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The World Bank Group has helped mobilise USD 36 billion in private capital for development in India over the past four years, including USD 9.6 billion for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), as it steps up efforts to spur private sector-led growth and job creation. Private capital mobilisation by the Group rose nearly five-fold to USD 14.5 billion in fiscal 2026 from about USD 3 billion in fiscal 2022, Manuel Reyes-Retana, IFC's division director for South Asia, said. The increase reflects growing investor interest in development-linked investments, with guarantees from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) helping reduce investment risks and attract private funding, he said. Institutional investors are increasingly drawn to such instruments because they are familiar with the World Bank Group's underwriting standards and governance practices, Reyes-Retana said. "We are seeing a positive response from private ..
India is among the top 10 leading emerging-market performers in artificial intelligence (AI) readiness and is well positioned to harness the technology, helped by its large technical workforce, globally integrated IT sector and digital public infrastructure, the World Bank said on Tuesday. In its latest report titled 'India and Artificial Intelligence: Seizing the Development Opportunity', the World Bank said private investment in AI in India more than tripled to USD 4.1 billion in 2025 from USD 1.2 billion in 2024. At the same time, the number of professionals employed by Global Capability Centres (GCCs) rose to 2.36 million in 2025 from 1.9 million a year ago, it said. The report, however, noted that the long-term economic and labour market impact of AI remains uncertain. It called for cross-cutting policy measures to deepen AI-enabling infrastructure, improve the business environment, broaden access to AI and enhance labour capacity so that the benefits of the technology are wid
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has met World Bank President Ajay Banga and discussed further strengthening the partnership between India and the international finance institution to deepen corporate, infrastructure and municipal bond markets. Sitharaman met Banga on the sidelines of the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) Meeting, in Asheville, on Tuesday. The Union Finance Minister appreciated the World Bank Group's continued engagement with India and acknowledged the speedy processing of the Development Policy Financing (DPF) of USD 1.5 billion," a Finance Ministry statement said. It said Sitharaman appreciated the International Finance Corporation's (IFC) support to MSMEs through SIDBI, which was processed in record time and has had a positive impact on the MSME sector. "The two leaders discussed further strengthening the IndiaWorld Bank Group partnership, including exploring a larger role for MIGA (Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency) in India to
The World Bank Group has committed USD 890 million funding support to accelerate India's national programme for solar rooftops to bring clean energy to millions of homes and create 1.7 million job opportunities across the renewable energy manufacturing, installation, and services value chain. The World Bank's Board of Executive Directors have approved the project, the multilateral funding agency said in a statement on Friday. The financing package for the programme includes an USD 820 million loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), a USD 60 million concessional loan from the Clean Technology Fund, and a USD 10 million grant from IBRD's Livable Planet Fund, it said. In addition, the World Bank will mobilise USD 4.2 billion in private financing in the form of commercial loans enabling them to install solar rooftops for households, it said. India has committed to achieving net zero by 2070 and increasing non-fossil-fuel-based energy resources to 60