Asian Development Bank grants $2.2 billion loan for India's development projects

The union government and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Monday signed agreements for five loans totalling over $2.2 billion to support major development projects across the country. The ADB financing will boost India's initiatives under the country's flagship programmes in skilling and rooftop solar deployment along with projects supporting healthcare, metro development, and ecotourism promotion across three states, the ministry of finance said in statement.

The signed projects have earmarked $846 million for supporting Pradhan Mantri skilling and employability transformation through upgraded industrial training institutes programme (PM-SETU), $650 million  for accelerating affordable and inclusive rooftop solar systems development programme, $398.8 million for Assam state tertiary health care augmentation project (ASTHA), $240 million for the Chennai metro rail investment project, and $77 million for the integrated ecotourism and sustainable agri-based livelihood development in Meghalaya project.

ADB funding in the PM-SETU initiative aims to create a future-ready workforce for India's manufacturing and technology sectors. "This will be achieved through modernising 650 ITIs across 12 states and upgrading five national skill training institutes into centres of excellence for advanced trainer development. This will help deliver demand-driven courses in high-growth sectors such as renewable energy, electric mobility and advanced manufacturing, improving employability for at least 1.3 million youth," according to the ministry's statement.

The $650 million financing for the solar development programme will support Pradhan Mantri Surya Ghar: Muft Bijili Yojana (PMSGMBY) aiming to accelerate rooftop solar adoption across the country and expanding access to clean, affordable energy for 10 million households by 2027. "The programme will speed up rooftop solar adoption by promoting reforms to develop uniform guidelines and standards for residential rooftop solar systems and facilitating mass-adoption among low-and middle-income households through collateral-free lower interest loans," the ministry's statement read.

The Assam state tertiary health care augmentation project aims to address critical gaps in the state’s health system and shortages in tertiary care by modernising healthcare and medical education systems. This includes modernising medical colleges in Guwahati, Dibrugarh and Silchar to serve as centres of excellence under Srimanta Sankaradeva university of health sciences.

In the second tranche of the loan disbursement, the Chennai metro rail investment project will expand the metro network of three metro lines including 20 km elevated and underground corridors, and 18 new stations. The new stations will be equipped with universal access features, and climate-resilient infrastructure to keep passengers and services safe during extreme weather conditions, the ministry said.

Finally, the Meghalaya integrated ecotourism, and sustainable agri-based livelihood development project, which has a $77 million allocation, will support the state's vision to a top ecotourism destination while improving farmers' incomes. "By integrating nature-based tourism with climate-smart farming and forest conversation, the project will help create economic opportunities for over 8,000 local beneficiaries, including women and indigenous communities," according to the ministry's statement.