WORLD BANK

Why in News?
Union Minister of Finance & Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman participated as the Governor of World Bank in the 108th Meeting of the Development Committee Plenary in Marrakech, Morocco. The agenda for the meeting was “Ending Poverty on a Liveable Planet – Report to Governors on World Bank Evolution”.

What is World Bank?
World Bank (WB) is one of the five institutions created at Bretton woods in 1944, of which India was a founding member. World Bank comprises of five institutions: International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) International Development Association (IDA), International Finance
Cooperation (IFC), Multilateral Investment Guarantee (MIGA), The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes(ICSD) The World Bank Group has two ambitious goals: End extreme poverty within a generation and boost shared prosperity.

• The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development
The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) lends to governments of middle-income and creditworthy low-income countries.

• The International Development Association

The International Development Association (IDA) provides interest-free loans — called credits — and grants to governments of the poorest countries.

Together, IBRD and IDA make up the World Bank.

• The International Finance Corporation

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is the largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector. We help developing countries achieve sustainable growth by financing investment, mobilizing
capital in international financial markets, and providing advisory services to businesses and governments.

• The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency

The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) was created in 1988 to promote foreign direct investment into developing countries to support economic growth, reduce poverty, and improve people’s lives. MIGA fulfills this mandate by offering political risk insurance (guarantees) to investors and lenders.

• The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes

The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) provides international facilities for conciliation and arbitration of investment disputes.

The World Bank is like a cooperative, made up of 189 member countries. These member countries, or shareholders, are represented by a Board of Governors, who are the ultimate policymakers at the World Bank. Generally, the governors are member countries’ ministers of finance or ministers of development. They meet once a year at the Annual Meetings of the Boards of Governors of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund.

The 2023 Annual Meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will take place in person from Sunday, October 15 in Marrakech, Morocco.