ADB to increase lending to India

The Asian Development Bank on Thursday said it will enhance funding to India to $3 billion annually for the next three years and raise funds in the country's bond markets for investing in infrastructure development in the country.

"India requires huge investments in the infrastructure sector and 70 per cent of the annual $3 billion would go to sectors like power, roads and rural infrastructure," ADB managing director General Rajat Nag told reporters on the sidelines of the CITI-FT Financial Education Summit in New Delhi.

ADB currently lends about $2-2.5 billion to India and beginning 2008, this would be increased to $3 billion, which would be invested through the public sector for infrastructure development.

Nag said it is estimated that about $1.6 trillion would be required for infrastructure development in India over the next 10 years. The bank is also in the process of raising money through bonds in fiscal 2009 for investment in India, he said.

"We are ready and have talked to the authorities concerned to raise local currency for investment in the country. We are waiting for the market conditions to be right," he said without divulging the quantum of money that the Bank would raise.