India to set up new DFI with initial paid-up capital of around 3 bn dollars with lending target of 69 bn dollars in next three years

• Integrity Education, Delhi
• 31, Mar 2021

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that India is going to set up a new Development Financial Institution with initial paid-up capital of around 3 billion Dollars with a lending target of 69 billion Dollars in next three years.
 
She was attending the 6th annual meeting of Board of Governors of NDB through video-conference.
 
During her address, Finance Minister underscored India’s quick response to limit the impact of the pandemic and to undertake massive vaccination drives which are resulting in a ’V shape recovery’. The Minister  also highlighted that the world’s largest vaccine drive by India is under way and till date, India has supplied 63.9 million doses of made-in-India COVID vaccine to 80 countries including 10.4 million doses of the vaccine  as a grant.
 
She also encouraged the New Development Bank (NDB) to facilitate private sector participation, and explore more innovative financing structures. She has asked them to develop a pipeline of bankable projects, and promote environmental and social safeguards to enhance the sustainability of infrastructure.
 
The Minister acknowledged the Bank’s achievements and progress made over the last six years. She highlighted NDB's role in countercyclical lending through a 10 billion dollar Emergency Assistance Programme for supporting the member countries in fighting the COVID pandemic.
 
NDB, a multilateral development bank was set up by the BRICS countries in 2014 with the objective of mobilizing resources for infrastructure and sustainable development projects in the BRICS as well as other EMDCs of the world. The Bank has been operationalised in 2015, with its Headquarters in Shanghai, China. NDB has so far approved 18 projects of India for an amount of 6,924 million dollars.

Sources : News on AIR