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Vimala Vasan

The areas of expansion will be in infrastructure, mainly rural water supply, roads, railways and other key aspects of infrastructure. The stress will also be on funding for social development projects, particularly in education and health sectors," Mr Carter said.

Dubai , Sept. 22

WORLD Bank funding for key infrastructure and social development projects in India is expected to increase significantly in the period July 2004 to June 2005, over the $1.7 billion in new commitments funded between July 2002 to June 2003, according to Mr Michael Carter, World Bank, Country Director, India.

Mr Carter, who is in Dubai to attend the ongoing IMF-World Bank Annual meetings, told Business Line on Monday that both the World Bank and the Indian Government had a desire to expand the bank's participation in projects as both sides believe that it would be helpful to India. "Last year ending June 2003, the World Bank funded new commitments up to $1.7 billion. The funding will be about the same this year, though we expect a significant increase over this figure in the period 2004-2005. The areas of expansion will be in infrastructure, mainly rural water supply, roads, railways and other key aspects of infrastructure. The stress will also be on funding for social development projects, particularly in education and health sectors," Mr Carter said.

The IFC funding to the private sector also touched $300 million, the official added.

He expressed satisfaction at India's good record in effectively using World Bank funding. "Overall, the funding has gone very well. The projects are important as they are an integral part of India's development agenda," he said.

Referring to the disappointment over the outcome of the trade talks in Cancun, Mr Carter said: "I think it would be a mistake to say there was a breakdown in talks. I believe these talks have to resume as they are very important for substantial liberalisation in trade, particularly in the agricultural sector. For countries like India, this will clearly help in reduction of poverty for instance. Progress has been made during the course of these talks in the past." On the issue of crop diversification, he indicated that the World Bank believed that in some major regions in India, there was clearly an urgent need for diversification of crops . "We suggest that the market should take a decision in this regard. The argument against more focus on staple crops is that production of these crops is high in India and there is sufficient stocks," he said.

Mr Carter envisaged a greater role for India in the World Bank's activities. "India is an extremely important member of the bank. Of late, India has been playing an increasingly active role in directions that the World Bank should take, particularly in the area of financing infrastructure." Mr Carter said he was very pleased with the warm and cordial talks at the ongoing IMF-World Bank annual meeting here. "From the Indian point of view, clearly everyone recognises that unless India succeeds in implementing the MDGs (Millennium Development Goals), they cannot be achieved in global terms." The outcome of the Development Committee meeting this week is significant for lending a direction to achieving these goals, he added.

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