Page 9 - World Bank

Grasim Industries secures Rs 1,250 cr from International Finance Corp

The investment by IFC, World Bank's private sector arm, will be in the form of a subscription to non-convertible debentures (NCD) issued by Grasim

Do we need a new line to assess poverty based on CES for 2022-23?

At the $3.2 per capita per day poverty line, which the World Bank uses for lower-middle-income countries such as India, poverty rate declined from 53.6% during 2011-12 to 20.8% during 2022-23

Closing gender gap could lift global GDP more than 20%, says World Bank

The report said obstacles that women face in entering the global workforce included barriers to starting businesses, persistent pay gaps and bans on working at night or in jobs deemed 'dangerous'

Poverty rate in India between 4.5-5% in 2022-23; rural poverty at 7.2%: SBI

Meanwhile, urban poverty declined to 4.6 per cent from 13.7 per cent during the same period

World Bank needs to restructure itself, attract private capital: N K Singh

The World Bank needs to reinvent and restructure itself so as to become 'better, bolder and bigger' and harness private capital on the strength of its own balance sheet, said N K Singh, Co-Convenor, Expert Group on MDB Reforms. The World Bank should also look at the possibility of tapping pension funds to increase its capital base and its capacity to fund development projects in developing nations. "Bretton Woods was the first one, it certainly needs to be reinvented, restructured and recreated. But there is no substitute for multilateral cooperation. and that's why better, bolder and bigger," Singh said at a panel discussion at the Raisina Dialogue, 2024. A high-level expert group, led by N K Singh and former US Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, was set up by the G20 under India's presidency. In its report, the group had proposed a 30-point roadmap to reform Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) and triple their lending by 2030, which includes attracting private investors and ...

World Bank, others issue offshore rupee bonds worth $1.4 bn as demand soars

These offshore bonds, with maturities ranging from 4 years to 10 years, are denominated in Indian rupees but settled in U.S. dollars, the sources said

FM asks World Bank officials to lead G20 agenda of strengthening MDBs

FM also suggested the World Bank explore the possibility of implementing Infrastructure Investment Trusts in infrastructure sectors such as roadways

Ukraine needs $486 bn to rebuild after nearly 2 years of war: World Bank

Disruptions to economic output and trade, as well as other war-related costs, such as removing debris, would likely add another $499 billion, it said

World Bank Chief Banga says lender 'wasting time' with too many rules

In addition to focusing the bank more on climate change and its consequences since taking over in June, Banga has often flagged what he sees as slowness and inefficiencies of the institution

Sense of urgency required to tackle climate crises, poverty: WB chief Banga

World Bank chief Ajay Banga on Thursday said a sense of urgency can be the only saviour for the world faced with a set of intertwined crises, including that of climate and poverty. "What we have is an existential climate crisis," the World Bank President said here during a session at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting. "We cannot think about eradicating poverty without caring about climate. We cannot think about eradicating poverty without caring about healthcare. We cannot think about eradicating poverty without caring about food insecurity and fragility," he said. This is the reality and "we have a set of intertwined crises," Banga said and stressed that a "sense of urgency is our only saviour". According to him, 45 per cent of the World Bank financing will go towards climate efforts. In addition, the Bank has promised to connect 100 million people in Africa to renewable power by 2030, address a misalignment in funding to reduce methane emissions, help small nations absorb

Private capital expenditure to pick up in coming years: MPC member Varma

RBI Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) member Jayanth R Varma has said that capacity utilization has been slowly increasing and private capital expenditure would pick up in the coming years. Varma further noted that in the last couple of years, the government has shouldered the burden of investment, while private capital expenditure has been muted. "At the same time, capacity utilization has been slowly creeping up and it is approaching levels that prompt the private sector to undertake capital expenditure at least in some sectors," he told PTI. Moreover, Varma, a professor at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad said large public sector infrastructure investment of the recent years has the potential to crowd-in private sector investments. "On the whole, I am hopeful that private capital expenditure would pick-up in the coming years, and pick-up the baton from the public sector," he said. Asked whether India can escape the middle income trap, Varma said it is imperative that

Investing for growth

Private-sector investment revival is crucial

Global economy will slow for a third straight year in 2024: World Bank

Hobbled by high interest rates, persistent inflation, slumping trade and a diminished China, the global economy will slow for a third consecutive year in 2024. That is the picture sketched by the World Bank, which forecast Tuesday that the world economy will expand just 2.4 per cent this year. That would be down from 2.6 per cent growth in 2023, 3 per cent in 2022 and a galloping 6.2 per cent in 2021, which reflected the robust recovery from the pandemic recession of 2020. Heightened global tensions, arising particularly from Israel's war with Hamas and the conflict in Ukraine, pose the risk of even weaker growth. And World Bank officials express worry that deeply indebted poor countries cannot afford to make necessary investments to fight climate change and poverty. Near-term growth will remain weak, leaving many developing countries especially the poorest stuck in a trap: with paralyzing levels of debt and tenuous access to food for nearly one out of every three people," Indermi

World Bank to give Rs 2,328 cr for project to divert flood water: Fadnavis

The World Bank has approved financial assistance of Rs 2,328 crore to develop infrastructure to divert flood water from western Maharashtra to Marathwada, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Monday. The state government will contribute Rs 998 crore for the plan, he added. "The World Bank has approved financial assistance of Rs 2,328 crore for the project that will help in diverting flood water from western Maharashtra to Marathwada, which faces water scarcity," he said in a statement. Sangli and Kolhapur districts had witnessed flooding in September 2018, and a World Bank team that visited these areas at the time decided to provide aid for the water diversion project, Fadnavis said.

India, China follow contrasting external lending strategies: World Bank

Escalating debt vulnerabilities in many low or middle-income countries and overlapping crises are forcing an increasing number of countries to seek debt restructuring from external creditors

India tops remittances table with $125 bn inflows: World Bank report

Inflation declining and strong labour markets in high-income source countries boosted transfers by highly skilled Indians, it says

India's inward remittances in 2023 rise 12.3% to $125 billion: World Bank

India continues to be the highest recipient of remittances globally, followed by Mexico ($67 billion) and China ($50 billion)

Developing countries spent record $443.5 bn to service public debts in 2022

In its latest International Debt Report, the bank said the debt-service payments - including principal and interest - rose 5% to a record $443.5 billion from a year earlier

Cash-strapped Pakistan secures $655 million financing package from ADB

Cash-strapped Pakistan has secured a USD 655 million financing package, including an expensive USD 300 million loan at market rates, from the Asian Development Bank, days after Finance Minister Shamshad Akhtar declared the country's public debt as unsustainable. The ADB approved a financing package for Pakistan under three different loans. Among other components, these include USD 300 million for improving domestic resource mobilisation; USD 275 million for rehabilitating schools damaged by the devastating August 2022 floods; and USD 80 million for enhancing agricultural productivity to improve food security, according to an announcement by the ADB on Wednesday. The announcement by the Manila-based lending agency came as the World Bank's Debt Management and Sustainability Mission met with Finance Minister AKhtar to review the debt management of the country, reported the Express Tribune newspaper. Last week, Dr Akhtar announced that Pakistan's debt burden has become unsustainable --

Multilateral Development Banks unlock over $180 bn climate finance at COP28

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) announced at COP28 that it will triple its climate lending to US$150 billion over the next decade