News: ADB to double credit to India by '08

(PTI 03/05/2006) Hyderabad - The Asian Development Bank will double its lending to India to $2.65 billion by 2008, the bank's President Haruhiko Kuroda said on Wednesday.

"ADB is proud of its commitments in India and hopeful of further strengthening cooperation. The funding will be more than doubled," Kuroda announced at a press conference on the sidelines of the Manila-based bank's 39th Annual General Meeting, which commenced here on Wednesday.

The main focus of the new funds from the multilateral body would be transport, water, energy management and urban development, he said.

Commending Indian economy for its stellar performance, leading to accelerated growth in the last decade, the ADB Chief, however, said that the country needed more investments in infrastructure, education and social sectors and strategies for improving employment generation.

Stating that Asian region was passing through a critical phase and facing a plethora of challenges, he said the greatest threat to private investment and growth in many countries was the high level of risk arising from regulatory weaknesses, policy uncertainty and market distortions.

"This is a critical moment for Asia. How we respond to these challenges will shape the region's future. ADB's role in the region's response will feature prominently among the issues we will be discussing over the next few days," Kuroda said.