India’s growth rate among shiniest parts in world economy: World Bank chief Ajay Banga

Points out that country needs to work on quality of life, air, water

Washington: India’s growth rate is the shiniest part in the global economy, World Bank president Ajay Banga said on Thursday, noting that a lot of this is driven by the domestic market.

“There is no doubt that India’s growth rate is among the shiniest parts in the world economy. I think being able to grow at six, seven per cent and more in this kind of environment shows you that they’ve done a number of things to get there,” Banga told reporters ahead of next week’s annual meeting of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

“A lot of that growth is in India, is driven by the domestic market as well, which actually is a healthy sign, in some ways. What India needs to work on as the Prime Minister laid out is things on quality of life, like air and the quality of water and the like,” he said.

“We are actively engaged with them on a number of topics to do with these, and I think we will see more results of those coming out in the coming months in terms of projects,” Banga said in response to a question.

World Bank managing director for operations Anna Bjerde said the bank is supporting the government turning the growth into jobs and also sustainable development.

She underscored the need to increase female workforce participation as India has a huge potential to increase the level of participation by women.

The World Bank is also working with India on the urban development side as there’s so much potential to make cities much more livable whether it comes to air quality, water supply or urban planning.