ADB President meets PM Modi; pledges $12 bn support for flagship schemes

ADB said it stands ready to commit more than $12 billion lending in the next three years, averaging annually over $3 billion for sovereign operations and $1 billion for non-sovereign operations in India

New Delhi: Asian Development Bank (ADB) President, Takehiko Nakao, met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi recently and discussed ways to further enhance their partnership in areas such as renewable energy, solar-pump irrigation, electric vehicle and battery.

According to the ADB statement, other areas included the promotion of new technologies and innovation, fintech, sustainable tourism, and the recycling of plastics.

Nakao said that ADB stands ready to commit more than $12 billion lending in the next three years, 2020–2022, averaging annually over $3 billion for sovereign operations and $1 billion for non-sovereign operations.

“India is one of the fastest growing economies in Asia and the Pacific, maintaining a growth rate of about 7.5 per cent on average in the last five years. ADB expects the country’s growth in 2019 at 7 per cent and in 2020 at 7.2 per cent, despite downside risks in the global economy,” said ADB President, Nakao.

According to the statement, Nakao also commended the Indian government’s vision to make India a $5-trillion economy during Modi’s second-term in office and reaffirmed ADB’s commitment to helping bolster the country’s inclusive growth and rapid economic transformation to achieve this vision.

India is an ADB’s founding member since 1966 and is now its biggest borrower.

Source: energy.economictimes.indiatimes