The Asian Development Bank is to loan India $1 billion, the largest ever advance by the bank to a developing country, to help alleviate rural poverty, the Financial Times newspaper reported on Saturday.
The development bank is expected to announce the loan on Monday amid concern that failure to broaden the base of India's blistering growth could lead to social conflict, capital flight, falling investment and an economic slowdown.
The package will be aimed at weaning the rural poor away from moneylenders by expanding access to formal finance, the newspaper said, marking a shift in emphasis towards the social sector for the ADB's Indian loans.