Budget 2015: Finance Ministry floats Cabinet note on BRICS Bank participation

NEW DELHI: The Finance Ministry has moved the Cabinet seeking approval for India's participation in the BRICS Bank as well as for nominating the first president of the multi-nation development bank.

"A Cabinet note has been moved on ratification of the BRICS Bank," official sources said.

It is expected that the government will make a provision for BRICS Bank plan in the upcoming Budget 2015-16, to be presented on February 28.

Heads of the five nation BRICS group -- Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa -- decided last year to create a development bank as well as a reserve fund to finance infrastructure projects and to head off future economic crises.

India will hold the Presidency of the $100-billion New Development Bank for the first six years. The Bank will be based in Shanghai, China's financial hub.

Making a strong pitch for speeding up the creation of a BRICS development bank, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said that India hopes to ratify the agreement over the financial institution by 2014-end and 2016 should be set as the target for its inauguration.

Modi had made this remark at an informal meeting with Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping and South African President President Jacob Zuma on the sidelines of the G20 summit at Brisbane (Australia) in November.

India's presidency will be followed by Brazil and Russia who will have five years term each under an agreement reached after intense negotiations among the five country-grouping.

According to sources, India would select president of BRICS Bank in the first half of the next fiscal.

The head of the proposed bank will be jointly selected by the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister.