Each of these loans will be setting a precedent. In granting the housing loan, ADB will for the first time be lending the entire loan amount to the lower-income segment. The power sector loan marks the first time that a multilateral agency in India is providing a guarantee to a corporate entity. The road project will see the operations and management of the project being contracted to the private sector for the first time.
Housing is an industry that requires long-term finance.
The Indian debt market currently does not have the depth to lend for more than seven years. In its earlier assistance to the housing sector, ADB had provided half the loan amount to the low-income groups. However, as more than 90 percent of the housing need is from low-income families and in the context of ADB s renewed focus on poverty reduction this time the entire amount has been allocated to this segment. The loan has helped us to better match the maturity of our assets and our liabilities. The Project has three main components.