More optimistic about India now than 'in a long time', says World Bank chief Ajay Banga

World Bank President Ajay Banga on Monday said that amid global challenges, he is more optimistic about India and its economy now than he has been ''in a long time''.

While talking to Business Today, Banga said that his first plan of action after joining the bank is to eradicate poverty on a livable planet. He further said that his next step would be a capital adequacy framework, as that will help in getting more from the balance sheet.

He also said he plans to make the World Bank a better bank. “ How can we make the bank work quicker and faster, what I call the better bank?” he said while talking about his third action plan.

“Now we need to be a bigger bank because the challenges we have are many, and you cannot fund these only on government money. You need to have the multilateral banks grow bigger, but you also need the private sector if you like,” he added.

He showered praises on India for its digital infrastructure, saying he is a ''big fan'' of such initiatives taken by the world's fifth largest economy.

''I am more optimistic about India, as a whole, economically, than I have been for a long time. The fact is that the world economy is in a difficult place. It has outperformed what everybody thought. But it does not mean that it won't be more challenging. The IMF forecast, the World Bank forecast are that the world will get a little challenging over the next year or so,'' he said at the Mahatma Mandir Convention Centre, where the G20 meeting is being held.

Praising India for the steps taken in recent times to build digital infrastructure, he said applications which were built around that framework are making people's lives easier today.

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