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Indian-American business leader Ajay Banga is poised to become the next President of the World Bank after the nomination period closed and no country proposed an alternate candidate for the prestigious post. In February, President Joe Biden announced that the US would be nominating Banga to lead the World Bank because he is "well equipped" to lead the global institution at "this critical moment in history." The World Bank on Wednesday closed a month-long window for nominations for its next president, with no alternatives announced to 63-year-old Banga. The former Mastercard Inc. chief, Banga currently serves as Vice Chairman at General Atlantic. The bank's board is expected to announce the next steps in its selection process on Thursday, with a view to confirming a new leader by early May. Over the next few months, you will see the World Bank undergo an important transition. We expect that Ajay Banga President Biden's nominee will be elected President of the World Bank, US Treas
The World Bank and India on Friday signed two complementary loans of USD 500 million each to support and enhance the country's healthcare infrastructure. Through this combined financing of USD 1 billion (about Rs 8,200 crore), the bank will support India's flagship Pradhan Mantri-Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PM-ABHIM), launched in October 2021, to improve the public healthcare infrastructure across the country, the multilateral funding agency said in a statement. In addition to the national-level interventions, one of the loans will prioritize health service delivery in seven states including Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Meghalaya, Odisha, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, and Uttar Pradesh, it said. The agreement was signed by Rajat Kumar Mishra, Additional Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs and World Bank India country director Auguste Tano Kouam, it said. The COVID-19 pandemic brought to the fore the urgent need for pandemic preparedness and health system strengthening aro
India on Thursday extended support to the candidature of Ajay Banga as World Bank President, saying his nomination comes at a time when the multilateral lending agency is considering next-generation reforms. "Congratulations to Mr Ajay Banga on being nominated to lead @WorldBank. India supports Mr Banga's nomination and looks forward to his leadership of the @WorldBank," the finance ministry said in a series of tweets. Last month, the US President Joe Biden announced that the US is nominating Ajay Banga to lead the World Bank, saying the Indian-American business leader is uniquely equipped to lead the global institution at "this critical moment in history." If confirmed by the World Bank Board of Directors, Banga would be the first-ever Indian-American and Sikh-American to head either of the two top international financial institutions: International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. "Mr Banga brings with him unique and wide-ranging expertise in #financial and #technological sector
President Joe Biden on Thursday announced that the US is nominating Indian-American business leader Ajay Banga to lead the World Bank. "Ajay is uniquely equipped to lead the World Bank at this critical moment in history," President Biden said in a statement. Banga, 63, currently serves as Vice Chairman at General Atlantic. Previously, he was President and CEO of Mastercard, leading the company through a strategic, technological and cultural transformation. "He has spent more than three decades building and managing successful, global companies that create jobs and bring investment to developing economies, and guiding organisations through periods of fundamental change. "He has a proven track record managing people and systems, and partnering with global leaders around the world to deliver results," Biden said. Banga was awarded the Padma Shri in 2016.
The World Bank has approved loans totalling USD 1.75 billion (about Rs 13,834.54 crore) to fund India's PM Ayushman Bharat scheme and private investment to boost the economic growth. Of the total loan, USD 1 billion will go towards the health sector, while the rest USD 750 million will be in the form of development policy loan (DPL) to fill the financing gaps through private sector investment in the economy. The World Bank Board of Executive Directors approved two complementary loans of USD 500 million each to support and enhance India's health sector. Through this combined financing of USD 1 billion, the World Bank will support India's flagship Pradhan Mantri-Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PM-ABHIM), launched in October 2021, the World Bank said in a release on Friday. The funds will be used to improve public healthcare infrastructure across the country. In addition to the national-level interventions, one of the loans will prioritize seven states namely Andhra .
Egypt will receive a USD 500 million loan from the World Bank to help finance its wheat purchases as prices skyrocket because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Bank said on Wednesday. The funds, approved on Tuesday by the World Bank Board of Executive Directors, aim at supporting Egypt's efforts to provide subsidized bread to poor and vulnerable households, it said. It said the funds will help the government of the Arab world's most populous country finance procurement of imported wheat. This emergency operation comes at a very critical juncture when the food security of many countries is threatened by the war in Ukraine, said Marina Wes, World Bank Country Director for Egypt Yemen, and Djibouti. Egypt is the world's largest wheat importer, and the country's supply is subject to price changes on the international market. The war in Europe has already hiked prices of the grain since both Russia and Ukraine export nearly a third of the world's wheat. Around 70 million Egyptian