##s goal - wise scores on the 16 sdgs for each state and uts. overall state and ut scores are generated from goal - wise scores to measure aggregate performance of the subnational unit based on its performance across the 16 sdgs. this index was launched in december 2018. for the year 2020 - 21, kerala came first on the index whereas tamil nadu and himachal pradesh shared the second place. niti aayog, in collaboration with united nations, is also fostering competition among states and uts by ranking them on global developmental goals. as our states compete for a place in the sun, they will nurture business growth, put in place the best physical and social infrastructure and provide us with improved basic amenities, clean energy, and better health and societal outcomes. along with foreign investment bringing in new technologies and ideas, we are moving into a national ethos of wider consumer choices and a better standard of living. decarbonisation climate change is manifesting itself at an alarming scale and pace globally. extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and intense, inflicting increasing damage on human lives and the environment, globally and in india. the intensifying concern now is that climate change is heavily influenced by human activity. in fact, the period from the mid20th century has been defined as the " anthropocene " epoch, marking a significant impact on earth's climate due to the increased use of fossil fuels. india and other developing economies are highly vulnerable to climate change due to their limited capabilities in climate science and technology and insufficient funding for adaptation and mitigation. the relative costs of transitioning to a greener path are higher for them than for the advanced economies ; undertaking the transition can even push them several places down the development ladder. from the developing world, india has emerged as a leading voice on global climate action that is mindful of climate equity and justice considerations. india has taken numerous policy initiatives in this direction. in 2015, india submitted its nationally determined commitments ( ndcs ) to the united nations framework convention on climate change ( unfccc ) with targets up to 2030. at cop26 in 2021 15, india updated its ndcs, which now represent the framework for its transition to cleaner energy for the period from 2021 to 2030. it has committed to the five - fold strategy of panchamrit, which include raising its non - fossil - fuels - based energy capacity to 500 gw by 2030 ; raising

##ing including through arrangements for independent audits, and a robust taxonomy for the market and bonds. the announcement in this year ’ s union budget referring to mobilisation of resources via ‘ green bonds ’ is also expected to enable a price anchor for esg bonds in due course. 27. there is a limited investor base for capital bonds issued by banks in india. this has resulted in indian banks accessing global markets for raising capital. while any issuer, including banks, will naturally search for the market where they can most efficiently raise funds, there is a need perhaps to look at factors which are impeding domestic appetite for such bonds and whether the factors are aligned to international norms / standards. e. price transparency 28. the importance of high - quality and timely information on financial markets is basic to the development of the market. most of you will be aware that in the domestic government securities market, information about every single trade is disseminated in near - real time ensuing the highest standards of transparency. there has been feedback from market participants about the need for improving the timeliness and integrity of data on primary and secondary market transactions in the corporate bond market. this is arguably a low hanging fruit which we can aspire for. it has also been highlighted that there is a need for adoption of uniform valuation methodology across investors. valuation by an independent benchmark administrator would be ideal. conclusion 29. let me conclude now. we have made impressive progress in the development of the corporate bond markets - the market is large and growing ; the issuer base is expanding ; product diversity and sophistication are developing ; secondary volumes are low but growing ; and market infrastructure is the best in the world. efforts need to focus on improving complementary – repo and derivative – markets, diversify the investor base, both domestic and global, and improve access of borrowers at the lower end of the credit spectrum. beyond this, market development and improvements will remain a continuous exercise. as much as we need to take these steps, it will serve us well to temper our expectations on the degree of liquidity in secondary corporate bond markets. if international experience is anything to go by, the best we can achieve may be well short of the liquidity we are used to in government bond markets or equity markets. thank you.