Kim to meet government leaders to discuss development challenges

New Delhi, March 8, 2013—World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim will
visit India on March 11-13 to see firsthand some of the development
challenges India faces, as well as the opportunities it could exploit
to achieve faster economic growth and a quicker reduction in poverty.
This will be Kim’s first visit to India after taking over as President
of the World Bank Group last July.

While in India, Kim will discuss India’s major initiatives to foster
equitable growth at his meetings with leaders in government, the
private sector, and civil society. He will meet with Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister P. Chidambaram in New Delhi, and
will also visit Lucknow and Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh to meet Chief
Minister Akhilesh Yadav and see development challenges in the state,
which is home to the largest number of India’s poor.

“India has vast and valuable development experience, and I am eager to
learn about its success stories to see how they could provide lessons
for other countries,” said Kim. “I also look forward to the
opportunity to find out what the World Bank Group can do to work with
India in ending extreme poverty and boosting shared prosperity
throughout the country.”

The World Bank Group President visits India at a time when it is
rapidly urbanizing, with 10 million Indians moving every year into
towns and cities from the rural hinterland. Kim will visit a village
in Uttar Pradesh to gain insights into the realities of rural life
that might compel migration to towns and cities. He will then visit
Kanpur, one of Uttar Pradesh’s largest cities, to experience firsthand
the challenges in managing increasing urbanization.

“India’s historic transformation provides a great opportunity to lift
millions out of poverty, but it also poses enormous challenges in
providing jobs, housing and basic services to people,” Kim said. “A
quarter of urban India already lives in slums, with limited access to
clean drinking water, proper sanitation, electricity or public
transportation. I am here to see how the World Bank Group can support
India as it strives to turn its urban centers into clean, livable
cities for its people.”

India is the largest client of the World Bank Group. Between 2009 and
2013, the Group lent around $ 25.5 billion to India. This includes $
12 billion from the International Bank for Reconstruction and
Development (IBRD), $ 8.3 billion from the International Development
Association (IDA) and a further $ 5.2 billion in investments from the
International Finance Corporation (IFC). As of January 2013, total
IBRD and IDA net commitments stood at $23.1 billion (IBRD $13.2
billion, IDA $9.9 billion) across 77 projects. At the end of January
2013, IFC’s portfolio contained 219 projects, amounting to committed
and disbursed exposure of $4.1 billion.

सुरेन्द्र अग्निहोत्री
agnihotri1966@gmail.com
sa@upnewslive.com