Does India Need the World Bank?

With its multilateral funding agencies like IBRD, IDA, IFC, World Bank (WB) is providing development funds to developing and under developed countries for their social and economic reconstruction. India is one of the oldest members of the bank since 1944. India is the single largest borrower of the Bank with cumulative lending of more than US $ 47 billion. India is also the top annual borrower of the WB.

As for reform agenda has shifted to the states over the past few years, the WB has reoriented its strategy to focus mainly on those states who have chosen to embark on a comprehensive program of economic reforms. All loans to the states will continue to be channeled through the central government, and then lent-on to the states. For this WB is undertaking fiscal studies of the major states in collaboration with local research institution. Various states in India are directly receiving funds for the developmental projects from World Bank specifically in the areas of Sarvashiksha Abhiyan, Swajaldhara program, AIDS control programmes and other health promotion programmes. Andhra Pradesh became the first state to get benefit of state focused lending.

Thus WB is the part of India's reconstruction efforts and is definitely needed as a cooperative endeavor to risk the HD indicator of India and to achiever the Millennium Development Goals. So, it is clear that India has got much benefit from the Bank, and India surely needs the World Bank.

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