Nirmala Sitharaman Urges World Bank Subsidiary IFC to Increase Credit to India

By: WE Staff | Tuesday, 20 September 2022

Nirmala Sitharaman, the minister of finance, has instructed the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector investment arm of the World Bank, to boost its financing to India to more than $2 billion over the next two years and to $3-3.5 billion over the following three to four years.

IFC managing director Makhtar Diop, who met with the Minister in the nation's capital, stated that the organisation would take a "proactive approach" to increase the size of its investments in India and would provide financing to micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) to support the nation's "effort to become a manufacturing hub."

Mr. Diop also stressed the possibilities of "looking at sub-national financing for sustainable growth, and mobilise financing for women entrepreneurs" while providing Ms. Sitharaman with information on the IFC's present lending footprint in India.

“FM Sitharaman appreciated IFC’s mission and reiterated India’s expectation of a rise in IFC’s lending to India to $2-2.5 billion in the next 1-2 years and $3-3.5 billion in next 3-4 years,” the Finance Ministry said in a statement, adding that Mr. Diop ‘shared’ this sentiment.

An international financial organisation called the International Finance Corporation provides asset management, consultancy, and investment services to support the growth of the private sector in underdeveloped nations. The IFC has its headquarters in Washington, D.C. in the United States and is a member of the World Bank Group.