Amid India-China tensions in eastern Ladakh, Beijing-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has approved a loan of 750 million dollars to help India battle the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on vulnerable households, the bank said on Wednesday, reported international news agency, Reuters.
Earlier in May, this year, the AIIB had also approved a $500 million loan to assist India’s emergency response to the pandemic. Both loans are part of a $10 billion funding facility the AIIB has announced to help public and private sectors fight the outbreak.
The project, co-financed by the Asian Development Bank, aims to strengthen economic aid for businesses, expand social safety nets and bolster healthcare.
So far, India has detected 3,54,000 cases of COVID-19; among them, nearly 12,000 have died while about 1,84,000 have recovered. The country has also dramatically spiked in the world ranking; currently, at fourth, behind Russia, Brazil, the United States.
