World Bank commits annual financing worth $8 bn-$ 10 bn to India over 5 yrs

New Country Partnership Framework aligns with India's Viksit Bharat vision, focusing on private sector-led job creation and infrastructure-led growth

The World Bank Group and India on Friday announced a new Country Partnership Framework (CPF), envisaging USD 8-10 billion in annual financing over the next five years to help accelerate India's next phase of growth and support its vision of becoming a developed economy.

The Union Finance Minister welcomed the new Country Partnership Framework (CPF) with the World Bank Group, which is fully aligned with India's Viksit Bharat vision.

The CPF focuses on leveraging public funds with private capital, creating more jobs across rural and urban India, and enriching projects with the World Bank Group's global knowledge, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said after the World Bank team led by President Ajay Banga called on her.

 

Both leaders also discussed ways to deepen India-World Bank cooperation in support of India's long-term development vision of Viksit Bharat, the finance ministry said in a post on X.

"Leveraging public funds with private capital, creating more jobs across rural and urban India, and enriching projects with the Bank Group's global knowledge will be key to achieving sustainable impact at both speed and scale," she said.

The Finance Minister underlined the importance of a development partnership that goes beyond financing, and includes knowledge sharing, technical assistance, and exchange of global best practices.

The new India-World Bank Group strategic partnership applies this global jobs strategy in India and supports it with USD 8-10 billion in annual financing over the next five years, to create jobs and mobilize private sector capital at scale, Washington-based multilateral funding agency said in a statement.

At the heart of the new partnership is private sector-led job creation, it said, adding that with around 12 million young people entering India's labor market each year, unlocking private investment in job-rich sectors is a central priority for the country's next phase of growth.

The World Bank Group's global jobs strategy rests on three pillars -- investing in critical infrastructure, both physical and human; strengthening a business-friendly environment through predictable laws, rules, and regulations; and deploying risk-management tools to help private investment scale, it said.

This approach focuses on five sectors that generate locally relevant jobs at scale: infrastructure and energy, agribusiness, health care, tourism, and value-added manufacturing, it said.

"India is one of the key engines of global growth today. Our strategic partnership aims to help India grow even faster on its path toward Viksit Bharat by 2047," World Bank Group President Ajay Banga said.

"Creating more jobs is at the core of our work. This partnership brings together financing, reforms, and private sector investment to turn growth into opportunity for millions of Indians," he said.

The new strategic partnership is the result of a year-long collaboration between India and the World Bank Group to rethink how they work together, it said.

The partnership prioritizes private sector-led job creation by upgrading skills, reducing barriers for small and medium enterprises, and expanding opportunities particularly for youth and women, it said.

It focuses on four strategic outcomes: boosting rural prosperity and resilience; supporting urban transformation and livable cities; investing in people and strengthening energy security and core infrastructure; and strengthening resilience.

This partnership benefits from reforms undertaken by the World Bank Group since 2023 to become faster, simpler, and more impact-oriented-many of which were advanced during India's G20 presidency, it said.

India is the World Bank Group's largest client, with IBRD commitments of USD 20 billion across 79 projects, IFC commitments of USD 16.72 billion across 174 projects, and USD 618 million in guarantees from MIGA.