- Tuesday, November 26, 2024
The first-ever Indian-American chief of the international institution praised India’s digital infrastructure and initiatives, highlighting his admiration for the country’s progress in the area.
By: Shubham Ghosh
WORLD Bank president Ajay Banga on Monday (17) expressed optimism about India’s economy, saying he is more positive now than he has been “in a long time”.
Speaking on the sidelines of the G20 finance ministers and central bank governors’ meeting in Gandhinagar, the capital of the Indian state of Gujarat, Banga, the first-ever Indian-American to lead the global financial institution, acknowledged the challenging state of the world economy.
However, the 63-year-old praised India’s digital infrastructure and initiatives, highlighting his admiration for the country’s progress in the area.
“I am more optimistic about India, as a whole, economically, than I have been for a long time. The fact is that the world economy is in a difficult place. It has outperformed what everybody thought. But it does not mean that it won’t be more challenging. The IMF forecast, the World Bank forecast are that the world will get a little challenging over the next year or so,” he said at the Mahatma Mandir Convention Centre in Gandhinagar, where the G20 meeting is being held.
However, Banga stressed that forecasts do not determine destiny, and he encouraged considering the potential for change, when asked about his views on the Indian economy.
India’s GDP growth exceeded expectations, with a 6.1 per cent expansion in the March quarter of the previous fiscal year, contributing to an annual growth rate of 7.2 per cent in FY23, according to government data released in May.
Banga praised India for its recent efforts in developing digital infrastructure, highlighting how such advancements have improved people’s lives. He stressed on the the importance of digitising infrastructure to enable applications and services that make online access easier for citizens.
Banga commended India’s progress in this regard over the past 15-20 years and expressed his support for the country’s digital initiatives.
As the new president of the World Bank, Banga’s positive outlook on India’s economy and his appreciation for the country’s digital infrastructure initiatives reflect his confidence in India’s ability to navigate the challenges of the global economy and drive progress in the digital realm.
(With agency inputs)
