India supports expansion of NDB membership at BRICS meet

India on Monday supported expansion of the membership of New Development Bank (NDB) set up by India and other BRICS nations.

Participating in the first BRICS Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting under the BRICS Russian Chairmanship, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman sought a consensus solution to ensuring fairness, equity and sustainability of tax systems, an official statement said after the meeting.

"The Finance Minister supported the expansion of the membership of NDB and emphasised on the importance of regional balance," it said.

Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa are currently the members of Shanghai–based NDB, which aims at providing long-gestation infrastructure finance.

The agenda of the meeting included discussions on the outcomes of G20 Saudi Presidency in 2020, a digital platform to encourage infrastructure investments and expansion of the membership of the New Development Bank.

The Finance Minister observed that the G20, of which all BRICS countries are members, has delivered some very significant initiatives this year including the G20 Action Plan in response to Covid-19, which has provided broad guidance to navigate a collective global response to the crisis.