The Asian Development Bank (ADB) provided a record USD 4.6 billion in sovereign lending to India in 2021 for 17 loans, including USD 1.8 billion towards coronavirus (COVID-19) response.
- Out of 1.8 billion COVID-19-related assistance, USD 1.5 billion was towards vaccine procurement and USD 300 million was to strengthen primary health care (PHC) in urban areas for future preparedness.
About ADB funding:
i.The ADB’s regular funding programme to India is made to support transport, urban development, finance, agriculture, and skills building.
ii.ADB adopts a multidisciplinary approach and incorporates Finance Plus elements based on its comparative advantage, knowledge base and value addition to maximise the development impact of its operations.
- ADB has extended a USD 2.2-billion support for 12 state projects, committed to its geographically balanced programming and its strategic engagement includes knowledge support to navigate emerging development challenges.
Major Fundings:
i.The major ADB’s funding for India in 2021 included the project portfolio of transforming cities into economically vibrant and sustainable communities.
- This included India’s national urban flagship missions to enhance access to water, sanitation, and affordable housing and promote performance-based fiscal transfer to urban local bodies; enhancing mobility through metro network expansion in Bengaluru; and strengthening flood-risk management in Chennai’s urban areas.
- Funding towards the National Industrial Corridor Development Programme will improve the manufacturing competitiveness and the ADB-supported Chennai-Kanyakumari Industrial Corridor connectivity improvement project will stimulate industrial development.
Other projects:
ADB’s project funding also includes rural connectivity improvement, agribusiness network development, the establishment of a skills university to promote industry-aligned skills, and capacity building for project design.
India’s Portfolio:
i.The ADB’s India portfolio comprised 69 projects worth USD 15.5 billion as of 31st December 2021.
ii.ADB also committed USD 274 million to private sector projects in 2021 for COVID-19 support, highways improvement, energy efficiency, affordable housing and increasing farmer incomes.
iii.In future, ADB will assist India’s fast, green and inclusive economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic by expanding investments in health and education; micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs); public sector management and climate initiatives.
Recent related News:
Asian Development Bank (ADB) has trimmed the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth forecasts for developing Asia for 2021-2022 in its Asian Development Outlook Supplement Report of December 2021, to 7 percent, down from its earlier projection of 7.1 percent (September 2021), and 2022 growth to 5.3 percent, down from 5.4 percent.
About Asian Development Bank (ADB):
Established – 1966
Headquarters – Manila, Philippines
President – Masatsugu Asakawa
ADB Country Director for India – Takeo Konishi
Member Countries – 68 members (49 from Asia and Pacific regions)
