From correspondents in Delhi, India, 07:02 PM IST

Power Finance Corp Ltd (PFC) has sanctioned a loan of Rs.100 billion ($2.4 billion) to National Thermal Power Corp (NTPC) to fund its capacity expansion programme.

NTPC, which currently has an installed capacity of 29,394 MW, has plans to generate 75,000 MW by 2017.

A memorandum of understanding was signed Monday by NTPC chairman R.S. Sharma and PFC chairman V.K. Garg for giving the term loan of Rs.100 billion.

NTPC accounts for 20 percent of India's installed capacity and about 29 percent of the country's power generation.

(Staff Writer, © IANS)