ADB committed highest-ever $3-bn loans to India in FY19

New Delhi: ADB committed to provide $3 billion in sovereign loans to India in 2018, the highest level of assistance since sovereign operations began in the country in 1986, said the annual report of multilateral lending agency.

In all, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), owned by 68 member countries, committed a total of $3.88 billion, including sovereign loans and co-financing during the year ended December 2018. The demand for ADB assistance continued to grow in 2018.

New commitments included $21.6 billion in loans, grants and investments from ADB's own resources, exceeding the target of $19.71 billion and up 10 per cent from 2017, said the report released on Tuesday.

Private sector operations reached $3.14 billion, a 37 per cent increase from 2017, which is 14.5 per cent of ADB's overall commitment.

ADB also successfully mobilised$14 billion in co-financing from bilateral and multilateral agencies and other financing partners, including $7.17 billion in co-financing from ADB's private sector operations.

"In India, ADB committed $3 billion in sovereign loans in 2018, the highest level of assistance since sovereign operations began in the country," the report said.

The Manila-headquartered ADB committed several projects in India, including in Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Assam and Odisha.

The report also noted that in India, ADB provided a $100-million loan to Ostro Kutch Wind, a renewable energy company owned by investment funds under the management of Actis Capital, for constructing and operating a 250-megawatt wind power project in Gujarat.