The project builds upon approach of the IFC Cities Platform model, providing tailored advisory support to the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB). It is one of IFC’s first such engagements in India and reflects the importance of supporting the greening of local infrastructure by engaging with subnational entities, including municipalities and cities, as well as state-level entities. KIIFB is the designated primary entity for financing all large public infrastructure projects in Kerala, with a major portion of its pipeline allocated to urban infrastructure. In addition to financing, KIIFB also has a mandate to appraise projects and oversee construction, whilst the projects themselves are implemented and operated by other State agencies and related entities. The project covers the following components: - Component 1 - E&S Capacity Building: IFC will help improve KIIFB’s capacity to address environmental and social (E&S) risks. This includes the assisting in the development of Environmental and Social Management Plans (ESMPs) and Environmental and Social Management Systems (ESMSs), including gender-based violence and harassment (GBVH), a building code compliance review and a chlorine leak risk assessment for water treatment plants. - Component 2 - Green Finance Framework: IFC will accompany KIIFB in designing a Green Finance Framework to help it attract green financing and support KIIFB on getting a second opinion on the framework to confirm alignment with the Green Loan Principles and Green Bond Principles. A Green Finance Framework and its application can demonstrate to the market the integrity of KIIFB in and commitment towards green financing by establishing transparent guiding principles for the selection and evaluation of projects. - Component 3 - Resilience: IFC will help mainstream climate resilience considerations into KIIFB’s operations. Amongst others, this will be achieved through helping the development of an overarching Climate Resilience Policy, promoting the inclusion of climate resilience information into KIIFB’s project appraisal and funding process, conducting a series of general climate and sector-specific trainings to engineering teams, as well as developing a climate information depository. IFC also provides advice to facilitate the certification of several hospitals as green buildings, using IFC’s own certification tool EDGE and a third-party certification process. Related activities are led by IFC’s EDGE Green Buildings Program and through a separate project.