World Bank in India

In the past decade, India has accelerated economic growth and improved most Millennium Development Goals (MDG). It is also a rising global power—and a leading player in information technology, telecommunications, and business processes outsourcing.

India’s annual GDP growth has been strong and steady at more than 7% over the past decade, accelerating to over 9% in the three years before the 2008 global financial crisis. Growth followed wide-ranging structural reforms that began in 1991. Between 1997 and 2005, poverty rates fell from about 36% to 28%. Consistent with India's priorities, the World Bank has been particularly effective in supporting areas critical to the country's development goals.

Education

World Bank supports the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (Education for All) that caters to some 200 million primary school children in the country. Since 2001, nearly 20 million children have been brought into primary school. They include first-generation learners from long-deprived communities, minority communities, and children with special needs. (More on SSA)

Slide show

Health

With the Bank's assistance, HIV prevalence has declined among sex workers  particularly in the southern states. More than 1.1 million people with risky behavior have been reached. (More on HIV and AIDS)

The World Bank has also helped scale up the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Program nationwide. More than 9.5 million people suffering from TB between 1997 and 2008 were diagnosed and placed on treatment, thus saving more than 1.7 million additional lives. Deaths from the disease were cut sevenfold from 29% to 4% and India met global targets for TB detection and cure. (More on TB Control Program)

Slide show

Social Inclusion

The Tamil Nadu Empowerment and Poverty Reduction Project focused on women and other disadvantaged groups in some 2,500 villages. In the first two years of the program, about 159,000 households increased their incomes by 60 to 80%. About 182,900 poorest and tribal households have formed into some 17,266 self-help groups.

Access to credit has opened up, with self-help groups securing more than $9 million in microloans during the first two years of the program. (More on Social Inclusion)

Rural Roads

In 2000, about 40% of India’s 825,000 villages lacked all-weather roads. The World Bank is supporting the Government of India's Rural Roads program in the states of Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, and Uttar Pradesh. With access to roads, incomes have soared. Household incomes rose by 50 to 100% on average.

Farmers are receiving better prices for their products. Literacy has increased by 10% and the gender gap has narrowed with easier access to school for girls. For every 1 million rupees spent on rural roads, 163 people were lifted out of poverty. (More on Rural Roads)

Slide show

Rural Water and Sanitation

In 2006, only half of Uttarakhand’s rural population had access to clean and safe drinking water. The Uttaranchal Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project is using a community-led approach to ensure that services are efficient and sustainable. More than 130,000 people have already benefited from the village water supply schemes under the project. (More on Rural Water Supply)

Slide show

Poverty Reduction in Rural Areas

The Andhra Pradesh Rural Poverty Reduction Project helped rural women, organize themselves into credit worthy-groups tapping private sector sources that had long overlooked this potential market. Assets and incomes have increased for almost 90% of poor rural households, including more than 9 million women. Health and nutrition programs are dramatically improving maternal and child health and infant nutrition. Annual credit flows have increased from less than $23 million in 2000 to $1.23 billion in 2009—more than a 50-fold increase. (More on AP Rural Poverty)

Slide show

State-level Economic Development

The Bank-financed Andhra Pradesh Economic Reform Project has helped transform the state to middle-income status, which is reflected in improved living standards for citizens. Per capita income has risen to nearly $700 in 2005-06 (from $385), the poverty ratio has fallen considerably, and nearly 94% of the state’s primary school-age children are in school. The fiscal deficit is at a manageable level of 3.5% of Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) and falling. Among India’s major states, Andhra Pradesh now has the best-managed power sector, the third-highest credit rating, one of the best investment climates, and the fourth-lowest corruption levels. (More on Economic Development in States)