Union Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman met World Bank Group President Ajay Banga on the sidelines of the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) Meeting in Asheville on Tuesday, with discussions focusing on further strengthening the India-World Bank partnership.
FM Sitharaman appreciated the World Bank Group’s continued engagement with India and acknowledged the speedy processing of $1.5 billion in Development Policy Financing (DPF).
She also appreciated the International Finance Corporation’s (IFC) support for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) through the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), which was processed in record time and has had a positive impact on the MSME sector.
The two leaders discussed exploring a larger role for the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) in India to deepen corporate, infrastructure and municipal bond markets through systematic use of guarantees and greater mobilisation of private capital.
The discussions also covered a sector-based, programmatic approach to credit enhancement for infrastructure.
Banga appreciated the significant transformation in India’s infrastructure sector and noted the scope for further leveraging World Bank Group instruments to support the country’s development ambitions. This included greater MIGA engagement and the use of political risk insurance to support Indian companies investing overseas.
FM Sitharaman also highlighted India’s engagement with the World Bank Group on establishing a Global Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) Knowledge Hub in India. The discussions included exploring the use of technology in areas such as agriculture, with the Finance Minister expressing hope for early progress towards the launch of the initiative.
The two leaders also discussed developing globally competitive tourism destinations under the new India-World Bank Group Country Partnership Framework. The proposed approach would combine policy and infrastructure support from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), investments by IFC and guarantees from MIGA.
FM Sitharaman and Banga further discussed evolving the India-World Bank Group relationship beyond a traditional lender-borrower model into a strategic platform for global knowledge, innovation and private capital mobilisation.
The proposed approach would seek to combine India’s scale and implementation capacity with the World Bank Group’s global expertise and financing instruments.
