The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has committed USD 2.6 billion (about Rs 21,500 crore) in sovereign lending to India in 2023 for various projects. The funds are aimed at strengthening urban development, supporting industrial corridor development, promoting power sector reforms, building India’s climate resilience, and enhancing connectivity.
In addition to the sovereign portfolio, ADB also extended USD 23.53 million in technical assistance and USD 4.1 million in grants. Moreover, ADB committed over USD 1 billion for private sector projects during the past year, as stated by the Manila-based multi-lateral development bank in a statement.
The ADB Country Director for India, Mio Oka, emphasized that ADB’s portfolio in 2023 supported the government’s priority agenda, focusing on projects and programs that accelerate India’s structural transformation, create jobs, address infrastructure gaps, promote green growth, and foster social and economic inclusiveness while deploying smart technologies and innovations.
In 2023, ADB approved additional funding to support India’s national industrial corridor development programme to enhance its manufacturing competitiveness, along with a loan for the Visakhapatnam-Chennai Industrial Corridor Development.
Two policy-based loans were committed to support the government’s urban reforms agenda at the state level and power sector reforms to facilitate the shift to renewable energy. Additionally, ADB provided funding for expanding urban services in Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, and Tripura, improving road connectivity in Bihar and Madhya Pradesh, expanding the Delhi-Meerut rapid rail transit corridor, and boosting horticulture development in Himachal Pradesh.
ADB is committed to pursuing a differentiated approach for states at different stages of development, prioritizing projects on basic services, critical infrastructure and services, institutional strength, and private sector development through sovereign operations in low-income states. Support for more developed states focuses on transformational programs with policy and knowledge advice, combined with non-sovereign operations.
Established in 1966, ADB is owned by 68 members and is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty.