India Backs AIIB 2027 Budget and Proposes AI Financing
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman backed the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank's 2027 budget and urged the bank to fund AI and small business development.
Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman met with Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) President Zou Jiayi on September 29, 2026, during the bank's annual meeting in Doha. The leaders reviewed the AIIB's existing project pipeline in India and discussed strategies to expand the institution's global presence and domestic operations.
Sitharaman formally endorsed the AIIB's 2027 budget plans and proposed a shift in financing priorities. She urged the bank to move beyond physical infrastructure to provide funding for artificial intelligence, manpower skilling, and support for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). Sitharaman stated that the bank's regional centrality should remain a defining institutional characteristic and an important anchor of its mandate.
President Zou Jiayi affirmed the bank's commitment to financing projects focused on people, environmental protection, and urban development. The discussions highlighted a potential evolution of the bank's mandate to include technological adaptability for smaller economic actors in India.
