PACESetter Fund

India and United States (US) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cooperation to establish the PACESetter Fund in New Delhi. The MoU was signed by Richard Verma, US Ambassador to India and Upendra Tripathy, Secretary, Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE). The PACESetter Fund seeks to support the Promoting Energy Access through Clean Energy (PEACE) track of the US-India Partnership to Advance Clean Energy (PACE). In turn, it will accelerate the commercialization of off-grid clean energy with the help of early-stage funding grants to develop and test innovative systems, products and business models. US-India PACE is a flagship initiative on clean energy that combines the resources of several US agencies and different Ministries of India. It was established with a corpus fund of about 50 crore rupees with both the countries contributing equally. A steering Committee comprising the Secretary of the MNRE and US Ambassador to India and 3 representatives from each side has been constituted to oversee the fund management.