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Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)

Origins, Structure, and India's Role

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is a multilateral development bank (MDB) proposed by China in 2013, established through an Articles of Agreement signed in 2015, and operationalised in January 2016. It was conceived to address Asia's massive infrastructure financing gap, estimated at USD 26 trillion for the period 2016–2030. India was a Founding Member and has consistently been AIIB's second largest shareholder and the country with the largest project portfolio.

Key details

Proposed by: China (2013); 21 countries signed founding MOU in October 2014
Officially established: Articles of Agreement signed in June 2015; began operations January 2016
Founding members: 57 members (37 regional + 20 non-regional); membership has since expanded to 109+ members
Headquarters: Beijing, China
Authorised capital: USD 100 billion (20% paid-in, 80% callable)
China's contribution: USD 50 billion (50% of initial subscribed capital); largest shareholder with ~27% voting share
India's contribution: USD 8.4 billion; second-largest shareholder (~8.52% stake, ~7.5% voting share)
India's project portfolio: Largest among all AIIB members — spanning urban development, transport, energy, and water infrastructure
New AIIB President: Zou Jiayi (from January 16, 2026) — first woman to head AIIB; replaced Jin Liqun who served since inception