Finance minister, World Bank to work closely to create market structure from CSR demand side for maximising social impact – EQ
New Delhi : The World Bank and the finance ministry on Sunday agreed to work closely to create a market structure from the CSR demand side for maximising social impact.
World Bank President Ajay Banga, who was in Delhi to attend the G20 Leaders’ Summit, on Sunday met Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The two leaders during the bilateral meeting discussed the outcomes of G20 India Presidency, the evolution of the World Bank Group and their engagement with India through knowledge exchange and financial assistance for developmental projects, among other issues.
“During the meeting, Mr. Banga agreed to work closely with the Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance @FinMinIndia to create a market structure from the Corporate Social Responsibility #CSR demand side for maximising social impact,” the ministry said in a post on X. The finance minister stated that she looks forward to the leadership of the World Bank President in taking forward the recommendations on the triple agenda contained in the Volume-1 of the Independent Experts Group on Strengthening Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs).
The Independent Experts Group, chaired by Harvard University President Emeritus, Lawrence Summers and co-chaired by N K Singh former Chairperson, Fifteenth Finance Commission of India, submitted Volume I in July suggesting a triple agenda to harness the potential of MDBs. These include efforts to tackle global challenges, alongside their core mission of poverty reduction and shared prosperity; to triple their sustainable lending level by 2030 and to enhance their financial strength to capital adequacy improvements and general capital increases.
The Finance Minister and the World Bank President stated that they look forward to Volume 2 of the report that will be submitted during the 4th Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors FMCBG Meeting in Morocco in October. During the meeting, the World Bank team apprised the ministry of the developments and progress in sectors of Municipal Financing, Logistics, Skilling, Knowledge Partnership, Solar energy in the Agriculture sector, among others.
Speaking at the G20 Leaders’ Summit earlier in the day, Banga said challenges don’t respect lines on a map. “And if we fail to work together – we all lose. To respond, under the umbrella of our Evolution Roadmap, we are becoming a better Bank. We are becoming more efficient – incentivizing output, not input. Keeping focus on how many girls are in school, jobs created, and private sector dollars mobilized,” Banga said.
The World Bank is working to expand concessional financing to help more low-income countries achieve their goals, while thinking creatively about how to encourage cooperation across borders and tackle shared challenges, he said. “After we deliver a better bank, we will need a bigger Bank. Bigger than what the capital adequacy framework will produce by itself. As we face a new era in development, we remain committed to creating a world free of poverty on a livable planet,” he said.
