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FM Nirmala Sitharaman to attend Spring Meetings of IMF-World Bank

She will also participate in G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meetings

FM to embark on US tour from Monday, to attend World Bank Group, IMF meets

She will also be attending the G20 meetings and other associated meetings, which are scheduled to take place from April 10 to April 16

Pakistan needs foreign loans to avoid public debt crisis, says World Bank

World Bank in its flagship report 'Pakistan Development Update' warned Pakistan regarding serious dangers to its economic and debt viability

Indian-American Ajay Banga poised to become World Bank chief unopposed

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

World Bank commits $1 bn to India for public healthcare infrastructure

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 lends support to Ajay Banga's nomination for World Bank President

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

Biden picks Ajay Banga as US nominee for World Bank president

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.

China's estimated GDP growth rate out of reach for Beijing: WB report

Amid multiple domestic and international reverses due to its zero-Covid policy and assertiveness, China is unlikely to meet its estimated GDP growth rate, according to World Bank

Urgent action needed to dilute risk of downturn, says World Bank

Even without another crisis, global growth this year "is expected to decelerate sharply" the World Bank said

G20's declining share in the world, amid India's growing influence

As the country prepares to host the summit of twenty nations next year in September 2023, it also has to tackle rising concerns of climate change and calls for the expansion of the group from other co

FM to attend World Bank-IMF annual meeting, drive investor outreach

May hold bilateral meetings with counterparts of other nations. There could also be a G-20 meeting on the sidelines, with focus on India's upcoming presidency of the multi-nation grouping

Ukraine attracted $11 bn through World Bank since conflict with Russia

Ukrainian PM Denys Shmyhal said that his country has attracted $11 billion from its partners through the World Bank (WB) since the start of the military conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

TMS Ep225: 5G auction, Indermit Gill, telecom stocks, middle-income trap

Has the 5G auction been a success? Who is the new World Bank chief economist, Indermit Gill? Are telecom stocks worth your hard-earned money? What is a middle-income trap? All answers here

Low growth and high inflation expected this year: N Chandrasekaran

The World Bank last month cut India's economic growth forecast for the current fiscal to 7.5 per cent owing to rising inflation, supply chain disruptions and geopolitical tensions

World Bank grants India $1.75 bn loan for health, private investment

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 .

World Bank agrees on $500-mn aid to help Egypt fund wheat purchases

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

Ukraine gets 4.5 bn euros in international aid since start of conflict

Over the past week, Ukraine received $500 million in grant funds from the World Bank, said Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal

Rescue countries facing debt stress in these uncertain times: Sitharaman

Sitharaman during a meeting with World Bank Group prez David Malpass, said India remains concerned about the risks to global recovery due to rising uncertainty amidst enhanced geopolitical tensions

World faces human catastrophe due to Russia-Ukraine war: David Malpass

World Bank President David Malpass said said that if the war continues, there will be record increases in food prices which would push hundreds of millions people into poverty and lower nutrition