ADB REPORT (Syllabus: GS Paper 2 – IR)

Context: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) recently revised India's growth forecast for FY24 to 6.3 per cent, a change of 10 basis points, attributing it to erratic monsoon patterns that are likely to affect agricultural output.

Key Points of ADB Report

• India's economic growth is anticipated to be bolstered by robust private consumption and increases in both public and private investment.
• The inflation forecast for India in FY24 has been adjusted to 5.5 percent, an increase from the earlier projection of 5 percent. 
• Adverse weather conditions led to a surge in food inflation in July, which in turn contributed to an escalation in the overall inflation rate across South Asia.
• According to the report, the prolonged drought in private capital expenditure is displaying indications of revival, as fresh projects are emerging in states such as Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Odisha, spanning a range of sectors such as textiles, steel, and power.

Asian Development Bank (ADB)

• Formation: 1966.
• Objective: It envisions a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty in the region.
• Headquarters: Manila, Philippines.
• Members: 68 members including India, China and Pakistan.

o The bank admits the members of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP, formerly the Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East or ECAFE), and nonregional developed countries.

• Largest capital contribution and voting rights: Japan and the United States (have equal and largest)>China>India>Australia.