New Development Bank (NDB) Projects

The New Development Bank is a multilateral development bank established in 2015 by the BRICS nations, Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, headquartered in Shanghai. India is one of NDB's founding shareholders and a major borrower. NDB finances infrastructure and sustainable development projects, with a focus on green infrastructure and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. In India, NDB has financed projects spanning national highway upgrades, urban transport, renewable energy, water infrastructure, and metro rail. Procurement under NDB-financed projects follows NDB's Procurement Policy (2016), which emphasises open competition, value for money, and economy, efficiency, transparency, and fairness, principles broadly aligned with other MDB procurement frameworks.

What is NDB in government procurement?

NDB's Procurement Framework is risk-based and flexible, allowing the use of national procurement systems (such as GFR 2017 and the CVC guidelines) where these are adequate for the specific procurement, rather than always requiring NDB's own SBDs. For large, complex, or strategically important contracts, NDB may require ICB using internationally harmonised SBDs. For procurement below specified thresholds or in lower-risk categories, national procedures may be approved by NDB.

This flexibility, "fit-for-purpose" procurement, means that NDB-financed contracts in India can look similar to standard GFR tenders for domestic procurement packages, while large equipment or works contracts may follow full ICB. Bidders should read the specific procurement plan for each NDB project to understand which procurement method applies to the contract they are targeting.

NDB's Environmental and Social Framework (ESF) requires borrowers to assess and mitigate environmental and social risks. Contractors on NDB projects must comply with the ESF conditions embedded in their contracts, covering occupational health and safety, community engagement, environmental management, and labour standards.

NDB's eligible countries for procurement include all NDB members, Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, and associate members (Bangladesh, UAE, and others added subsequently). For projects explicitly using NDB's own procurement procedures (rather than national systems), this limits competition to firms from eligible member countries.

Why it matters for bidders

NDB projects combine the payment reliability of MDB financing with the familiarity of GFR-aligned procurement procedures (for contracts approved under national systems). This makes NDB-financed contracts relatively accessible to Indian contractors and suppliers who may not be experienced in full ICB procedures.

Since NDB is a BRICS institution, Indian firms are automatically eligible for all NDB-financed contracts. This is an advantage over some other MDB frameworks where eligible country lists or tied-aid provisions may complicate Indian firm participation.

NDB is a growing institution with an expanding India portfolio, particularly in green infrastructure. Monitoring NDB's project pipeline on its website (ndb.int) provides advance intelligence on upcoming procurement opportunities in highways, urban infrastructure, and renewable energy.

Example

NDB finances a road connectivity project for upgrading 600 km of state highways in a northern Indian state, with a total loan of US $500 million. NDB approves the use of national procurement procedures (GFR 2017) for all contracts below Rs 200 crore, and ICB for larger packages. A 95 km highway section is packaged as an ICB contract estimated at Rs 850 crore. The project implementing agency (state PWD) publishes the NIT on CPPP, the state portal, and NDB's website. Bidders from India, China, Brazil, and Russia participate. An Indian contractor submits the lowest evaluated compliant bid and wins the contract.

Key rules / thresholds

• NDB may approve use of national procurement systems (GFR 2017 + CVC guidelines) for lower-value or standard-risk contracts, always check the specific procurement plan.
• NDB eligible countries: Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Bangladesh, UAE, and other associate members (list grows with new accessions).
• Prior review by NDB applies to large contracts (threshold defined per project); post review applies to smaller contracts.
• Cross-debarment: NDB participates in the MDB mutual enforcement of debarment agreements, firms debarred by World Bank, ADB, AIIB, IADB, AFDB, or EBRD are ineligible for NDB contracts.