India has halved its poverty rate since the 1990s, the World Bank said on October 15. It also said the country has achieved annual growth exceeding 7% over the last 15 years. India’s growth is expected to continue and elimination of extreme poverty in the decade is within reach.
Here are the key points made by the World Bank ahead of the annual meeting between it and the International Monetary Fund:
Land will need to be used more productively in urban areas by the spatial transformation of cities achieving agglomeration economies and in rural areas by increased agricultural productivity.
India’s water management will need to provide for shifting water allocation to higher-value uses and policies to increase the value of water use within sectors.
230 million people are not properly connected to the electricity grid.
Electricity generation will need to be less carbon intensive.
India’s rapidly growing economy needs investment in infrastructure an estimated 8.8 percent of GDP or $343 billion a year until 2030.
While an estimated 13 million people enter the working age population each year only three million new jobs are being generated on an annual basis.
The female labour force participation in India is at 27% and is among the lowest in the world despite the country overcoming gender gaps in education.
