India’s finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman met World Bank Group President Ajay Banga on the sidelines of the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting in Asheville on September 2. The two leaders discussed expanding their partnership beyond traditional lending, with an emphasis on infrastructure finance, digital public infrastructure, tourism and the mobilisation of private capital.
Sitharaman praised the World Bank Group’s ongoing engagement, noting the rapid processing of $1.5 billion in Development Policy Financing. She also welcomed the International Finance Corporation’s support for micro, small and medium enterprises through the Small Industries Development Bank of India, which the statement said has been processed in record time and positively impacted India’s MSME sector.
The dialogue explored ways to deepen the India‑World Bank relationship, including a larger role for the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency. Proposed actions aim to strengthen corporate, infrastructure and municipal bond markets by using guarantees and attracting private capital, and to adopt a sector‑based, programmatic approach to credit enhancement for infrastructure. Participants also discussed expanding MIGA’s engagement, providing political‑risk insurance for Indian firms investing abroad, and establishing a Global Digital Public Infrastructure Knowledge Hub to explore technology applications in agriculture. Tourism development under a new Country Partnership Framework was another focus, combining policy and infrastructure support from the IBRD, private‑sector investment from the IFC and guarantees from MIGA.
Both sides indicated a shift from a conventional lender‑borrower model toward a strategic platform for global knowledge, innovation and private‑capital mobilisation. Under this approach, India’s scale and implementation capacity would be paired with the World Bank Group’s international expertise and diverse financing instruments.
