ADB lending to India: ADB pledges $4.26 billion in 2025 sovereign lending; focus on jobs, energy transition and cities

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) committed $4.258 billion in sovereign lending to India in 2025, supporting projects across workforce skilling, renewable energy, urban infrastructure, metro and rail networks, healthcare services and ecotourism, the multilateral lender said on Friday, reported PTI.Of the 16 new projects committed during the year, nearly 32% were in the human and social development sector, while about 26% focused on energy– primarily renewable energy–and over 18% were in urban development, according to an ADB statement.Skilling and clean energy at the coreA key component of the 2025 portfolio is an $846-million financing initiative for PM-SETU, India’s flagship skilling programme, which aims to modernise hundreds of Industrial Training Institutes across states to improve employability and workforce readiness.ADB is also providing $650 million to support the PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana, the national rooftop solar programme designed to expand household-level solar adoption across the country.“We are proud that ADB’s 2025 portfolio supported India’s priority development agenda, focusing on workforce skilling for jobs, clean energy deployment, and driving transformative urban growth,” said ADB Country Director for India Mio Oka, adding that the initiatives reflect the bank’s commitment to inclusive and sustainable growth.Urban transport, healthcare and regional developmentReaffirming its support for India’s urban transformation, ADB committed $775 million for five urban projects in Assam, Kerala, Sikkim and West Bengal. These investments are aimed at upgrading and expanding core urban services, including water supply and sanitation.In transport, the lender committed $729 million to expand regional rapid rail connectivity on the Delhi-Meerut corridor and metro networks in Chennai and Indore, with the objective of improving mobility, easing congestion and managing the pressures of rapid urbanisation.Other major loans included $460 million to Maharashtra to modernise rural power infrastructure and strengthen solar electricity supply for irrigation, and $398.8 million to Assam to upgrade healthcare and medical education systems. ADB also committed more than $200 million in loans to Meghalaya and Uttarakhand to promote ecotourism development.Alongside financing, ADB said it continued to provide policy and knowledge support through technical and operational studies. In 2025, this included assistance to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs in developing three knowledge frameworks—on creative redevelopment of cities, cities as growth hubs, and urban water supply and sanitation—which underpin the government’s new urban challenge fund.ADB, founded in 1966, is owned by 69 members, including 50 from the Asia-Pacific region, and supports inclusive, resilient and sustainable growth across the region.