Asian Development Bank (ADB) President Takehiko Nakao recently met India's Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley, and praised India's strong economic performance in the face of weak global growth and turmoil in commodity and financial markets.

"I believe India is likely to remain the fastest-growing large economy this year given the prudent macroeconomic management and the government's efforts to improve the investment climate," said Nakao. "The recent budget also balances the urgent requirements for infrastructure investments with the need to reduce the fiscal deficit." ADB expects India's economic growth will continue to exceed 7% in fiscal year 2016-17 (starting April 2016) and the following year.

Nakao commended the success of the country's reform measures, including the liberalization of foreign direct investment rules, cuts in subsidies, and the "Make in India" campaign. At the same time, he emphasized the importance of continuing reforms to boost the long-term growth potential of the Indian economy, noting the government's efforts to unify the tax regime, make closing businesses easier, improve labor laws, and strengthen public sector banks.

To support the government's commitment to build more infrastructure, Nakao said ADB will increase its lending to $10 billion to $12 billion for the 3 calendar years 2016 through 2018. ADB will support flagship government projects such as solar parks and solar rooftops, energy efficiency using LED lighting, smart cities, metro lines, railway modernization, irrigation system expansion, economic corridors, and major ports.