Page 12 - World Bank

World Bank halts new lending to Uganda over enactment of anti-LGBTQ law

The World Bank said it will not consider new loans to Uganda after the East African country earlier this year enacted an anti-gay bill that rights groups and others have condemned. The World Bank had deployed a team to Uganda after the law was enacted in May and determined that additional measures were necessary to ensure projects align with the bank's environmental and social standards. No new public financing to Uganda will be presented to our Board of Executive Directors until the efficacy of the additional measures has been tested, the World Bank Group said in a statement on Tuesday. Our goal is to protect sexual and gender minorities from discrimination and exclusion in the projects we finance. These measures are currently under discussion with the authorities, it added. The anti-gay legislation, which prescribes the death penalty for some homosexual acts, was signed into law in May. It has widespread support at home, and Ugandan officials have been defiant amid concern that

India's success is case study in using tech to transform lives: MoS IT

He emphasised the milestones achieved through Digital India in the past nine years, which catalysed the country's rapid progress towards a five trillion US dollar economy by 2026

11 World Bank officials meet Finance Minister Sitharaman in New Delhi

The Executive Directors of the world bank shared their key takeaways with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman from their visits to Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Lucknow

Association with World Bank will prove beneficial for UP: CM Adityanath

Uttar Pradesh is a state with limitless possibilities and its association with the World Bank will prove to be beneficial and fruitful for the state, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said on Wednesday. Welcoming a delegation of the World Bank led by its executive director Parameswaran Iyer to the state, Adityanath said that due to planned efforts, Uttar Pradesh has come out of the category of a Bimaru state and has become the leading economy of the country. Looking at the latest figures of NITI Aayog, Uttar Pradesh has been successful in bringing its 5.5 crore population out of the poverty line in the last six years, the chief minister said, according to an official statement. Uttar Pradesh is a state with limitless possibilities and its association with the World Bank will prove to be beneficial and fruitful for the state, he said. According to the statement, the World Bank has appreciated the efforts made in the last six years under the leadership of Chief Minister Adityanath with

Maha govt seeks World Bank aid for upgrading infra, capacity building

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Sunday sought the assistance of the World Bank for upgrading infrastructure and capacity building. Speaking at a meeting with WB's executive directors here, Shinde said the World Bank was not just a fund-giving body but is a source of knowledge for developing countries. Partnership with WB will help improve the standard of living of people in Maharashtra which has the best skilled workforce and modern infrastructure facilities, the chief minister said. "We are working on improving green technology, disaster management, health services and port infrastructure facilities," he said. Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who also attended the meeting, said the government is planning to make Maharashtra drought-free by linking rivers. "The government is planning to divert water from rivers flowing Westward to Godavari Valley and linking rivers in Vidarbha will help in removing drought," he said. The state government also sought assistance

World Bank to provide assessment of damages due to Himachal floods

The World Bank has offered to provide full support to flood-affected Himachal Pradesh, and will provide a comprehensive assessment of the damages which will aide reconstruction efforts, a statement issued here on Friday said. The World Bank has offered to conduct an assessment in collaboration with the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) to quantify losses suffered in various sectors such as roads, power, water supply, housing, public buildings, irrigation, agriculture, horticulture, livestock, ecological services, the statement said. World Bank's Country Director for India Auguste Tano Kouame has conveyed the bank's appreciation towards the timely measures taken by Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu in a letter, including for monitoring and ensuring the safe return of tourists stranded in different parts of the state, a government spokesperson said. The proposed assessment will play a pivotal role in facilitating the reconstruction efforts, the statement

Federal Bank raises Rs 959 cr from IFC via preferential issue of shares

The shares were issued at a price of 131.91 per share and were approved by the board on Friday, the bank said in a notification to exchanges

School closures caused extreme learning losses: World Bank prez Ajay Banga

School closures during the COVID-19 pandemic caused extreme learning losses, World Bank President Ajay Banga said on Wednesday, underlining the need to devise a mechanism to prevent such situations before the next pandemic hits. "We have a real challenge for the generation which was undergoing schooling during the pandemic," Banga said, responding to a question by PTI. "Developed and developing countries were learning how to deal with it when we were hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. There have been extreme learning losses due to prolonged school closures during the period...and dealing with the learning losses is not just India's problem, it is an issue across the globe," he said. "My view is that we must learn now. We have to fix what we have got, pretty much make sure we learn before the next pandemic, devise a mechanism...or we will make the same mistakes again. The next one (pandemic) will come fore sure. It is a question of how long before it does come? To me that is the bigger ..

World Bank chief Ajay Banga eyes corporate philanthropy to raise funds

A panel appointed by Indian presidency of G-20 has estimated that $3 trillion is needed every year through 2030 for issues including debt relief to low-income countries and to fight climate change

World Bank chief unveils plans to boost lending to tackle climate change

The new steps, still being discussed with shareholder countries, come on top of initial steps approved in April that will boost World Bank lending by up to $50 billion over the next decade

More optimistic about India now than 'in a long time': WB chief Ajay Banga

World Bank president Ajay Banga on Monday said amid global challenges, he is more optimistic about India and its economy now than he has been "in a long time". Talking to the media on the sidelines of the third G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting here, the first-ever Indian-American to head the top global financial institution said the world economy is in a difficult place. Banga (63) showered praises on India for its digital infrastructure, saying he is a "big fan" of such initiatives taken by the world's fifth largest economy. "I am more optimistic about India, as a whole, economically, than I have been for a long time. The fact is that the world economy is in a difficult place. It has outperformed what everybody thought. But it does not mean that it won't be more challenging. The IMF forecast, the World Bank forecast are that the world will get a little challenging over the next year or so," he said at the Mahatma Mandir Convention Centre, where the G20 ...

World Bank should focus on creating a liveable planet, says Ajay Banga

He said that the absence of project de-risking and innovative finance are some of the barriers that have been holding back private investment in sustainable and quality infrastructure

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World Bank Prez Ajay Banga to travel to India next week to attend G20 meet

World Bank President Ajay Banga will travel to India next week to attend the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, according to the development lender. This would be Banga's first trip to India after he took over as the World Bank president last month. Gujarat is hosting four meetings of G20 in the first two weeks of July. These meetings will provide an opportunity for business representatives to share their perspectives, insights and policy recommendations on various economic and business-related topics and will play a very significant role in shaping global economic agendas and policies, according to officials.

Multilateral development banks pledge upto $27 bn for India's green growth

The government commits to green hydrogen development, encourages collaboration with private sector as global demand for hydrogen is expected to reach 200 million tons by 2030

Hague court rejects India's objections over water treaty arbitration

India called the arbitration proceeding illegal as a neutral expert was also looking at the issue and the World Bank-brokered treaty prohibits parallel proceedings

India doubles its share of global commercial services exports in 2005-2022

India has doubled its share of global commercial services exports to 4.4 per cent in 2022 from 2 per cent in 2005, according to a World Bank and World Trade Organization (WTO) report. "China and India doubled their share of global commercial services exports from 2005 to 2022, from 3.0 per cent to 5.4 per cent, and from 2.0 per cent to 4.4 per cent, respectively," it said. The report titled 'Trade in services for development' also said that in India, South Africa and Trkiye, jobs directly linked to cross-border services exports account for more than 10 per cent of total services sector jobs. "The developing economies' impressive trade performance under this expanded measure of trade in services is largely due to four economies that rank as leading services exporters and importers-- China; Hong Kong; Singapore; India," the report said. It added that India and the Philippines will need to upskill and reskill their workforces and invest in the development of their domestic services ..

World Bank, WTO chiefs seek to reignite services trade negotiations

The WTO has a mandate to liberalise services but its member states have not collectively improved market access since 1997 when deals were struck on telecommunications, it said

Ukraine to receive $1.5 bn from World Bank to support reconstruction

Ukraine is rebuilding schools, hospitals, roads and bridges and implementing repairs in the energy sector despite continued fighting in the south and east of the country

World Bank approves $1.5 bn financing for India's low carbon energy sector

The financing will help India promote low-carbon energy by scaling up renewable energy, developing green hydrogen and stimulating climate finance for low-carbon energy investments, the bank said