NEWS

India signs loan agreements with ADB for various projects

WHICH ARE THEY

• $350 million policy-based loan to improve access to urban services in India by accelerating policy actions and reforms to enhance service delivery and promote performance-based central fiscal transfers to urban local bodies (ULBs)
• $150 million loan to provide affordable housing for urban poor in Tamil Nadu
• $112 million loan for establishing skill university in Assam

ABOUT ADB

• Regional development bank
• Official United Nations Observer
• Established on 19 December 1966.
• Headquarters — Manila, Philippines.
• Admits the members of the United Nations 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.
• Modeled closely on the World Bank, and has a similar weighted voting system where votes are distributed in proportion with members’ capital subscriptions.
• Functions
  • Social development organization
  • Dedicated to reducing poverty in Asia and the Pacific through inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth, and regional integration.
  • Carried out through investments – in the form of loans, grants and information sharing – in infrastructure, health care services, financial and public administration systems, helping nations prepare for the impact of climate change or better manage their natural resources, as well as other areas.