India signs loan pact with AIIB for Rural Roads Project

India has signed a loan agreement with China led-Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) for financing of $329 million for Gujarat Rural Roads Project (GRRP).
 The objective of the GRRP is to improve the rural road connectivity and accessibility by providing all weather road connectivity to 1,060 villages in all the 33 districts of Gujarat, benefiting about 80 lakh people. It will also benefit the service providers such as public transport operators, hospitals, educational institutions, local markets and traders. 

About Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)

AIIB is a multilateral development bank backed by China, seen as a rival to the World Bank and Asian Development Bank (ADB). It was established to fund various infrastructure projects including energy, transportation, urban construction and logistics as well as education and healthcare in Asia-Pacific region.
The AIIB was officially established with 57 founding members and started to function in January 2016. But as of May 2017, the bank has 52 members. It has an authorised capital of US $100 billion. It is headquartered in Beijing.
Voting Share: China is the largest shareholder with 26.06% voting shares. India is the second largest shareholder with 7.5% voting shares followed by Russia (5.93%) and Germany (4.5%).

Month: Current Affairs - August, 2017