Page 3 - World Bank

India's war on poverty: 171 million people rise above extreme deprivation

India's fight against poverty sees 171 million people lifted from extreme deprivation; MPI drops from 53.8% to 16.4%, reflecting a decade of transformative change across rural and urban areas

India pulls 269 million out of extreme poverty in 11 years: World Bank

From 344 million to 75 million, World Bank says India's extreme poor shrank sharply over 11 years

75% households, firms in South Asia to face extreme weather next decade

South Asia is facing a sharp rise in extreme weather, with nearly 90% of the population expected to be exposed to intense heat, and more than one in five people at risk of severe flooding by 2030

GST largest marginal contributor to rising poverty in Pakistan: World Bank

The General Sales Tax has the largest marginal contribution to the rise of poverty while a monthly cash transfer programme to the poorest families has the largest positive impact on inequality reduction in Pakistan, a World Bank study has said. The Effects of Taxes and Transfers on Inequality and Poverty in Pakistan' reports that the General Sales Tax (GST) payments account for over 7 per cent households' pre-tax expenditure, which leads to further impoverishment among poor and vulnerable households. Dawn reported on Sunday quoting the World Bank (WB) study that estimations of the marginal contributions of individual fiscal instruments or the additional impact that individual fiscal instruments have on poverty or inequality when all other fiscal instruments are included demonstrate that GST has the largest marginal contribution to the national poverty increase. The second-largest impact on inequality comes from pre-primary and primary education expenditures, the WB study said. It

With a stagnant economy, Pakistan needs to focus on citizens' welfare

In a low-income country, there will always be competing demands for resources

Centre plans to extend Ranbir canal on Chenab after Indus Treaty suspension

The government is considering plans to increase the length of the Ranbir canal on the Chenab river as part of its efforts to maximise the use of water that India will get after putting the Indus Water Treaty in abeyance following the Pahalgam attack, officials said. Till now, India has been using limited water from Chenab, mostly for irrigation, but by putting the treaty in abeyance now there is scope of expanding its use, especially in power generation sector to meet the energy demands, a senior official said. Another official said that India is planning to enhance its current hydropower capacity of around 3000 megawatts on the rivers that were earlier being used by Pakistan and a feasibility study in this regard is planned, the official said. "One of the major plans are enhancing the length of the Ranbir canal to 120 km," the official said, adding that as building of the infrastructure requires time, "all stakeholders have been urged to expedite the process". Moreover, the proces

No role beyond a facilitator: World Bank's Ajay Banga on IWT suspension

On April 25, a day after India held the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance, Pakistan announced its intention of reaching the World Bank, seeking intervention

World Bank chief to visit UP to witness state's transformation: Govt

World Bank President Ajay Banga will visit Uttar Pradesh on Friday to witness the remarkable transformation of Uttar Pradesh, the state government said on Thursday. "His visit reflects the increasing global interest in Uttar Pradesh's rapid development under the leadership of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, as the state moves steadily toward its ambitious goal of becoming a USD 1 trillion economy," it said in a statement. During his one-day tour, the World Bank chief will travel from Delhi to Lucknow in the morning. He is scheduled to participate in a series of meetings and programmes at Hotel Taj, including a roundtable discussion with stakeholders in the presence of Chief Secretary Manoj Kumar Singh, the statement said. Later, he will meet the chief minister at his residence for a discussion and dinner, it added. Following the engagements in Lucknow, the World Bank president will visit the Take-Home Ration (THR) plant in Chinhat Block, where he will review the plant's operations

World Bank unveils $1 bn support plan to boost Sri Lanka's economy

The World Bank on Wednesday announced a package of USD one billion over three years to support job creation and develop private sector growth in Sri Lanka, a press release said. The announcement came after a meeting between World Bank President Ajay Banga and President Anura Kumara Dissanayake here. The initiative aims to expand economic opportunity, strengthen local industry and attract private capital to support long term growth, the release said. The World Bank estimates that nearly one million young people would enter Sri Lanka's work force over the next decade, yet only 300,000 jobs are projected to be created over the same period. The project is expected to mobilise over 800 million dollars in private investment and includes 40 million dollars in guarantees. Dissanayake's office said digitalization, tourism, agriculture and infrastructure development and advancing development of North and Eastern provinces figured at the talks between him and Banga. On April 25, the ...

World Bank forecasts commodity prices to fall to pre-covid levels by 2026

The World Bank report also forecast that gold prices are likely to set a new record in 2025 as investors seek safe havens for capital amid rising uncertainty, but the price will stabilize in 2026

Stronger judicial data grid can boost investments, says CII report

The NJDG was launched in 2015 under the e-Courts Mission Mode Project to track, manage and reduce case pendency across India's judicial system

IMF-World Bank meetings end with little tariff clarity, economic foreboding

Many participants in the IMF and World Bank Spring Meetings had a sense that Trump's administration was still conflicted in its demands from trading partners hit with his sweeping tariffs

Cong slams govt over rising 'inequality', cites World Bank poverty report

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh alleged that while the Modi government is presenting the World Bank report as a success story, it raises serious concerns about persistent inequality

India lifted 171 mn people from extreme poverty between 2011-23: World Bank

India has lifted 171 million people from extreme poverty in the decade between 2011-12 and 2022-23, the World Bank said. "Over the past decade, India has significantly reduced poverty. Extreme poverty (living on less than USD 2.15 per day) fell from 16.2 per cent in 2011-12 to 2.3 per cent in 2022-23, lifting 171 million people above this line, the World Bank said in its Poverty & Equity Brief' on India. It added that rural extreme poverty dropped from 18.4 per cent to 2.8 per cent, and urban from 10.7 per cent to 1.1 per cent, narrowing the rural-urban gap from 7.7 to 1.7 percentage points a 16 per cent annual decline. The brief said that India also transitioned into the lower-middle-income category. Using the USD 3.65 per day LMIC poverty line, poverty fell from 61.8 per cent to 28.1 per cent, lifting 378 million people out of poverty. Rural poverty dropped from 69 per cent to 32.5 per cent, and urban poverty from 43.5 per cent to 17.2 per cent, reducing the rural-urban gap ...

India slashed extreme poverty to 2.3% in FY23, shows World Bank data

Using the $3.65 per day poverty line for lower- and middle-income countries (LMIC), poverty fell from 61.8 per cent to 28.1 per cent, lifting 378 million people out of poverty in India

Urgent need for collaboration to tackle urban begging: World Bank economist

World Bank Lead Economist Benedicte Leroy De La Briere on Friday said there is an urgent need for multi-sectoral collaboration and robust systems to address the intricate challenges surrounding urban begging and street homelessness. Addressing the 'Hard to Reach Population SMILE (Beggary)' seminar, she said there is a need for tailor-made solution to the issue. Because they are so complicated and they need to be so tailored to each individual, governments end up often implementing those programmes through non-governmental organisations, she noted. The cost of providing comprehensive care, including health support, identification services, skill development, and rehabilitation, is high, De La Briere added. They end up per beneficiary being quite expensive, she added at the seminar held by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment in partnership with the World Bank. De La Briere said despite their visibility, people who beg remain hard to reach due to multiple systemic barrier

World Bank not informed of Indus Waters Treaty suspension by India

India maintains there is no need to notify the World Bank, a past neutral broker of the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty, as Pakistan has already been informed

Private investment in India is still a worry: IMF's Krishna Srinivasan

The IMF on Tuesday pared down its FY26 growth forecast for India by 30 basis points to 6.2 per cent, citing escalating trade tensions and global uncertainty in its latest World Economic Outlook

Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance may hurt Pakistan's food security

The treaty that was signed between India and Pakistan in 1960, brokered by the World Bank

Bessent says IMF, World Bank need reform, sees chance for China deal

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent leveled harsh criticism at the operations of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund on Wednesday even as he tried to reassure nervous investors that the United States would maintain its global leadership role. America first does not mean America alone, he said in a speech to the Institute of International Finance, where he also promised support for the multilateral banks' core missions. "To the contrary, it is a call for deeper collaboration and mutual respect among trade partners. Although Bessent said the IMF and the World Bank are falling short, he did not call for the US to withdraw from the institutions, as some conservatives had advocated in a Project 2025 proposal created by the Heritage Foundation. He said the institutions serve critical roles in the international system. And the Trump administration is eager to work with them so long as they can stay true to their missions. It was the latest example of how Bessent, a former hed