World Bank
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World Bank
What is the World Bank?
The World Bank is an internationally supported bank that provides financial and technical assistance to developing countries for development programs (e.g. bridges, roads, schools, etc.) with the stated goal of reducing poverty.
The World Bank was formally established on December 27, 1945. The concept was originally conceived in July 1944 at the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference.
The Board of Executive Directors and the President of the World Bank are responsible for the conduct of the general operations of the Bank, oversee the Bank on a daily basis,& perform their duties under powers delegated to them by the Board of Governors. The Directors meet twice a week in Washington,D.C, to approve new loans and review bank operations and policies.
History
The World Bank is one of the two Bretton Woods Institutions which were created in 1944 to rebuild a war-torn Europe after World War II. Later, largely due to the contributions of the Marshall Plan, the World Bank was forced to find a new area in which to focus its efforts.
Subsequently, it began attempting to rebuild the infrastructure of Europe's former colonies. Since then it has made a variety of changes regarding its focus and goals.
From 1968-1981 it focused largely on poverty alleviation. From the '80s and into the 1990s its main focus was both debt management and structural adjustment
Bretton Woods conference, was a gathering of 730 delegates from all 44 Allied nations at the Mount Washington Hotel, situated in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire to regulate the international monetary and financial order after the conclusion of World War II. The Marshall Plan (from its enactment, officially the European Recovery Program, ERP) was the primary plan of the United States for rebuilding and creating a stronger foundation for the allied countries of Europe, and repelling communism after World War II.
Members
The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) has 185 member countries, while the International Development Association (IDA) has 167 members. Each member state of IBRD should be also a member of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and only members of IBRD are allowed to join other institutions within the Bank (such as IDA).
Activities
The World Bank's current focus is on the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), goals calling for the elimination of poverty and the implementation of sustainable development. Of the two constituent parts of the Bank, the IBRD lends primarily to "middle-income countries" at interest;while the IDA provides low or no interest loans and grants to low income countries with little or no access to international credit markets
The World Bank sees the five key factors necessary for economic growth and the creation of an enabling business environment as:
Build capacity – Strengthening governments and educating government officials
Infrastructure creation – implementation of legal and judicial systems for the encouragement of business, the protection of individual and property rights and the honoring of contracts
Development of Financial Systems – the establishment of strong systems capable of supporting endeavors from micro credit* to the financing of larger corporate ventures. *Microcredit is the extension of very small loans (microloans) to the unemployed, to poor entrepreneur and to others living in poverty who are not considered bankable
Combating corruption – Support for countries' efforts at eradicating corruption
Research, Consultancy and Training - the World Bank provides platform for research on development issues, consultancy and conduct training programs (web based, on line, video/tele conferencing and class room based) open for those who are interested from academia, students, government and non-governmental organization (NGO) officers etc
Funding
The Bank obtains funding for its operations primarily through the IBRD’s sale of AAA-rated bonds in the world’s financial markets. The IBRD’s income is generated from its lending activities, with its borrowings leveraging its own paid-in capital, plus the investment of its "float". The IDA obtains the majority of its funds from forty donor countries who replenish the bank’s funds every three years, and from loan repayments, which then become available for re-lending
Leadership
The President of the Bank, currently Robert B. Zoellick (ex-president James D. Wolfensohn), is responsible for chairing the meetings of the Boards of Directors and for overall management of the Bank. The Executive Directors make up the Board of Directors, usually meeting twice a week to oversee activities such as the approval of loans and guarantees, new policies, the administrative budget, country assistance strategies and borrowing and financing decisions.
The Vice Presidents of the Bank are its principal managers, in charge of regions, sectors, networks and functions. There are 24 Vice-Presidents, 3 Senior Vice Presidents and 2 Executive Vice Presidents
According to the Articles of Agreement, the five largest shareholders, France, Germany, Japan, UK & the USA, each appoint an executive director, while other member states are represented by 19 executive directors who represent constituencies in several countries . Each director is elected by a country or a group of countries every two years.
World Bank Inspection Panel
It is an independent panel that was established in September 1993 to help ensure that their operations adhere to their operational policies and procedures. The panel allows people who think they may have been adversely affected by a bank-supported project projects to ask for an investigation, which is called a request for inspection.
Areas of Operations The World Bank is active in the following areas Agriculture and Rural Development Conflict and Development Development Operations and Activities Economic Policy Education Energy Environment Financial Sector Gender Governance Health, Nutrition and Population Industry Information and Communication Technologies Information, Computing and Telecommunications International Economics and Trade Labor and Social Protections
Law and Justice Macroeconomic and Economic Growth Mining Poverty Reduction Poverty Private Sector Public Sector Governance Rural Development Social Development Social Protection Trade Transport Urban Development Water Resources Water Supply and Sanitation
Criticism
Some critics of the World Bank believe that the institution was not started in order to reduce poverty but rather to support United States' business interests, and argue that the bank has actually increased poverty and been detrimental to the environment, public health, and cultural diversity. Some critics also claim that the World Bank has consistently pushed a "neo-liberal" agenda, imposing policies on developing countries which have been damaging, destructive and antidevelopmental. Some intellectuals in developing countries have argued that the World Bank is deeply implicated in contemporary modes of donor and NGO driven imperialism and that its intellectual output functions to blame the poor for their condition.
Criticism…(cont’d)
It has also been suggested that the World Bank is an instrument for the promotion of U.S. or Western interests in certain regions of the world. Consequently, seven South American nations have established the Bank of the South in order to minimize U.S. influence in the region. Criticisms of the structure of the World Bank refer to the fact that the President of the Bank is always a citizen of the United States, nominated by the President of the United States (though subject to the approval of the other member countries). There have been accusations that the decision-making structure is undemocratic, as the U.S. effectively has a veto on some constitutional decisions with just over 16% of the shares in the bank; moreover, decisions can only be passed with votes from countries whose shares total more than 85% of the bank's shares. A further criticism concerns internal governance and the manner in which the World Bank is alleged to lack transparency to external publics.
World Bank Support to India
The World Bank works in close partnership with India’s Central and State Governments, aligning its strategies with the country’s own development agenda. It lays emphasis on investing in people through better health and education, empowering communities to participate in their own development, improving the effectiveness of government, and promoting private sector-led growth to achieve the country’s development goals.
Its four-year Country Strategy for 2005-2008 focuses on lending for infrastructure, human development, and improving rural livelihoods. The Bank is increasingly focusing on providing analytical reports on the country’s major development challenges, and extending practical advice to policy makers by sharing good practices and experience from within the country and abroad.
Lending India is one of the oldest members of the World Bank having joined the institution in 1944. New World Bank lending to the country in FY08 (July 2007-June 2008) was US$2.7 billion. At end of June 2008, the Bank group had 60 active projects with a net commitment of about US$ 13.8 billion for these projects
IB R D /ID A C o u n tr y L e n d in g S u m m a r y
D is b u r s in g R e p a y in g F u lly R e p a id O th e r
ID A C r e d its 44 270 0 29
N u m b e r o f L o a n s /C r e d its /G r a n ts CPL CPLCONV FSCL N P L R E GS C P U SV DS L T 0 0 010 00 1 0 2 80 2 2 002 03 0 0 4 40 92 0 2 0 0 5 80 0 2 30 18 0 004 20 0 0 32
L o a n s /C re d its /G r a n ts S u m m a r y In U S D E q u iv a le n t IB R D I D A C r e d i tI sD A G r a n t s T o t a l O r i g i n a l P r i n c i p3 7a ,l 3 1 1 , 5 6 3 , 73 95 8, 9. 54 69 , 8 2 0 , 0 0 0 . 0 00 7 3 , 2 6 1 , 3 8 3 , 7 9 8 . 5 6 C a n c e l l a t i o n s 7 , 4 8 8 , 0 4 0 , 9 42 7, 5. 30 85 , 5 0 0 , 2 5 2 . 1 2 0 9 , 9 9 3 , 5 4 1 , 1 9 9 . 5 0 D is b u r s e d 2 4 , 4 8 9 , 7 8 3 , 52 29 1, 7. 19 81 , 3 1 5 , 7 2 7 . 7 30 5 4 , 2 8 1 , 0 9 9 , 2 4 8 . 9 1 U n d i s b u r s e d 4 , 7 2 8 , 6 8 9 , 4 14 1, 9. 81 08 , 9 4 1 , 6 4 9 . 0 3 0 9 , 6 4 7 , 6 3 1 , 0 6 0 . 8 3 R e p a id 1 7 , 0 7 8 , 8 5 5 , 4 71 ,74 .14 53 , 6 9 1 , 4 3 0 . 9 5 0 2 4 , 4 9 4 , 5 4 6 , 8 4 8 . 3 8 Due 7 , 2 8 0 , 3 4 3 , 02350, .47973 , 3 9 5 , 6 9 4 . 8 10 3 2 , 7 7 3 , 7 3 8 , 7 2 5 . 5 8 E x c h a n g e A d j u s t 2m8 e, 6n 6t 7 , 4 2 0 . 4 8 0 0 2 8 ,6 6 7 ,4 2 0 .4 8 B o r r o w e r O b l i g 7a ,t 3i o0 n9 , 0 1 0 , 42551, .42953 , 3 9 5 , 6 9 4 . 8 10 3 2 , 8 0 2 , 4 0 6 , 1 4 6 . 0 6
Country Strategy Progress Report
The India Country Strategy (CAS) for FY05-08 was prepared at an important juncture: a coalition of political parties led by Indian National Congress-which fought the election on the plank of "reforms with a human face"-was voted to power in May 2004, and the Indian economy emerged out of a slump to register an unprecedented growth rate of 8.4 percent in 2003/04.
Given the fortuitous timing, the CAS anticipated the impending shift in the policy stance toward a more inclusive development agenda and the approaching economic boom-thereby internalizing them in its design and contents. As a result, nearly two and a half years since its Board approval, the core strategy of the 2004 CAS remains largely unchanged.
This report reviews the progress made in implementing the CAS, and discusses how the strategy will be deployed for the remaining period. It begins with an overview of the country context, assessing political, economic, and social developments since the CAS discussions, then describes the experience to date, and finally suggests the way forward for the Bank Group, and presents the risks.
Bibliography
www.google.com www.wikipedia.org www.worldbank.org Time Magazine Outlook www.samachar.com
What is the World Bank?
The World Bank is an internationally supported bank that provides financial and technical assistance to developing countries for development programs (e.g. bridges, roads, schools, etc.) with the stated goal of reducing poverty.
The World Bank was formally established on December 27, 1945. The concept was originally conceived in July 1944 at the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference.
The Board of Executive Directors and the President of the World Bank are responsible for the conduct of the general operations of the Bank, oversee the Bank on a daily basis,& perform their duties under powers delegated to them by the Board of Governors. The Directors meet twice a week in Washington,D.C, to approve new loans and review bank operations and policies.
History
The World Bank is one of the two Bretton Woods Institutions which were created in 1944 to rebuild a war-torn Europe after World War II. Later, largely due to the contributions of the Marshall Plan, the World Bank was forced to find a new area in which to focus its efforts.
Subsequently, it began attempting to rebuild the infrastructure of Europe's former colonies. Since then it has made a variety of changes regarding its focus and goals.
From 1968-1981 it focused largely on poverty alleviation. From the '80s and into the 1990s its main focus was both debt management and structural adjustment
Bretton Woods conference, was a gathering of 730 delegates from all 44 Allied nations at the Mount Washington Hotel, situated in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire to regulate the international monetary and financial order after the conclusion of World War II. The Marshall Plan (from its enactment, officially the European Recovery Program, ERP) was the primary plan of the United States for rebuilding and creating a stronger foundation for the allied countries of Europe, and repelling communism after World War II.
Members
The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) has 185 member countries, while the International Development Association (IDA) has 167 members. Each member state of IBRD should be also a member of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and only members of IBRD are allowed to join other institutions within the Bank (such as IDA).
Activities
The World Bank's current focus is on the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), goals calling for the elimination of poverty and the implementation of sustainable development. Of the two constituent parts of the Bank, the IBRD lends primarily to "middle-income countries" at interest;while the IDA provides low or no interest loans and grants to low income countries with little or no access to international credit markets
The World Bank sees the five key factors necessary for economic growth and the creation of an enabling business environment as:
Build capacity – Strengthening governments and educating government officials
Infrastructure creation – implementation of legal and judicial systems for the encouragement of business, the protection of individual and property rights and the honoring of contracts
Development of Financial Systems – the establishment of strong systems capable of supporting endeavors from micro credit* to the financing of larger corporate ventures. *Microcredit is the extension of very small loans (microloans) to the unemployed, to poor entrepreneur and to others living in poverty who are not considered bankable
Combating corruption – Support for countries' efforts at eradicating corruption
Research, Consultancy and Training - the World Bank provides platform for research on development issues, consultancy and conduct training programs (web based, on line, video/tele conferencing and class room based) open for those who are interested from academia, students, government and non-governmental organization (NGO) officers etc
Funding
The Bank obtains funding for its operations primarily through the IBRD’s sale of AAA-rated bonds in the world’s financial markets. The IBRD’s income is generated from its lending activities, with its borrowings leveraging its own paid-in capital, plus the investment of its "float". The IDA obtains the majority of its funds from forty donor countries who replenish the bank’s funds every three years, and from loan repayments, which then become available for re-lending
Leadership
The President of the Bank, currently Robert B. Zoellick (ex-president James D. Wolfensohn), is responsible for chairing the meetings of the Boards of Directors and for overall management of the Bank. The Executive Directors make up the Board of Directors, usually meeting twice a week to oversee activities such as the approval of loans and guarantees, new policies, the administrative budget, country assistance strategies and borrowing and financing decisions.
The Vice Presidents of the Bank are its principal managers, in charge of regions, sectors, networks and functions. There are 24 Vice-Presidents, 3 Senior Vice Presidents and 2 Executive Vice Presidents
According to the Articles of Agreement, the five largest shareholders, France, Germany, Japan, UK & the USA, each appoint an executive director, while other member states are represented by 19 executive directors who represent constituencies in several countries . Each director is elected by a country or a group of countries every two years.
World Bank Inspection Panel
It is an independent panel that was established in September 1993 to help ensure that their operations adhere to their operational policies and procedures. The panel allows people who think they may have been adversely affected by a bank-supported project projects to ask for an investigation, which is called a request for inspection.
Areas of Operations The World Bank is active in the following areas Agriculture and Rural Development Conflict and Development Development Operations and Activities Economic Policy Education Energy Environment Financial Sector Gender Governance Health, Nutrition and Population Industry Information and Communication Technologies Information, Computing and Telecommunications International Economics and Trade Labor and Social Protections
Law and Justice Macroeconomic and Economic Growth Mining Poverty Reduction Poverty Private Sector Public Sector Governance Rural Development Social Development Social Protection Trade Transport Urban Development Water Resources Water Supply and Sanitation
Criticism
Some critics of the World Bank believe that the institution was not started in order to reduce poverty but rather to support United States' business interests, and argue that the bank has actually increased poverty and been detrimental to the environment, public health, and cultural diversity. Some critics also claim that the World Bank has consistently pushed a "neo-liberal" agenda, imposing policies on developing countries which have been damaging, destructive and antidevelopmental. Some intellectuals in developing countries have argued that the World Bank is deeply implicated in contemporary modes of donor and NGO driven imperialism and that its intellectual output functions to blame the poor for their condition.
Criticism…(cont’d)
It has also been suggested that the World Bank is an instrument for the promotion of U.S. or Western interests in certain regions of the world. Consequently, seven South American nations have established the Bank of the South in order to minimize U.S. influence in the region. Criticisms of the structure of the World Bank refer to the fact that the President of the Bank is always a citizen of the United States, nominated by the President of the United States (though subject to the approval of the other member countries). There have been accusations that the decision-making structure is undemocratic, as the U.S. effectively has a veto on some constitutional decisions with just over 16% of the shares in the bank; moreover, decisions can only be passed with votes from countries whose shares total more than 85% of the bank's shares. A further criticism concerns internal governance and the manner in which the World Bank is alleged to lack transparency to external publics.
World Bank Support to India
The World Bank works in close partnership with India’s Central and State Governments, aligning its strategies with the country’s own development agenda. It lays emphasis on investing in people through better health and education, empowering communities to participate in their own development, improving the effectiveness of government, and promoting private sector-led growth to achieve the country’s development goals.
Its four-year Country Strategy for 2005-2008 focuses on lending for infrastructure, human development, and improving rural livelihoods. The Bank is increasingly focusing on providing analytical reports on the country’s major development challenges, and extending practical advice to policy makers by sharing good practices and experience from within the country and abroad.
Lending India is one of the oldest members of the World Bank having joined the institution in 1944. New World Bank lending to the country in FY08 (July 2007-June 2008) was US$2.7 billion. At end of June 2008, the Bank group had 60 active projects with a net commitment of about US$ 13.8 billion for these projects
IB R D /ID A C o u n tr y L e n d in g S u m m a r y
D is b u r s in g R e p a y in g F u lly R e p a id O th e r
ID A C r e d its 44 270 0 29
N u m b e r o f L o a n s /C r e d its /G r a n ts CPL CPLCONV FSCL N P L R E GS C P U SV DS L T 0 0 010 00 1 0 2 80 2 2 002 03 0 0 4 40 92 0 2 0 0 5 80 0 2 30 18 0 004 20 0 0 32
L o a n s /C re d its /G r a n ts S u m m a r y In U S D E q u iv a le n t IB R D I D A C r e d i tI sD A G r a n t s T o t a l O r i g i n a l P r i n c i p3 7a ,l 3 1 1 , 5 6 3 , 73 95 8, 9. 54 69 , 8 2 0 , 0 0 0 . 0 00 7 3 , 2 6 1 , 3 8 3 , 7 9 8 . 5 6 C a n c e l l a t i o n s 7 , 4 8 8 , 0 4 0 , 9 42 7, 5. 30 85 , 5 0 0 , 2 5 2 . 1 2 0 9 , 9 9 3 , 5 4 1 , 1 9 9 . 5 0 D is b u r s e d 2 4 , 4 8 9 , 7 8 3 , 52 29 1, 7. 19 81 , 3 1 5 , 7 2 7 . 7 30 5 4 , 2 8 1 , 0 9 9 , 2 4 8 . 9 1 U n d i s b u r s e d 4 , 7 2 8 , 6 8 9 , 4 14 1, 9. 81 08 , 9 4 1 , 6 4 9 . 0 3 0 9 , 6 4 7 , 6 3 1 , 0 6 0 . 8 3 R e p a id 1 7 , 0 7 8 , 8 5 5 , 4 71 ,74 .14 53 , 6 9 1 , 4 3 0 . 9 5 0 2 4 , 4 9 4 , 5 4 6 , 8 4 8 . 3 8 Due 7 , 2 8 0 , 3 4 3 , 02350, .47973 , 3 9 5 , 6 9 4 . 8 10 3 2 , 7 7 3 , 7 3 8 , 7 2 5 . 5 8 E x c h a n g e A d j u s t 2m8 e, 6n 6t 7 , 4 2 0 . 4 8 0 0 2 8 ,6 6 7 ,4 2 0 .4 8 B o r r o w e r O b l i g 7a ,t 3i o0 n9 , 0 1 0 , 42551, .42953 , 3 9 5 , 6 9 4 . 8 10 3 2 , 8 0 2 , 4 0 6 , 1 4 6 . 0 6
Country Strategy Progress Report
The India Country Strategy (CAS) for FY05-08 was prepared at an important juncture: a coalition of political parties led by Indian National Congress-which fought the election on the plank of "reforms with a human face"-was voted to power in May 2004, and the Indian economy emerged out of a slump to register an unprecedented growth rate of 8.4 percent in 2003/04.
Given the fortuitous timing, the CAS anticipated the impending shift in the policy stance toward a more inclusive development agenda and the approaching economic boom-thereby internalizing them in its design and contents. As a result, nearly two and a half years since its Board approval, the core strategy of the 2004 CAS remains largely unchanged.
This report reviews the progress made in implementing the CAS, and discusses how the strategy will be deployed for the remaining period. It begins with an overview of the country context, assessing political, economic, and social developments since the CAS discussions, then describes the experience to date, and finally suggests the way forward for the Bank Group, and presents the risks.
Bibliography
www.google.com www.wikipedia.org www.worldbank.org Time Magazine Outlook www.samachar.com
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