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ADB to double credit to India by 2008
By agencies
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Thursday, 04 May 2006, 19:30 IST
HYDERABAD: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has decided to more than double its financial assistance to India to over $2.6 billion by 2008 from the current level of around $1.3 billion, according to the ADB President, Haruhiko Kuroda.
With this decision, the ADB's attempt to make more Indians benefit from the country's dynamic growth and to bridge the rich-poor gap through robust infrastructure development that ensures an enabling environment for large-scale private investments and substantial jobs creation, he added.
Talking to media persons at the 39th annual meeting of ADB board of governors, the ADB chief said that the considerably enhanced financial assistance to India was basically aimed at supporting the country in improving its infrastructure and other segments such as water, transport, energy, and urban development.
Referring to the high prices of crude oil, he said ADB expects that it would not adversely affect the regional economy in general and China and India in particular. The developing countries in Asia, which reported a growth of 7.4 percent last year, might suffer a marginal fall in growth at 7.2 percent this year.
Terming that oil prices rising to around $100 per barrel from the current level of $75 was unsustainable, he hoped that oil producing nations would look at increasing investments in their oil exploration and production capabilities and also on modernization of refineries so as to bring down the prices to more sustainable levels.
Urging Asian developing countries to improve their energy efficiency levels, he advised them to go in for more sustainable and renewable energy sources.