ADB Commits $10 Billion to Boost Urban Infrastructure Across India

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has issued a proposal to invest up to $10 billion over five years in India to anchor urban infrastructure as India gears up for the historic wave of urbanisation. Over 40% of Indians are likely to reside in cities by 2030.

ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa, visiting India, laid out the bank’s vision for financing metro rail corridors, city-level rapid transit systems (RRTS), and urban services like the supply of water, sanitation, and housing at reasonable prices. Financing will be done through sovereign loans, private sector finance, and third-party funds.

Following a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Asakawa indicated the initiative will direct resources through India’s Urban Challenge Fund, a fund aimed at mobilizing private sector investment in city-level projects. ADB will also provide $3 million worth of technical assistance to enable local governments to prepare bankable infrastructure proposals.

ADB has a dynamic presence in India, with operations in 110 cities in 22 states. Its urban portfolio now consists of 27 loans amounting to $5.15 billion. In the last ten years, the bank has made an investment of $4 billion in urban transportation, financing metro and RRTS projects in eight of India’s biggest cities, including Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, and Nagpur.

During meetings with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Manohar Lal, ADB deliberated on increasing metro networks, encouraging transit-oriented development, enhancing rooftop solar capacity, and replicating successful infrastructure models across the board.

Asakawa also toured the ADB-financed Delhi–Meerut RRTS corridor and sat down with the local workers trained under ADB-supported skill development programs. Subsequently, he visited the renewable energy firm ReNew in Gurugram and had a dialogue with infrastructure, finance, and energy sector corporate heads.

Under its 2023–2027 country partnership strategy, ADB aims to offer India more than $5 billion in aid a year, including as much as $1 billion in private sector-targeted financing. As of April 2025, ADB sovereign lending to India amounts to $59.5 billion, and non-sovereign investments amount to $9.1 billion, with its active portfolio of 81 loans amounting to $16.5 billion.

ADB was formed in 1966 and now has 69 member countries, of which 50 are located in the Asia-Pacific region.