Beijing: Shanghai-headquartered New Development Bank (NDB) of the BRICS countries has appointed former bureaucrat Dr D J Pandian as the Director-General of its India Regional Office in Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City), the bank announced on Tuesday.
Last month, the NDB had announced plans to set up IRO in the Gift city.
“The NDB has approved 20 projects in India for about USD 7.2. billion. The IRO will support the effective and efficient implementation of these projects and work closely with Project Implementation Agencies on achieving desired project outcomes. IRO will also play an important role in preparing new projects and assisting government institutions in capacity building and in providing technical assistance,” the bank quoted Pandian as saying in a press release.
The establishment of the IRO is an important milestone for NDB as it marks the fulfilment of a commitment made by the founders of the bank in setting up regional offices, beyond headquarters, in each of the other four founding countries — South Africa, Brazil, Russia and India (BRICS), he said.
Pandian earlier served as the Vice President and Chief Investment Officer of the Beijing-based Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) in which India is the 2nd largest shareholder after China.
He was succeeded by former RBI Governor Urjit Patel in January. During his tenure at the AIIB, he was instrumental in securing USD 6.7 billion in funding for 28 projects in India, stated to be the highest project finance extended by the bank.
A retired IAS officer, Pandian had also served as Chief Secretary of Gujarat.
He was instrumental in establishing the Gujarat Energy Research and Management Institute and served as chairman and director.
The IRO will work closely with the government, public and private sector agencies, and other relevant stakeholders in the Indian sub-continent to identify projects that have a strong development impact and which are aligned with the national development priorities, the NDB press release said.
The announcement of Pandian’s appointment comes as China, which is the chair of this year’s BRICS, is set to host the summit of the five-member bloc via video link on June 23-24 in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to take part.
Earlier, welcoming the NDB’s decision to set up its regional office, Tapan Ray, MD and Group CEO-GIFT City, said it is a significant breakthrough and brings global recognition for the city.
“With the announcement to launch the New Development Bank’s India regional office in GIFT City. I believe this is a significant breakthrough in terms of GIFT City’s global recognition,” he said in a statement on May 20.
