across important sectors like infrastructure, manufacturing, financial markets, agribusiness,
SMEs and renewable energy. Keeping in alignment with the Country Partnership Strategy (CPS)
of the World Bank Group in India, IFC focuses on low-income states in India.
New Development Bank
The New Development Bank (NDB) has been instituted with a vision to support and foster
infrastructure and sustainable development initiatives in emerging economies. The founding
members of the NDB - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) - brought in
capital of USD 1 billion as initial contribution.
Relevant Website: www.ndb.int
Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank
Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is a Multilateral Development Bank (MDB)
set up in 2016 to foster sustainable economic development, create productive assets and improve
infrastructure in Asia through financing of infrastructure projects. India is one of the founding
Members and the second largest shareholder. India along with 20 other countries signed the
InterGovernmental Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for establishing the AIIB in Beijing.
Relevant Website: www.aiib.org
International Fund for Agricultural Development
International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) was set up in 1977 as the 13th
specialized agency of the UN. It is dedicated to eradicating poverty and hunger in rural areas of
developing countries.
Global Environment Facility
The Global Environment Facility (GEF) operates as a mechanism for international
cooperation for the purpose of providing new and additional grant and concessional funding to
meet the agreed incremental costs of measures to achieve agreed global environmental benefits.
GEF provides grants to eligible countries in its focal areas: biodiversity, climate change, land
degradation, international waters, chemicals and waste. It also serves as financial mechanism for
the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change (UNFCCC), Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs),
UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), Minamata Convention on Mercury and
supports implementation of the Protocol in countries with economics in transition for the
Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (MP).
Asian Development Bank
India is a founding member of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) which was established
in 1966. ADB has 67 members (including 48 regional and 19 non-regional members), with its
headquarters at Manila, Philippines. India is holding 6.331 per cent of shares, totaling 6,72,030
shares in ADB as on 31st December, 2016, with 5.363 per cent voting rights. The Bank is
engaged in promoting economic and social progress of its developing member countries (DMCs)
in the Asia Pacific Region. The main instruments that it uses to do this are making loans and