New Delhi, Dec 1 : To boost India’s manufacturing competitiveness, strengthen national supply chains and boost linkages with global value chains, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has signed an agreement with the Government for a $250 million loan to support the country’s National Industrial Corridor Development Programme (NICDP).
The ADB financing will support the NICDP plan to develop world-class industrial nodes that are buttressed by efficient urban agglomerations and multimodal connectivity, including international gateways like ports and airports and inclusive, climate-resilient, and sustainable infrastructure.
The agreement was signed by Rajat Kumar Mishra, Additional Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs in the Ministry of Finance and Takeo Konishi, Country Director of ADB’s India Resident Mission on 25 November, 2021.
The grant comes at a time when India has set an ambitious reform agenda to establish institutional framework and build capacity to create an enabling environment for integrated development of industrial corridors, streamline business processes, and promote private sector investment in corridor areas.
The NICDP also aims at developing guidelines for green corridor frameworks and climate-resilient infrastructure as well as focusing on enhancing skills for the participation of female labour.
The ADB has aligned its ongoing initiatives to boost India’s manufacturing competitiveness and deepen its integration with global value chains.
The programme will also draw upon ADB’s implementation experience in developing the East Coast Economic Corridor through upstream knowledge work including master planning of industrial nodes, infrastructure financing of Visakhapatnam-Chennai Industrial Corridor and Chennai-Kanyakumari Industrial Corridor, policy recommendations, and investment promotion and ADB’s engagement with the Government of India in coastal shipping, logistics and industrial park rating system studies.(UNI)