Understanding the Asian Development Bank for UPSC

1. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) was established in 1966 and is headquartered in Manila, Philippines. It has a total of 67 members from the Asia Pacific region. The ADB was designed to operate similarly to the World Bank.
2. Japan is the largest shareholder in the ADB with a 15.677% share, followed by the U.S.A (15.567%), China (6.473%), and India (5.812%).
3. The primary objective of the ADB is to foster social development by reducing poverty in the Asia Pacific region. This is achieved through inclusive growth, sustainable growth, and regional integration. The ADB invests 80% of its resources in the public sector.
4. The ADB makes investments in various sectors such as infrastructure, health, public administration systems, and assists countries in mitigating the impact of climate change and managing natural resources.

Asian Development Bank (ADB) & India – Facts for IAS Exam

India began availing the assistance of the ADB in 1986. The ADB aims to support India in the following areas:

• Enhancing industrial competitiveness
• Creating job opportunities
• Accelerating growth in low-income states
• Addressing environmental and climate change challenges

The ADB has a presence in six sectors in India:

1. Transport sector
2. Energy sector
3. Water and urban services
4. Finance and public sector management
5. Agriculture and natural resources
6. Human development sector

The ADB has provided assistance for projects in 25 states in India:

• Development of railways and mass rapid transit systems
• Promotion of renewable energy and energy efficiency
• Coastal protection measures
• Riverbank strengthening and river basin management
• Urban environmental management, including water management, sanitation, sewerage and solid waste management.

Recent developments between ADB & India:

• The ADB and India have signed a $206 million loan agreement to improve urban services in five cities in Tamil Nadu.
• The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has issued 10-year masala bonds worth Rs 850 crore on the global debt listing platform of India INX.
• The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has prepared a Conceptual Development Plan (CDP) for the Vizag-Chennai Industrial Corridor (VCIC).
• The ADB has committed to provide USD 4 million to member countries to control coronavirus outbreaks.
• The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will provide a Rs 100 crore loan to the Medanta hospital chain for healthcare services and medical equipment to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. The project will support the purchase of personal protective equipment, basic hygiene products, and patient care equipment such as ventilators and beds.

The Asian Development Bank & Covid-19

• In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Bank Group and the Asian Development Bank have coordinated more than $15.4 billion in extensive lending programs in South Asia.

To learn more about the World Bank , visit the linked page.

Aspirants preparing for the upcoming UPSC exams should also familiarize themselves with the following topics:

Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Governance – UPSC Exam

In October 1995, the ADB outlined a policy paper titled "Governance: Sound Development Management". In this paper, governance is defined as 'the manner in which power is exercised in the management of a country’s economic and social resources for development'.

The ADB has identified two dimensions of governance:

1. Political – Democracy, Human Rights
2. Economic – Efficient management of public resources

According to the ADB, good governance comprises four basic elements:

1. Accountability
   • Public officials should be answerable for government behaviour and responsive to the entity from which they derive authority.
   • The accountability of public sector institutions is facilitated by an evaluation of their economic performance.
   • The suggested specific areas of action would be in the building of government capacity through, for example, public-sector management, public-enterprise management and reform, public financial management, and civil-service reform.
2. Participation
   • Government structures should be flexible enough to offer beneficiaries and others affected the opportunity to improve the design and implementation of public programmes and projects.
   • The specific areas of action would be in the development of participatory development processes through, for example, the participation of beneficiaries, a public/private-sector interface, decentralization/empowerment of local government, and cooperation with non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
3. Predictability
   • Laws and policies should exist that regulate society and that are applied fairly and consistently.
   • Predictability requires the state and its subsidiary agencies to be bound by and answerable to the legal system in the same way as private enterprises and individuals.
   • The specific area of action could be the development of predictable legal frameworks for private-sector development.
4. Transparency
   • Information should be made available to the general public and there should be clarity as to rules and regulations.
   • Access to timely information on the economy can be vital to economic decision-making by the private sector and can also serve to inhibit corruption.

All these elements of good governance are interconnected and mutually supportive. Accountability is often tied to participation and is the ultimate guarantee of predictability. Transparency and predictability in the functioning of a legal framework can help ensure the accountability of public institutions.

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