The Hindu Business Line : World Bank to double lending to $3 billion

The World Bank Country Head, Mr Micheal Carter, delivering the C.C. Desai memorial lecture at the Administrative Staff Collage of India in Hyderabad. — A. Roy Chowdhury

Hyderabad , Nov. 5

WORLD Bank will double its lending in the country from $1.4 billion a year to $3 billion per annum from 2004-05, according to the Bank's Country Director, Mr Michael F. Carter.

Delivering the C.C. Desai memorial lecture here on Friday, Mr Carter said though the amount was "a tiny drop in the huge ocean that is India's economy", the bank's value would be worth more than just money considering its intention to be a facilitator, convenor and generator of global knowledge for India, particularly its desire to help India's poorest States.

Mr Carter also said that the bank's country strategy (CAS) proposed some important shifts in the approach to India's States.

Since 1997, the bank's strategy was focused on States undertaking reforms. For example, during the last CAS period, the focus was on Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh. However, with the widening gulf between faster and slower growing States, some shifts in this approach were warranted.

Now, he said, the bank would work proactively to try to build a development relationship with Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa and Uttar Pradesh, where poverty was being increasingly concentrated. This apart, instead of concentrating on "focus States", investment lending would be channelled more broadly to States on the basis of guidelines for each sector, setting out sector-specific conditions that experience had shown to be necessary for project success.

The memorial lecture on `World Bank and India: Working in Cooperation for the achievements of MDGs (Millennium Development Goals)' was organised by the Administrative Staff College of India.

The priorities of the World Bank's new CAS, according to Mr Carter, were extending help to improve Government effectiveness, to support investments in people and empowering communities and to promote private sector-led growth. In line with these priorities, the bank's programme and lending would be expanded to infrastructure projects including roads, transport, power, water supply and sanitation, irrigation and urban development.

He emphasised that India must unlock the areas of fiscal mismanagement and unproductive expenditure; weak service delivery, hindrances to investment, infrastructure bottlenecks and the rural crisis to attain MDGs.

Replying to questions following the lecture, Mr Carter said that provision of free power in general was not a good business because "somebody has to pay for it".

He, however, said it was good to take care of poor farmers and the bank was not against free power provided it was properly targeted. In this context, he pointed out that a considerable portion of the free power supplied in Tamil Nadu was being utilised by better-off farmers.

He said the bank would continue to maintain long-term relationship with Andhra Pradesh and it would be sanctioning an urban development project to the State in the next few months. The bank was also funding an on-going irrigation project and would extend further support to irrigation projects in AP.

More Stories on : Economy | RBI & Other Central Banks

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
World Bank to double lending to $3 billion

Too much salt is bad for health: UK agency

Will the new board help reconstruction of PSUs?

Petro price hike adds to woes of FMCG, consumer durable cos

`States may have to wait till April 2006 to levy service tax'

Chinese firm gets FIPB nod for motorcycle engines plant

`Registrar can reject application for trademark'

Rail-link to southern tourist spots planned

Task force set up to study medical tourism issues

Kohli elected ESC Chairman