NDB Appoints Dr Rajiv Ranjan as Vice President

Appointment and Background

Dr Rajiv Ranjan has been appointed by the New Development Bank (NDB) , which was established by BRICS countries, as vice president and chief risk officer. Dr Ranjan is a central banker since 1989, who was recently an executive director at RBI as well as a Monetary Policy Committee member. He is an expert on monetary policy, liquidity management, financial markets and risk assessment with over 30 years of global experience with the G20, IMF, World Bank, BIS, FSB, OECD, and SAARC.

India's Role in NDB

India has the second-biggest NDB project portfolio of $7.5 billion , following the 8.1 billion of China. Indian projects include metro rail, water management, clean energy, digital infrastructure, and environmental protection projects and are part of sustainable development objectives.

Push for Multilateral Reforms

India still demands reforms in the multilateral development banks to make them inclusive in financing emerging economies. The Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has called on the NDB to open the door to the private capital and change lending patterns to tailor them to the Global South .

Trade Challenges and Diversification

The US pressure on India applies in terms of increasing tariffs by 50 percent on certain goods. Nonetheless, government authorities anticipate a narrow effect because of diversification in exports. India is also in the process of agreeing with the UK, EU and New Zealand on trade deals to expand the market and minimize reliance on one region.

Economic Outlook

Standard and Poor upgrade India with a sovereign rating - this is likely to reduce the cost of borrowing as well as increase the inflows of funds. On top of tax cuts and the easing of regulations , the future is bright in spite of the external trade headwinds.