BRICS New Development Bank approves first loans for renewable energy project

The BRICS New Development Bank (NDB) has approved its first package of loans worth 811 million dollars for four renewable energy projects in Brazil, China, South Africa and India. 

The decision to approve the first loans was approved by the NDB board of governors on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank spring meetings in Washington DC, US. 

Key facts 

1. The NDB in its first loan tranche will provide $300 million to Brazil, $250 million to India, $180 million to South Africa and $81 million to China. 
2. These funds will be used in area of green and renewable energy projects with a combined capacity of 2.37MW together. 
3. On completion of these projects, they will help to reduce the amount of harmful emissions by 4 million tons annually. 

About New Development Bank 

1. The New Development Bank is a multilateral bank created by BRICS nations viz. Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. 
2. It had started its operations in July 2015 with initial authorized capital of $100 billion. 
3. It is headquartered in Shanghai, China. 
4. The goal of the bank is to fund infrastructure projects in emerging economies for sustainable development. 
5. In the NDB, each participant country has been assigned one vote, and none of the countries have veto power. 
6. Renowned Indian banker Kundapur Vaman Kamath is the President (first) of NDB.