FM urges World Bank Group to sustain crisis response to mitigate COVID-19 impact

Amid a surge in COVID-19 cases, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday urged the World Bank Group (WBG) to explore the possibility of sustaining crisis response keeping in mind the debt sustainability of vulnerable countries.

The minister said this while participating in the 103rd meeting of the Development Committee of the World Bank-International Monetary Fund (IMF) through video conferencing.

She also appreciated the pro-active role played by the WBG in helping developing countries get access to vaccines in a timely and affordable manner in coordination with other multilateral agencies like WHO and GAVI (Global Vaccine Alliance).

The WBG, she observed, has stepped up its financing in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic with total financing approvals exceeding USD 100 billion for the first time.

In her intervention at this session, the finance minister said countries are all engaged in steering their economies and people safely out of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Government of India has taken several measures to contain the spread of the pandemic and also to mitigate its social and economic impact including a series of economic stimulus packages in the past year, she said.

Sitharaman informed that the government has announced Aatmanirbhar packages of Rs 27.1 lakh crore, amounting to more than 13 per cent of the GDP.

These packages were meant not only to provide social protection to the poor and vulnerable but also to push forward economic reforms.