PM Modi Seeks Help Of World Bank To Cut Poverty

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has suggested that World Bank should help India in making a visible impact on reducing mass poverty in the under-developed regions of the country to show a perceptible change.

Modi had raised the issue during his meeting with World Bank president Jim Yong Kim last month in Delhi and the multilateral agency is expected to come back to the government after firming up a strategy that addresses the concerns raised by the government, said sources.

While there was no demand for funds, Kim had later told the World Bank staff that the prime minister wants three things — skills, scale and speed. “A critical priority of this trip was to meet the new PM, Narendra Modi, listen to his vision for development, and seek to enhance our partnership with India. We had a great meeting — one of the most inspiring I’ve had as president of the World Bank,” he had remarked.

For the World Bank, India is the largest borrower and the head of the multilateral agency was key to get the new government’s inputs. During the meeting, Modi had sought suggestions on skill development, a key focus area and said he wanted inputs on “enhancing production for the masses, not just mass production”. The statement, officials said, is a pointer to boosting jobs by focusing on manufacturing, especially in the employment-intensive sectors of the economy.