India settles for VP post at China-led Bank

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 27

A former Minister from Brazil Marcos Troyjo has replaced veteran private sector banker K V Kamath as the next president of New Development Bank, a China-led bank for infrastructure funding which has already lent $ 1 billion to India to fight Covid.

A video-conference on Wednesday of Finance Ministers from the five NDB shareholders—India, China, Russia, Brazil and South Africa—approved the selection of Troyjo as well as of State Bank of India official Anil Kishora as one of the vice presidents. As part of the negotiations, BRICS bank was headquartered in Shanghai while an Indian was given a five-year term as president since it was set up in 2014.

In her opening remarks, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman commended the contribution of NDB in funding infrastructure development, including India. Within a short span of time, she noted that NDB had approved 55 projects of member countries for $16.6 billion.

Sitharaman said she had great expectations from the new leadership in taking this momentum forward. She also stressed on improvements in lending performance, transparency and international credibility with the focus on growing NDB into a global development institution.

India’s immediate expectation from NDB is an additional $ 1 billion to fight Covid, which was spelt out by Sitharaman at an earlier meeting of Special Board of Governors on April 20.