New Development Bank approves Bangladesh as a new member

Context

National Development Bank has approved for Bangladesh to become a member of a premier development institution for emerging market economies towards achieving the goal focusing the development agenda of the country. 

What is National Development Bank?

The NDB is a multilateral financial institution established by the BRICS countries, namely, Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

• Founded in: Formerly known as BRICS Development Bank, NDB was founded in 2014.
• Headquarter: It is headquartered in Shanghai, China. There are regional offices in all other member countries except in India.
• The idea behind the NDB was mooted by India at the 4th BRICS Summit in New Delhi in 2012.
• The formation treaty was signed in 2014 in the sixth BRICS Summit in Fortaleza, Brazil.
• The Fortaleza Declaration stated that the NDB would strengthen cooperation among the BRICS members.
• Purpose: To fund sustainable development projects and infrastructure projects in the BRICS countries and other developing countries and emerging markets.
• The NDB is projected as a developmental financial institution that can complement western dominated global financial institutions (such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund), rather than as a challenge to them.
• In 2018, the NDB achieved ‘Observer’ status at the United Nations General Assembly.
• To fulfill its purpose, the Bank supports public or private projects through
• Loans 
• Guarantees
• Equity participation
• Other financial instruments
• Since its establishment six years ago, NDB has approved about 80 projects in all of its member countries, totalling a portfolio of US$ 30 billion.
• Projects in areas such as transport, water and sanitation, clean energy, digital infrastructure, social infrastructure and urban development are within the scope of the Bank.

Objectives

• Fostering development of member countries
• Supporting economic growth
• Promoting competitiveness and facilitating job creation
• Building a knowledge sharing platform among developing countries
• Contributing to the attainment of social and environmental sustainability

Major Projects funded by NDB in India

• The NDB has so far approved 14 Indian projects for an amount of nearly USD 4.2 billion.
• In 2020, India announced a 1 billion USD loan pact with NDB to boost rural employment and infrastructure.

Major projects Name