Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank

IN NEWS:

• India and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) signed a US$ 500 million ‘COVID-19 Emergency Response and Health Systems Preparedness Project’.

ABOUT AIIB:

• The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is a multilateral development bank with a mission to improve social and economic outcomes in Asia.
• The bank was proposed by China in 2013. It began operations in January 2016 and is headquartered in Beijing.
• Membership is open to all members of the World Bank or the Asian Development Bank and is divided into regional and non-regional members.
• Currently it has 102 approved members. America and Japan are not members of the Bank.

INDIA AND AIIB:

• India is the second shareholder and the top borrower from the bank.
• Some of the major AIIB funded projects in India are the Mumbai urban transport project, solar projects in Rajasthan, irrigation and flood management project in West Bengal and investments in the National Infrastructure Investment Fund (NIIF).

COVID-19 Emergency Response and Health Systems Preparedness Project:

• The support will cover all States and Union Territories and address the needs of infected people, at-risk populations, medical and emergency personnel and service providers, medical and testing facilities, and national and animal health agencies.
• The project will enable the Government to slow and limit the spread of COVID-19 in India by providing immediate support to enhance disease detection capacities.

PRELIMS QUESTION:

Q. Consider the following statements regarding the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB):

1. It is a multilateral development bank headquartered in Manila
2. All members hold equal share in the bank

Which of the above statements is/are correct:

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2

Answer to Prelims question

Source: PIB