India, August 17, 2005 - Paul Wolfowitz arrived in India this evening, for his first official visit to the country as World Bank President. The first stop on Wolfowitz's agenda will be to spend a day meeting women and community groups in rural areas outside Hyderabad, before traveling to New Delhi for talks with the Prime Minister, finance minister, and other officials, including a courtesy call on the President. On his arrival, Wolfowitz said India was rapidly emerging as "a country of global importance." "We are seeing its footprint across the world now in new and exciting ways. I am here to learn from your model of development and reform in a democratic environment," he said. India, with a population of more than a billion people, is the world's tenth largest economy. Wide-ranging reforms have led to strong economic growth, with a steady decline in poverty. Wolfowitz noted for all its increasing excellence in information technology, industry and commerce, India remains home to more than a quarter of the world's poor people.
There is also a widening gap between the richer and poorer states, and between the urban and rural areas. Severe infrastructure bottlenecks, especially in power, water and transportation, continue to impede the country's economic competitiveness. "I am looking forward to discussions with the Government about ways in which the World Bank can best support India's efforts to attain its development goals," Wolfowitz said. "The majority of Indians still live in rural areas and I know this Government has, quite rightly, made rural infrastructure a priority. The World Bank is determined to be of help as India scale's up this effort to reach the millions of people needing better access to services in rural areas." Bank's largest borrower  |  | | In the 2005 financial year, India received US$1.1 billion in credit from the Bank's International Development Association (IDA). It was the largest amount given by IDA to any country. | | |
In the 2005 financial year, India received US$1.1 billion in credit from the Bank's International Development Association (IDA). It was the largest amount given by IDA to any country.
India is the World Bank's largest borrower. Lending reached $2.9 billion in the financial year ending 2005, more than double the $1.4 billion lent the year before. The Bank's assistance is focused on upgrading infrastructure, improving people's access to social services, especially education and health, and building rural livelihoods. The Government of India recently unveiled a program to build rural infrastructure by the year 2009. The program proposes to increase the area of irrigated land, connect all villages with roads, and provide them with water supply, electricity and telephone connections. It also aims to build an extra six million houses for the rural poor. Support for women yields results On arrival, Wolfowitz said he was looking forward to meeting the real practitioners of development among the women of Andhra Pradesh, who had taken small opportunities and turned them into dramatic improvements for themselves and their families. "I've heard about improvements in girls' education and rural livelihoods and I can't wait to meet some of these people doing the real business of development and making a real difference in the quality of their daily lives," he said. Two Bank projects in rural Andhra Pradesh have helped poor village women to organize themselves into self-help groups. Half a million women's groups have been empowered, giving rural families a voice in demanding better health and education services. Helping poor families gain access to commercial credit has raised their incomes by some 30 to 40 percent. Since 1991, the Bank has helped more than 17 million villagers' access basic water and sanitation services. Overall, the Bank has provided US$650 million in support for the poorest areas and most vulnerable groups. | | | Since 1991, the Bank has helped more than 17 million villagers’ access basic water and sanitation services. Overall, the Bank has provided US$650 million in support for the poorest areas and most vulnerable groups. | | |
These self-help groups were invaluable in the aftermath of last December's tsunami, when they were able to reach out to every fishing family in the shortest possible time.
The Bank president will see first hand the country's efforts to bring greater numbers of children, especially girls, to school under a national program supported by the World Bank and other donors. Enrollment rates have shown marked improvement -- with 108 million children in primary school, India's education system is the world's second largest after China. However more than 13 million children aged between six and 14 still do not attend school.
Drinking water in rural areas Wolfowitz will also see the impact of the Government of India's national program to bring drinking water to all the country's 600,000 villages. The program builds on the ground-breaking Swajal project piloted in 1996 with Bank support. In a radically new approach to rural water supply, communities were empowered to select the scheme they could afford and which was most appropriate for their needs. They then planned, constructed, and maintained the system, contributing to the capital cost and bearing all the operations and maintenance expenses. As owners, communities had a strong incentive to keep costs down and use good materials. Their participation has been the determining factor in the success of the project. Protecting forests and raising incomes Poor and primarily tribal communities in rural Andhra Pradesh are partnering with the Government to conserve the state's rich but rapidly degrading forests. Wolfowitz is expected to visit a Bank-supported project which has helped set up more than 5000 village forest committees, enabling communities to harvest forest produce in a sustainable manner, raising their incomes. The project has benefited some 300,000 families living below the poverty line. More than half of the people, who benefited, belong to indigenous communities and disadvantaged castes. Almost 50 percent are women. |
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