According to a notification by the Labour Ministry, under the ‘Debt Instruments and Related Investments’ category, rupee bonds having an outstanding maturity of at least three years from NDB has been included along with those issued by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, International Finance Corporation and Asian Development Bank. Under this, an exempted establishment can invest minimum of 35 per cent and maximum of 45 per cent.
It may be noted that EPF Exempted Establishment means an employer entity that has set up a Private Provident Fund Trust for coverage of its employees and has obtained exemption under Section 17 of the Employees’ Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act. These entities are permitted to manage their own PF Trust without making statutory contributions. Such exempted establishments are statutorily mandated to provide benefits that are at least on par with those provided by EPFO to subscribers and comply with the notified conditions of exemption as outlined in the Act.
NDB is a multilateral development bank established by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) with the purpose of mobilising resources for infrastructure and sustainable development projects in emerging markets and developing countries (EMDCs). Working together with member countries and stakeholders, the bank leverages capital for development purposes to accelerate economic growth, as well as to achieve environmental and social sustainability to improve the lives of people in its member countries.
In her speech, during recently held BRICS Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting, NDB President Dilma Rousseff said that the institution’s planned Indian Rupee bond program aims to mobilize around ₹250 billion equivalent to $2.5 billion over five years, deepening India’s domestic bond market while helping borrowers, including private sector ones, reduce currency risk. “We shall remember that the prevision for India sovereign loan in the next five years is $1 billion a year, totalling $5 billion . So, NDB prevision for the period is a total investment in India of $7.5 billion ,” she said.
Besides that, NDB has also become a growing player in multicurrency lending using currency swaps.
NBD is accelerating non-sovereign operations, engaging more deeply with private sector via direct lending, or through public-private partnerships and using blended finance. Under the current General Strategy, NDB has set a target of 30 per cent of financing to non-sovereign operations.
“For our next strategy cycle, covering 2027 to 2031, we aim for 35 per cent, alongside an expanded local-currency target of 40 to 50 per cent, a climate finance target of 45 per cent, and a new target of 10 per cent for innovation and digital transformation projects, from smart hospitals to intelligent transport and infrastructure systems,” she said.
Published on September 10, 2026