• The government of India and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed an agreement on December 6 for $175 million loan to improve connectivity and resilience of roads in the state of Madhya Pradesh.

• This project will enhance connectivity in the state road network across 14 districts to enable balanced economic development in Madhya Pradesh.

• ADB has been supporting the development of road networks in Madhya Pradesh since 2002, which has so far upgraded more than 9,000 kilometers of state highways and major district roads.

• The project will upgrade about 500 kilometers of state highways and major district roads to a standard two-lane feature. 

• ADB will build the capacity of the Madhya Pradesh Road Development Corporation Limited (MPRDC) on climate change adaptation and mitigation, disaster resilience, and road safety in road network planning and management.

Asian Development Bank

• The Asian Development Bank (ADB) envisions a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty in the region.

• From 31 members at its establishment in 1966, ADB has grown to encompass 68 members — of which 49 are from within Asia and the Pacific and 19 outside.

• ADB assists its members, and partners, by providing loans, technical assistance, grants, and equity investments to promote social and economic development.

• ADB maximises the development impact of its assistance by facilitating policy dialogues, providing advisory services, and mobilising financial resources through cofinancing operations that tap official, commercial, and export credit sources.

History of ADB

• ADB was conceived in the early 1960s as a financial institution that would be Asian in character and foster economic growth and cooperation in one of the poorest regions in the world.

• A resolution passed at the first Ministerial Conference on Asian Economic Cooperation held by the United Nations Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East in 1963 set that vision on the way to becoming reality.

• The Philippines capital of Manila was chosen to host the new institution, which opened on December 19, 1966, with 31 members that came together to serve a predominantly agricultural region. Takeshi Watanabe from Japan was ADB’s first president.

ADB and India

• India was a founding member of ADB in 1966 and fourth largest shareholder.

• ADB started operations in India in 1986.

• As on December 31, 2022, it had committed $52.28 billion in sovereign lending in the country and $6.75 billion in non-sovereign lending and investment.

• ADB’s current India portfolio comprises 64 projects worth about $16 billion across the transport, urban, energy, human development, agriculture and natural resources, and finance sectors.

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