Is the ADB drawing up a plan to help Asian economies, including India?
Yes. We are in discussion with some countries. The requirements of each country are different. There may be immediate assistance for some countries. We are looking at providing more financial support to small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Credit to SMEs has been squeezed. So we are talking to various government agencies about how to provide finance for SMEs and for micro-finance in India as well. There are several options. Infrastructure financing requires about $300 billion in Asia every year. We had expected a large part of that amount to come from the private sector. That is no longer the case. Governments also have limited space for funding infrastructure development. We believe those projects like the transport corridor, freight corridor, hospitals and schools, must continue. ADB will step up lending to make up for the gap to the extent possible keeping in mind resource limitations. ADB will also provide assistance to countries impacted by the financial crisis. Thirdly, we are ta
