Nirmala Sitharaman calls for greater capitalization of NDB

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has recently urged the BRICS-led New Development Bank to improve its ratings by international rating agencies through quality governance, adequate capitalization, and prudent management.

At the 6th annual meeting of the board of governors of NDB held via video conference, the FM highlighted NDB’s role in countercyclical lending through a $10 billion emergency assistance programme for supporting member countries in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Finance Ministry, in a statement, said, “The finance minister encouraged the NDB to facilitate private sector participation, explore more innovative financing structures, discover co-financing opportunities with other MDBs, develop a pipeline of bankable projects, and promote environmental and social safeguards to enhance the sustainability of infrastructure.”

Emphasizing the role of DFIs in infrastructure financing, she said that India is going to set up a new DFI with an initial paid-up capital of around $3 billion with a lending target of $69 billion over the next 3 years. Sitharaman also suggested that NDB must consider developing a synergistic relationship with institutions that share its development priorities to achieve greater results.