BRICS new bank to finance solar projects

The New Development Bank established by the BRICS states, Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, plans to lend about US$2 billion to finance energy solar projects in India.

This announcement comes after, last month, China and the BRICS New Development Bank signed documents on the bank's headquarters in Shanghai, which marked the completion of legal procedures before the operation of the bank.

According to Kundapur Vaman Kamath, chief of the New Development Bank of BRICS countries, the bank is also looking for water projects and thereafter road projects to finance.

The New Development Bank BRICS (NDB BRICS), formerly referred to as the BRICS Development Bank, is a multilateral development bank operated by the BRICS states as an alternative to the existing US-dominated World Bank and International Monetary Fund.

The bank is set up to foster greater financial and development cooperation among the five emerging markets. Unlike the World Bank, which assigns votes based on capital share, in the New Development Bank each participant country will be assigned one vote, and none of the countries will have veto power.