1.      India, benefitting from strong efforts in recent years, is expected to surpass a clean energy share of 50% in the country’s total power generation in 2025. India also continues to make strides in other areas such as the electrification of mobility and battery storage.

2.      DBS disbursed more than SGD 1 billion in loans to low-income individuals in Indonesia as well as SGD 3.4 billion in loans through Priority Sector Lending in India.

3.     Engagement with governments and regulators: DBS also actively engages with the regulators across our core markets through consultations, working groups and other forums. For example, in India we supported a Reserve Bank of India capacity-building workshop on climaterelated disclosures, offering our expertise on developing strategies for managing climate-related financial risks.

4.      DBS has been involved in notable round-the-clock (RTC) projects and hybrid systems that ensure stable, uninterrupted supplies of renewable energy in India and other markets.

5.      DBS has also been supporting our customers across digitalisation and smart grid solutions. In Indonesia, DBS acted as a financial advisor to PLN as part of its digitalisation efforts to enhance electrical billing accuracy and offer insights to better manage energy demand on the grid infrastructure. Additionally, DBS was mandated as lead arranger for a smart metering project for Genus Power in India.

6.      Going the extra mile with rural banking in India: To address the significant unbanked and underserved population in rural India, DBS partnered with a Corporate Business Correspondent (CBC) to provide essential banking services through its Business Correspondent Agents (BCAs) in remote locations. These services include cash deposit, cash withdrawal, funds transfer, balance enquiry and mini-statement showing recent transactions. Currently, our 142 branches, predominantly in Tamil Nadu, extend these services to 134 villages and 231 wards.

7.      Supporting economic growth and livelihood through Priority Sector Lending in India:

India’s priority sectors, crucial for driving economic growth and social development, face unique challenges in accessing financial services. To bridge this gap, DBS Bank India Limited (DBIL) has actively increased lending to underserved sectors and borrower categories with limited access to formal credit over the last 5 years.

By December 2024, our Priority Sector Lending (PSL) portfolio reached SGD 3.4 billion, representing a 24% year-on-year growth, with a focus on:

• Agriculture: Lending to farmers, including women in rural India, for allied agriculture activities and for sanitation and health improvements.

• Micro and small businesses: Lending to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).

• Affordable housing: Providing housing loans for the middle class and supporting affordable housing through Housing Finance Companies (HFC) portfolio securitisation

8.      In India, DBIL offers collateral-free loan of up to SGD 333,000 with guarantee coverage for micro and small enterprises (MSEs) under the Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises scheme (known as the CGTMSE). This scheme promotes improved credit flow to the MSE sector and supports entrepreneurs during their growth phase.

9.      Boosting female representation in India: Our female representation in India has grown from 27% in 2021 to 31% in 2024, and we are on track to achieving 35% female representation in India by 2026. A cornerstone of our strategy to achieve our target is the India DEI Council, which focuses on having a diverse slate of candidates, creating a psychologically safe culture and building a resilient and diverse talent pipeline.

10.   In recognition of our commitment of evolving our policies and programmes to the ever-changing needs of a diverse workforce, DBS Bank India has achieved several accolades, notably being named India’s Best Bank for Diversity and Inclusion 2024 by Euromoney. In addition, DBS Bank India has been honoured as one of the Best Companies for Women in India (BCWI) by India’s most comprehensive gender study for corporates for the ninth consecutive year, and placed as one of the 25 Safest Workplaces for Women by Kelp HR for the third consecutive year. We have also been recognised as one of the Top 20 Hiring Practices by HerKey.

11.   Green energy: Our efforts to power office buildings and branches with green energy continue to grow. In 2024, we expanded our green energy portfolio in India, adding five new sites to bring the total to seven locations powered by renewable energy.

12.  Some of the key partnerships and their impact are highlighted in the following table:

·        Urdhvam Environment Technology provides safe and sustainable water for drinking, domestic use and irrigation, ensuring households and villages can thrive for future generations. DBSF support enabled them to expand access to clean and safe water especially for vulnerable smallholder farmers

·        We partnered Haqdarshak Empowerment Solutions to increase accessibility to financial literacy and social welfare schemes and entitlements for marginalised communities in rural and semi-rural areas. ReCircle empowers waste workers by creating an ethical, technology-driven supply chain, enhancing sustainability and worker dignity. DBSF support enabled them to support more waste pickers with access to livelihood opportunities