Giving an economic content to his visit to the US in the midst of high-profile diplomatic engagements, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh met World Bank President Robert Zoellick and top American CEOs in the backdrop of the financial meltdown that has kept the Bush Administration on its toes.
The World Bank said on Monday that it would "more or less" stick to its forecast of 6.5 per cent growth rate for Indian economy despite the damage suffered by the country in the tsunami tragedy.
After disclosing late last year its decision banning Satyam Computer Services, the World Bank said earlier this month that Wipro and another Indian IT firm Megasoft have also been debarred from directly doing business with it under its corporate procurement programme. The Bank had disclosed the ban on Satyam on December 25, while debarment of Wipro and Megasoft was revealed on January 11.
The eight-day long annual meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, which began in Dubai on Wednesday, would intensively discuss employment creation, private sector development and financial sector reforms.
India, along with other South Asian countries, is expected to sustain a growth of 6-6.3 per cent in the next two years, although global economic growth is slated to decline to 3.2 per cent, the World Bank said on Wednesday.
Observing that economy was "going well" in India, which has large internal markets, the World Bank said on Thursday that growth had to be labour oriented, even as it expressed concern over the mounting fiscal deficit.
Elaborating on the reasons behind the expected slowdown in the country's economic growth, the multilateral lending agency said it 'stems from a moderation in domestic demand, as elevated inflationary pressures have cut into disposable incomes and household spending'.
World Bank says India has bright prospects.
World Bank will provide another $220 million loan to Andhra Pradesh to expedite the reforms process even as it was considering sanctioning such loans to Tamil Nadu and Orissa as well.
Deloitte India on Friday said it estimates India's GDP growth at 6.6 per cent in the current fiscal helped by consumption expenditure, exports rebound and capital flows. In its India's economic outlook report, Deloitte said the rapid growth of the middle-income class has led to rising purchasing power and even created demand for premium luxury products and services. With the expectation that the number of middle-to-high-income segments will be one in two households by 2030/31, up from one in four currently, we believe this trend will likely become further amplified, driving overall private consumer expenditure growth, it said.
The World Bank is likely to sanction a reform-linked loan of Rs 16,000 crore (Rs 160 billion) to the UP government. The loan, called "UP Development Policy Loan", is in an advanced stage of negotiation and likely to be credited to UP in the current fiscal. The loan will help the state government retire costly old debt, which will reduce the annual interest burden by Rs 700 crore (Rs 7 billion).
World Bank on Wednesday asked developed countries to work out a "trade deal" including removal of trade barriers to accelerate growth in the developing nations.
World Bank on Monday said it would help the bank in moving away from an individual 'ring-fenced' project financing to a broad-based assistance to India.
The government is in talks with the World Bank for technical and financial assistance for overall e-governance projects in the country.
In its reply to the World Bank's allegations of corruption in five health projects worth a total of $ 568 million, the Indian govt has sent a report denying the charges. The report said World Bank has misunderstood protocols and has not provided evidence to substantiate the charges. The Union Health Ministry has said that the report erroneously created an impression that the health sector delivery system is beset with fraud and corruption. It has also damaged its credibility.
The IFC Global Corporate Governance Forum has signed an agreement with the Reuters Foundation to encourage these journalists and help them report on governance more effectively, the two organisations said.
India will catch up with China's growth at 7 per cent during 2016-17, the World Bank has forecast, saying India's economy has recovered in the wake of the economic reform measures taken by the new Indian government, falling oil prices and lower interest rates.
The opening ceremony was held in China's financial capital.
World Bank President Jim Yong Kim said on Tuesday that he sees much promise in Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, with whom he held an hour-long meeting on Tuesday morning.
The Tamil Nadu Irrigated Agriculture Modernisation and Water-Bodies Restoration and Management Project is designed to modernise irrigation systems covering over 600,000 hectares in 63 selected sub-basins throughout the state.
World Bank is optimistic that the Indian economy can grow by 6-8 per cent in the coming years but has asked the government to improve social services like education and health.
In line with its decision to maintain borrowing within its "load bearing" capacity, Karnataka has decided against going in for more loans from the World Bank and other agencies, Chief Minister S M Krishna said on Wednesday.
Structural reforms, pro-people programmes and employment opportunities helped the economy get new vigour, the finance minister said. After contracting by 5.8 per cent in 2020-21, the economy recorded a growth of 9.1 per cent in 2021-22.
The government and World Bank on Tuesday signed an agreement for a credit of 180 million SDR ($250 million equivalent) from International Development Agency for the Technical Engineering Education Quality Improvement Project.
World Bank on Wednesday warned that a prolonged war in Iraq may adversely affect India's GDP growth prospects in this fiscal.
India and China will continue to be the focus of the World Bank as these countries represent 70 per cent of the poor in the world, said the Bank president Robert Zoellick. "You've more poor in India than in all of sub-Saharan Africa. So if we're focused on poverty, we have to focus on these countries (India and China)", he told BBC in an interview to be broadcast on Sunday.
WCP Mauritius Holding, an investment vehicle promoted by former World Bank president James Wolfensohn, has bought a minority stake in India's ethnic wear company Fabindia for about $11 million, a Financial Times report said.
China remained a developing country facing many challenges, including alleviating poverty in rural areas, despite emerging as a second largest economy of the world, World Bank President Robert B Zoellick has said.
The World Bank now projects Gross Domestic Product growth of 11.3 per cent in 2007, but below 11 per cent in 2008, the World Bank's China Quarterly Update said.
Robert B Zoellick will succeed Paul Wolfowitz as the 11th president of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, or the World Bank, for a five-year term from July 1, 2007.
World Bank on Monday said its lending in India is estimated to increase from its current annual average of $2.5 billion to an average of $4 billion over the next two-three years.
The World Bank said on Monday hardening interest rates and a surge in oil prices worldwide will have a marginal impact on India's economy and the country would continue to witness high GDP growth.
Starting a business in India has become much easier in the last two years.
The World Bank will not reduce financial assistance to India for poverty alleviation measures because of the recent official data that showed a decline in the number of poor people in the country.
Jim Yong Kim, president of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development concluded his three-day visit to India on Wednesday.
The Cabinet on Wednesday approved $1.5 billion (about Rs 9,000 crore) World Bank support for the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) in rural areas.
The World Bank on Thursday projected Indian economy to grow at 8.7 per cent this year but estimated that the high growth would moderate in 2008 due to tighter financial and fiscal conditions.
