ADB commits record $3.92 billion loan to India in 2020

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New Delhi: The Asian Development Bank on Friday said it has committed a record $3.92 billion in sovereign loans for 13 projects to India in 2020, including $1.8 billion in COVID-19 related projects to support the government’s pandemic response.

As part of the pandemic support to India, the Manila-headquartered multilateral agency said it has provided emergency assistance to contain the disease and establish social protection measures for relief to the poor and other vulnerable groups.

ADB also approved financing to help the government improve equitable access to comprehensive primary health care in urban areas.

This is ADB’s highest-ever annual lending commitment to India since the start of its lending operations in 1986, it said, adding it has also committed $356.1 million through its non-sovereign operations to India, including three COVID-19 support projects.

“Going forward, ADB stands ready to provide additional resources to address India’s many COVID-19 related challenges, including funds to expedite the country’s ongoing vaccination programme and build the health system’s resilience against future shocks, with supplementary support to protect small businesses, and underpin education and social protection,” said Takeo Konishi, Country Director for ADB in India.

It further said throughout 2020, ADB continued its regular assistance to energy, transport, urban development, and public sector management in India.

As per the ADB’s release, among the new projects committed in 2020 include $500 million to build a high-speed 82-kilometre Delhi-Meerut Regional Rapid Transit system corridor; energy sector loans to strengthen distribution network in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, and Meghalaya and to build a 120-megawatt hydroelectric power plant in Assam.

In the urban sector, ADB approved loans for sustainable urban development in secondary and smaller towns in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.

ADB also granted funds to support the West Bengal government’s fiscal consolidation programme. Through its project readiness financing, ADB committed funds to provide Tripura and Himachal Pradesh with capacity development support for planning and designing.