US, Japan and S.Korea to support digital infrastructure in India

The United States, Japan, and South Korea announced on 26 October 2024 that they will launch a new framework to collaborate with the Indian private sector to support digital infrastructure in India. The new framework is called the Digital Infrastructure Growth Initiative for India Framework (DiGi Framework).

Who will support the DiGi Framework? 

The DiGi Framework will be supported by the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, the Export-Import Bank of Korea (Korea Eximbank) and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC).

In August 2023 the DFC, JBIC and Korea Eximbank signed an agreement to strengthen coordination and cooperation among like-minded countries in order to drive sustainable economic growth in the Indo-Pacific region by supporting private sector investment in infrastructure.

The recently announced  DiGi Framework is part of the agreement reached by the three in August 2023.

Aim of the DiGi Framework

The DiGi Framework, in partnership with the Indian private sector, will promote investments in digital infrastructure in India.

It will provide support to meet the needs of strategic digital infrastructure deals in India.

It will support projects in the information and communications technologies (ICT) sectors like Open RAN (radio access network),5G in the telecom sector,  submarine cables, optical fibre networks, telecom towers, data centres, smart cities, e-commerce, artificial intelligence(AI), and quantum technology.

The framework will also encourage and support dialogues with the Indian government and private sector so as to promote private sector funding for digital infrastructure projects in India.

About the Institutions 

The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) was set up by the United States government in 2019. Its headquarters is in Washington, D.C.

It is an American government development financial institution that partners with the private sector to finance solutions to the most critical challenges facing the developing world, such as energy, healthcare, critical infrastructure, and technology.

Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) 

The Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) was established by the Japanese government in 2012. Its headquarters is in Tokyo.

It is owned by the government of Japan, and it provides loans to foreign countries or foreign private companies so that they can get goods and services from Japanese companies.

The Export-Import Bank of Korea (Korea Eximbank)

The Export-Import Bank of Korea (Korea Eximbank) is owned by the South Korean government. It was established in 1976 and has its headquarters in Seoul.

It provides loans to foreign governments/companies so that they can buy South Korean goods and services.