Page 13 - World Bank

Singapore's Instarem sees huge inflow of diaspora remittances into India

Singapore-headquartered Instarem sees huge inbound flow of remittances into India, citing the World Bank projection that money sent home by the Indian diaspora will reach USD 100 billion a year in the coming year or so, up from USD 82 billion received last year. India is a huge inbound market for us, and we have big operations in Mumbai, which is our main technology and product centre, Yogesh Sangle, Global Head of Instarem, told PTI on Wednesday on the increase in monies sent home regularly by the Indian diaspora. Instarem has also grown its offices in Bangalore and Chennai, to leverage the talent in India, said Sangle who pointed out that the estimated USD 82 billion received in India in 2022 was the largest remittance flow in the world. The app-based remittance company is setting up operations in Japan to serve Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and Consumers, and has recently launched a SME-support product in Indonesia. COVID-19 had created an opportunity to service the ...

World Bank to provide $200 mn for power sector reforms in Himachal

The World Bank will provide USD 200 million (about Rs 1,600 crore loan) to finance the Himachal Power Sector Development Program to bring improvements in renewable energy integration in the state, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said on Wednesday. With the addition of state equity, the total outlay for the programme would be Rs 2,000 crore and the World Bank funding is expected to be available by August 2023 for a duration of five years up to 2028, he said in a statement issued here. He also informed that the World Bank Board has approved the programme on June 27, 2023, in Washington. Improvements in the utilisation of renewable energy, reliability of grid at transmission and distribution level and strengthening of the institutional capacities of the various power utilities/agencies of the state would be undertaken under the programme, he said. Efforts will be made towards the promotion of integrated resource planning of the power sector, piloting demand response management,

World Bank extends $500 mn budgetary support to cash-strapped Sri Lanka

The government said on Tuesday that funding from the lender will come in two tranches

Chhattisgarh gets $300 mn loan to improve quality of school education

The World Bank on Tuesday said the board of executive directors has approved a USD 300 million loan to help expand and improve the quality of education in government-run schools in Chhattisgarh. The project aims to benefit about 4 million students, mostly from poor and vulnerable communities in the state. Almost 86 per cent of schools in the state are run by the government. While enrolment at the elementary school level is 95 per cent, it is only 57.6 per cent at the senior secondary level and the enrolment for boys is 10.8 per cent lower than that for girls, it said. This is due to the non-availability of science and commerce education across many senior secondary schools, a shortage of trained science and mathematics teachers, and the lack of necessary infrastructure like laboratories and facilities, it said. The Chhattisgarh Accelerated Learning for a Knowledge Economy Operation (CHALK) aims to improve access to education across all grades, and also address the growing demand f

World Bank approves $255.5 mn loan to improve technical education in India

More than 350,000 students will benefit annually from the project's assistance of 275 government-run technical institutes over the course of the next five years

World Bank approves $255.5 mn loan for better education in govt institution

The World Bank has approved a USD 255.5 million loan for improving the quality of technical education in government-run institutions in India. Over the next five years, the project will support around 275 government-run technical institutions in selected states across the country, benefitting more than 350,000 students each year. The Multidisciplinary Education and Research Improvement in Technical Education Project will support improving student skills and employability by focusing on better research, entrepreneurship, and innovation; and improve governance in technical institutions. As part of the project, students will get access to upgraded curricula including emerging technologies in communication and climate resilience. They will also benefit from better internship and placement services, including opportunities to network with professional associations, World Bank said. "World Bank's Board of Executive Directors have approved a USD 255.5 million loan to help India improve th

World Bank unveils debt payment pause, IMF touts $100 bn for poorest

An announcement about Zambia's debt was also expected later on Thursday after its creditors indicated this week a restructuring proposal was nearly ready after more than two years of negotiations

World Bank approves financing for Kerala climate resilience project

This additional financing will further deepen Kerala's resilience in the critical areas of coastal erosion and water resource management

World Bank assures Kerala of investment in basic infrastructure sectors

World Bank officials on Tuesday assured Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan that they were ready to make investments in the state's basic infrastructure sectors. The assurance was given to Vijayan when he met Anna Bjerde, the Managing Director (operations) of the World Bank, at Washington DC, a statement issued by his office said. In the meeting, discussions were also held regarding the progress in various projects, including the Rebuild Kerala initiative which is being carried out in collaboration with World Bank, it said. Earlier, a high-level team from World Bank had visited Kerala to review the various development and policy programmes being implemented in the state as part of the Rebuild Kerala initiative and had also held discussions with the CM, the statement said. The meeting held in Washington DC was in continuation of that, it said. Besides the CM, Kerala Finance Minister K N Balagopal, Chief Secretary V P Joy and Planning Board Vice Chairman V K Ramachandran also ...

Top headlines: Banga calls for new playbook, centre to review PLI scheme

Business Standard brings you the top headlines at this hour

World Bank needs new playbook to boost private investment in EMs: Banga

Banga told CNN's Fareed Zakaria GPS program that efforts now under way to stretch the World Bank's lending capacity and revamp its business model could potentially free up tens of billions of dollars

Women participation in public sector down from 30% to 24%: Karnataka CM

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in a veiled attack on the BJP said that after 2013-14 the participation of women in the public sector has come down from 30 per cent to 24 per cent

Pakistan's economy likely to grow by 2% in next fiscal year: World Bank

The World Bank has projected Pakistan's economy to grow by two per cent in the next fiscal year, much lower than the 3.5 per cent target set by the country's top economic body, saying the lasting effects of the August 2022 floods, along with policy uncertainty and limited foreign exchange resources have depressed activity in the country. The conflicting estimates by the World Bank and the National Economic Council came on Tuesday, reported the Dawn newspaper. In Pakistan, the lasting effects of the August 2022 floods, along with policy uncertainty and limited foreign exchange resources to pay for imports of food, energy, and intermediate inputs, have depressed activity, with industrial production contracting by about 25 per cent in the year to March 2023, the bank said in its latest Global Economic Prospects report. It said that the continuing effect of last year's floods in Pakistan, compounded by worsening social tensions, high inflation, and policy uncertainty, is estimated to ha

World not on track to reach energy goal, 2.3 bn use polluting fuel: Report

The report said that at the current estimate, 660 million people are projected to be without electricity and 1.9 billion won't have clean cooking opportunities by 2030

World Bank offers dim outlook for global economy on higher interest rates

That's the latest outlook of the World Bank, a 189-country anti-poverty agency, which estimates that the international economy will expand just 2.1% in 2023 after growing 3.1% in 2022

Indian American Ajay Banga becomes 1st person of colour to head World Bank

Indian American Ajay Banga on Friday took over as the President of the World Bank, making him the first person of colour to head either of the two global financial institutions, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. On May 3, the Executive Directors of the World Bank selected Banga, 63, as the 14th President of the World Bank for a five-year term. In February, President Joe Biden announced that the US would nominate Banga to lead the World Bank. Join us in welcoming Ajay Banga as the new President of the World Bank Group. We are committed to creating a world free from poverty on a livable planet, the World Bank said in a tweet with a picture of Banga entering the bank headquarters here on Friday. I wish Ajay Banga all the best as he takes up his new role as President of the World Bank today. I look forward to continuing the deep partnership between our institutions to do good and help those most in need, IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva said in a tweet. Ban

Integrating NE with neighbouring nations could raise GDP by 8%: World Bank

Responding to a query regarding India's potential for export and import in the region, the official remarked that currently India only trades one-third of its potential with the South Asia region

World Bank expects UAE's non-oil economy to expand by 4.8% in 2023

World Bank has projected that real GDP of UAE will grow by 2.8% in 2023, as non-oil sector is expected to achieve strong growth of 4.8%, driven by robust domestic demand

Lebanon's booming dollar cash economy hinders economic recovery: World Bank

Crisis-hit Lebanon's economic recovery is hampered by a growing dollarised cash economy, which is predicted to be $9.9 billion in 2022, or almost half size of country's economy, the World Bank said

World Bank team expresses interest in Kerala's carbon-neutral initiatives

A World Bank team, led by Vice President for South Asia Region Martin Raiser, held discussions with Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and expressed interest in projects that the state plans to implement to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. After the meeting, Raiser said Kerala was urbanising rapidly, and this will create more challenges in the future due to the rising level of carbon emissions, particularly from the transport sector. "So, one of the areas in which Kerala wants to make further progress is to green its transport system," Raiser told PTI. He said the state should tap renewable energy resources to meet its energy needs. "It has a lot of potential for solar," the World Bank official said. Raiser said during his meeting with the chief minister and some of his Cabinet colleagues, he emphasised the need for implementing e-mobility by adopting electric and fuel cell-based electric vehicles for developing a green eco-system in the state. He, however, admitted that it