<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">India is all set to become the 69th member of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) after shareholders of the international financial institution gave their nod to the country's candidature.&nbsp;</span></div>''<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><br />''</div>''<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">The EBRD today announced that its shareholders have agreed to India becoming its member.&nbsp;</div>''<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><br />''</div>''<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">The move follows the Indian government's application to seek the EBRD membership back in December last year and sets the stage for an increase in joint investment with Indian companies in the Bank's regions of operation.</div>''<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><br />''</div>''<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">The formal membership process will now get underway, which includes the purchase of shares by India at an estimated cost of around 1 million euros. Suma Chakrabarti, the Indian-origin President of the bank said, this is an important step in the relationship between the EBRD and India, allowing us to build further on already very close ties.&nbsp;&nbsp;</div>''<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><br />''</div>''<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">The EBRD's Board of Governors, which represents all the existing shareholders of the UK-based bank, voted in favour of India's membership application last week. If all the paperwork is processed in time, India could be ready to take its seat at the table in time for the bank's annual meeting in Jordan in May.&nbsp;&nbsp;</div>''<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"></div>''<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">The London-headquartered EBRD is a multilateral development bank set up in 1991 after the fall of the Berlin wall to promote the private and entrepreneurial initiative in emerging Europe.</div>''<div class="yj6qo" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"></div>''<div class="adL" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"></div>