World Bank says India will be fastest-growing economy among seven largest emerging markets and developing economies

Why is in news? World Bank says India will be fastest-growing economy among seven largest emerging markets and developing economies

The World Bank has reaffirmed its belief in the Indian economy yet again. The global lender said in a report that India is expected to be the fastest-growing economy among the seven largest emerging markets and developing economies.

While the World Bank projected a gloomy outlook for the global economy, it said that the Indian economy is expected to grow at the rate of 6.6 percent in the fiscal year 2023-24.

It said that the global economy will come perilously close to a recession this year. It forecast weaker growth in all the world's top economies including the United States, Europe and China.

In its report titled Global Economic Prospects, the World Bank noted that India's growth expanded by 9.7 percent on an annual basis in the first half of the fiscal year 2022-23, reflecting strong private consumption and fixed investment growth.

The World Bank also slashed its forecast for global growth this year by nearly half to just 1.7 percent from its previous projection of 3 percent.

World Bank:

The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects.

The World Bank is the collective name for the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and International Development Association (IDA), two of five international organizations owned by the World Bank Group.

It was established along with the International Monetary Fund at the 1944 Bretton Woods Conference. Headquarter is in Washington D.C, USA.

In the 1970s, it focused on loans to developing world countries, shifting away from that mission in the 1980s.

For the last 30 years, it has included NGOs and environmental groups in its loan portfolio.

Its loan strategy is influenced by the Sustainable Development Goals as well as environmental and social safeguards.

The U.S., Japan, China, Germany and the U.K. have the most voting power.

The bank aims loans at developing countries to help reduce poverty. The bank is engaged in several global partnerships and initiatives, and takes a role in working toward addressing climate change.

The World Bank operates a number of training wings and it works with the Clean Air Initiative and the UN Development Business. It works within the Open Data Initiative and hosts an Open Knowledge Repository.

The World Bank has been criticized as promoting inflation and harming economic development, causing protests in 1988 and 2000. There has also been criticism of the bank's governance and response to the COVID-19 pandemic.