Will India Back Putin's Plan For A New SCO Bank?

Could Vladimir Putin’s proposed SCO Development Bank become a major challenge to America’s financial power? At the SCO summit in Bishkek, Putin called for an independent development bank that could finance infrastructure, energy, transport, technology and cross-border projects among member states. The bigger objective: reducing dependence on Western financial systems, the dollar and sanctions. India is now part of the conversation. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman discussed financial cooperation with Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, including the proposed SCO Development Bank. Kazakhstan has also offered to host its headquarters if SCO members agree to establish it. But there is a major question: how would Donald Trump and Washington respond? Russia says more than 98% of its settlements with SCO members are already conducted in national currencies, while India-Russia trade is increasingly using rupee-rouble mechanisms. If the proposed bank becomes a real institution, it could give SCO members another channel for financing and trade. However, the bank does not exist yet. Its capital structure, governance, headquarters and lending rules remain unresolved. So could Putin’s plan weaken the dollar’s influence, strengthen China’s economic reach and give India another instrument of strategic autonomy? Or could Washington use sanctions to stop it? Watch the full analysis.