About
- Asian Development Bank ADB is a regional development bank established in 1966 to promote social and economic development in Asia and the Pacific.
- It has 68 members; 49 are from within Asia and the Pacific and 19 outside. India is a founding member.
- ADB assists its members and partners by providing loans, technical assistance, grants, and equity investments to promote social and economic development.
- As of 31st December 2022, ADB’s five largest shareholders are Japan and the US (each with 15.6% of total shares), China (6.4%), India (6.3%), and Australia (5.8%).
- It is headquartered in Manila, Philippines.
Admission of Members
The bank admits the members of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP, formerly the Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East or ECAFE) and non-regional developed countries.
Main Partners
ADB’s main partners are governments, the private sector, nongovernment organizations, development agencies, community-based organizations, and foundations.
Main Instruments
Its main instruments for helping its developing member countries are policy dialogue, loans, equity investments, guarantees, grants, and technical assistance.
Decision making
- The decision-making process at the Asian Development Bank is like that of the World Bank.
- The number of votes controlled by a member is commensurate with the number of shares held by that member.
- Today, Japan controls the highest number of shares, which is about 15.5% of the ownership of the bank.
India and ADB
- India is a founding member of ADB and the bank’s fourth-largest shareholder.
- Since commencing operations in 1986, ADB has aligned its operations in the country to the government’s developing priorities. This approach will be pursued through the forthcoming country partnership strategy, 2023–2027.
- ADB remains committed to reinvigorating India’s economy to generate more formal jobs, help address climate challenges, and assist lower-income states.
- ADB operations also promote private sector development, gender empowerment, regional integration, knowledge solutions, and capacity development.
- To date, ADB has committed 605 public sector loans, grants, and technical assistance totaling $52.6 billion to India.
- Cumulative loan and grant disbursements to India amount to $40.71 billion. These were financed by regular ordinary capital resources and other special funds. ADB’s sovereign portfolio comprises 66 loans totaling $15.4 billion.
- In 2022, ADB committed over $1.8 billion in sovereign loans to India.
- ADB extended $15.64 million in technical assistance and $16.41 million in grants under the sovereign portfolio.
- The bank continued to support India’s metro network expansion through a $350-million loan to improve connectivity in the city of Chennai while enabling transit-oriented development and first- and last-mile connectivity.
- ADB committed a $ 350 million loan to help develop Maharashtra’s road network in 10 lagging districts, improve rural communities’ access to health and social services, and reduce transportation costs for small businesses.
- Other projects included a $300-million loan for upgrading state highways and major district roads in Assam and a $110-million loan to upgrade state highways in Rajasthan.
- To support government reforms in India’s logistics sector, ADB approved a $250-million loan to develop an institutional and policy framework for incentivizing private sector participation in multimodal logistics projects.
- The bank also provided a $220-million loan to Tripura to improve energy security and supply quality, and to build the sector’s resilience.
- ADB committed a $ 125 million loan to provide climate-resilient sewage collection, drainage systems, and water supply in Tamil Nadu.
- A $96-million loan will help provide safe, sustainable, and inclusive rural water supply and sanitation services in Himachal Pradesh.
- ADB also committed funds to help plan and design projects for developing the infrastructure of industrial estates in Tripura and for urban infrastructure development in Nagaland and Tripura’s capital, Agartala.
- Non-sovereign operations: Total outstanding balances and undisbursed commitments of ADB’s nonsovereign transactions in India as of 31 December 2022 was $2.84 billion representing 22.2% of ADB’s total private sector portfolio.
