Page 3 - World Bank Group

India urges action to reform financial systems for debt-free Global South

India has called for a concerted global effort to reform the international financial architecture to ensure debt sustainability and prevent debt traps for the Global South that has been disproportionately impacted by multiple crises. India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador P Harish was addressing the 79th Session of the UN General Assembly on 'Fostering Resilience and Growth in an Uncertain World' on Tuesday when he drew attention to how development gains have gone off the rails, threatening progress towards Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) targets. A concerted global effort is required to reform the international financial architecture to ensure debt sustainability and prevent debt traps, provide access to affordable finance, and address inequalities in global trade and investment flows, Harish said. Highlighting the need for focussing on the issues of the most vulnerable, with the aim of leaving no one behind, Harish said, Empowering women and youth is the key to

Yunus meets Chinese FM, WB President Banga; discusses bilateral cooperation

Earlier on Tuesday, Yunus called for repatriation of Rohingyas amid the "deteriorating" security situation in Bangladesh during a high-level meeting

World Bank climate finance increases by 10% to record $42.6 bn this year

World Bank President Ajay Banga has increased balance sheet leverage and taken other capital adequacy measures to squeeze out an additional $10 billion to $12 billion

World Bank's India Development Update unlikely to be taken seriously

At home, there is general irritation with reports from any agencies based outside the country, especially if the report is unflattering and preachy

ISA partners with MIGA to fund Solar Energy projects in Sub-Saharan Africa

MIGA and ISA will work together to launch solar power and distributed energy projects in eligible developing countries

Rediscovering integration: World Bank argument on trade is worth hearing

Besides the argument that India must re-evaluate its approach to trade pacts, including the RCEP, other in-progress deals like those with the EU and the UK, must be the targets for political attention

World Bank urges India to reconsider RCEP stance for $1 trn export goal

On the issue of the carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM), World Bank economist Nora Dihel said that it was a big export potential for India

India to play prominent role in rule-making for fintech, DPI, says official

India has always been a "rule-taker" but it has a prominent role to play in rule-making in the fin-tech solutions and DPI area given that most of these technologies are made in the country, a senior diplomat said on Wednesday. Dammu Ravi, Secretary (Economic Relations), Ministry of External Affairs, said India wants to collaborate with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund to help set standards for digital payments, blockchain technologies, and cyber securities. India is also trying to build and help countries in the global south with DPI (Digital Public Infrastructure). "For a long time, India has always been a rule-taker. We just complied with the rules made by the global community, largely driven by the Western nations. But in the fin-tech solutions, fin-tech technologies, and the DPI world, India has an eminent role to play in rule-making because most of the technologies are made in India," Ravi said while addressing Global Fintech Fest in Mumbai. The youth of Indi

WB issues world's 1st carbon removal bond to fund Amazon reforestation

The World Bank sold a nine-year, $225 million note this week which will help raise funds for reforestation in the Amazon

Bureaucrat Nikunj Srivastava named senior adviser to ED of World Bank

Senior bureaucrat Nikunj Kumar Srivastava has been appointed as senior adviser to the executive director (ED) of World Bank in the US as part of key foreign postings approved by the Centre on Wednesday. Srivastava is a 1998-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved Srivastava's appointment to the post of senior adviser to the ED, World Bank, Washington DC for a period of three years, an order issued by the Personnel Ministry said. He has been appointed in place of Gujarat-cadre IAS officer Rajeev Topno. Ashutosh Jindal, a 1995-batch IAS officer of Tripura cadre, has been named minister (economic) in the Embassy of India, Washington DC in place of Ravi Kota, the order said. Hrisheekesh Arvind Modak, a 2008-batch IAS officer of Manipur cadre, has been appointed as adviser to the ED, World Bank, Washington DC. Modak, who was working as director in the Prime Minister's Office, will succeed .

World Bank approves $1.5 bn loan to support India's green hydrogen push

This is the second round of funding from the World Bank towards India's green energy push

Growth in remittances to India may halve in 2024, says World Bank

India received remittances worth $120 billion in 2023, supported by strong labour markets in the United States and Europe

IFC commits $105 million to Brookfield's Bikaner Solar Power project

International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector financing arm of the World Bank Group, on Monday committed USD 105 million (about Rs 870 crore) to Brookfield's Bikaner Solar Power project through long-term non-convertible debentures. These debentures have been allocated to the project's special purpose vehicles, IFC said in a statement. The 550 MW solar power project in Bikaner, Rajasthan, will help boost India's renewable energy capacity and support climate goals, IFC said in a statement. Following its commitment, Brookfield will provide solar power to commercial and industrial (C&I) consumers across India at more competitive tariffs through long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs) and contribute to the nation's decarbonisation goals, it said. This is IFC's first investment in Asia and the Pacific using an innovative hybrid offtake structure where the project sells the power generated to C&I consumers under long-term corporate PPAs and merchant market via ...

Pakistan likely to hike taxes in budget to bolster chances of IMF loan

"Everyone will have to contribute in this economy because schools or universities or hospitals can run with philanthropy but countries can only run through taxes," Pak Finance Minister Aurangzeb said

IMF, Pakistan make considerable progress on extended loan facility

The IMF has opened discussions with Pakistan on a new loan programme after Islamabad last month completed a short-term $3 bn programme

Global carbon emissions pricing raised record $104 bn in 2023: World Bank

The largest single contributor to global carbon revenue is the EU's Emissions Trading System

Govt working on global trade ahead of World Bank business ready report

With the World Bank planning to come out with its first Business Ready report in September this year, the commerce ministry has started working on the international trade topic in detail to further push India's ranking, an official said. Business Ready (B-READY) is the World Bank's new flagship report benchmarking the business environment and investment climate in most economies worldwide. The report assesses the regulatory framework and public services directed at firms, and the efficiency with which regulatory framework and public services are combined in practice. The first B-READY report will be launched on September 25, 2024. The Business Ready report is replacing the World Bank Group's earlier Doing Business index. In 2020, the World Bank decided to pause the publication of its Doing Business report following a number of irregularities regarding changes to data in previous reports. The new focuses on 10 topics covering the lifecycle of a firm in the course of starting, ...

Global economy to continue solid momentum for rest of the year: Survey

A 60% majority of economists, 98 of 162, said the global economy this year was more likely to grow faster than they expected than undercut their predictions

World Bank, IT ministry to come up with state-level DPI adoption index

'The state-level DPI index will help analyse gaps to strengthen the digital economy, support financial inclusion and increase public-private innovation'

B-READY for business

India's investment culture needs strengthening