India and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Monday signed loan agreements worth over $2.2 billion to support five major development projects spanning skilling, renewable energy, healthcare, urban transport and sustainable livelihoods across multiple states.
The agreements were finalised under the guidance of the Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance. The loan documents were signed by Deputy Secretary Saurabh Singh on behalf of the Government of India and by Aarti Mehra, Officer-in-Charge and Deputy Country Director of the ADB India Resident Mission, on behalf of the multilateral lender.
The financing package includes support for the Pradhan Mantri Skilling and Employability Transformation through Upgraded Industrial Training Institutes Programme ($846 million), Accelerating Affordable and Inclusive Rooftop Solar Systems Development Programme – Subprogramme 1 ($650 million), Assam State Tertiary Health Care Augmentation Project ($398.8 million), Chennai Metro Rail Investment Project – Tranche 2 ($240 million), and the Integrated Ecotourism and Sustainable Agri-based Livelihood Development in Meghalaya Project ($77 million).
The skilling programme aims to create a future-ready workforce by modernising 650 Industrial Training Institutes across 12 states and upgrading five National Skill Training Institutes into centres of excellence. The initiative is expected to improve employability for at least 1.3 million youth by offering demand-driven courses in high-growth sectors such as renewable energy, electric mobility and advanced manufacturing.
The rooftop solar programme will support the Pradhan Mantri Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana, with the objective of expanding rooftop solar adoption and providing clean, affordable energy to 10 million households by 2027. The project focuses on standardised guidelines, sectoral reforms and easier access to collateral-free, low-interest loans for low- and middle-income households.
In the healthcare sector, the Assam State Tertiary Health Care Augmentation Project seeks to strengthen tertiary care services by modernising medical colleges in Guwahati, Dibrugarh and Silchar. These institutions will be developed as centres of excellence under the Srimanta Sankaradeva University of Health Sciences to address critical gaps in healthcare delivery and medical education.
The second tranche of the Chennai Metro Rail Investment Project will support the expansion of the metro network through new elevated and underground corridors and the construction of 18 additional stations. The project includes climate-resilient infrastructure and universal access features to ensure passenger safety and reliability during extreme weather events.
The Meghalaya ecotourism and sustainable agri-based livelihood project aims to promote nature-based tourism while improving farm incomes through climate-smart agriculture and forest conservation. The initiative is expected to generate economic opportunities for over 8,000 local beneficiaries, including women and indigenous communities.
