AIIB in talks with India for financing of USD 8-billion health infra scheme

 The Beijing-based multilateral funding agency had earlier approved a financial assistance of $1.2 billion for India to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

 “The Government of India has discussed about its ambitious scheme of strengthening the health infrastructure. It entails building health infrastructure in every district including upgrading of testing facilities with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR),” said DJ Pandian, Vice President, AIIB.

 It is a $8-billion project, he said, adding that the World Bank and Asian Development Bank are also involved in the discussion with the Health Department of the Government of India. The Finance Ministry is trying to put up a financing plan for this ambitious scheme and the minute details are being worked out, he said.

 If things work out, the financing by the AIIB can be cleared this year itself on a fasttrack basis, he added.

 With regard to COVID-19 assistance, Pandian said the AIIB has approved two loans of $500 million and $750 million, respectively. The first loan of $500 million sanctioned in May was towards building a resilient health system that can effectively treat COVID-19 patients and prevent its spread, he said. A $750 million loan was approved in June to help the government strengthen its battle against the adverse impact of Covid-19 on poor and vulnerable households.

 For AIIB, India is the largest borrower, which accounts for 25 per cent of the total lending by it so far. As of July 16, 2020, AIIB has approved up to $19.6 bn for 87 projects in 24 economies. Since its inception in 2016, AIIB has approved loans about $4.3 bn across 17 projects in India.

 India is a founding member of the multilateral funding agency with the second highest voting share. Currently, India has 7.65 pc vote share in the AIIB while China holds a whopping 26.63 pc stake in it.