INDIA: COUNTRY PARTNERSHIP STRATEGY                     76906
                                          CHAIR’S SUMMING UP	

                                     Meeting of the Executive Directors

                                               April 11, 2013

        Executive Directors discussed the joint IBRD/IDA/IFC/MIGA Country Partnership
Strategy (CPS) for the Republic of India for the period FY13-17 and supported its alignment
with India’s overarching development goal of faster, sustained and more inclusive growth, as
detailed in the 12th Five-Year Plan (R2013-0050[IDA/R2013-0071, IFC/R2013-0086,
MIGA/R2013-0021]).

        Directors supported the CPS’s overarching goals and its three engagement areas:
integration, transformation, and inclusion. Directors noted the challenges related to sustaining
rapid economic growth over the long term. They acknowledged that the drive to alleviate
poverty and achieve results in India is central for the World Bank Group’s global poverty
reduction goals, and called for the CPS activities to be carefully focused to help achieve these
goals. They welcomed the CPS’s emphasis on global poverty reduction and shared prosperity
goals, while highlighting the need for effective monitoring and evaluation of progress towards
these goals.

       Directors acknowledged the Government of India’s new country-led selectivity criteria
and welcomed the strategy’s focus on low-income and special category states which combined
are home to half of India’s poor people. Directors asked for continued attention to environmental
sustainability, particularly in energy sector development and agricultural productivity. They
encouraged the team to incorporate lessons learned from the Global Monitoring Report on rural-
urban dynamics to avoid negative impacts on the achievement of Millennium Development
Goals.

        Capacity building was an important area of focus within the CPS noted by Directors,
particularly in sectors like infrastructure, manufacturing, and health. They encouraged greater
efforts to promote private participation in infrastructure and expanded capacity to manage and
sustain key infrastructure investments.

        Directors underscored the importance of mainstreaming gender and environmental issues
into World Bank Group activities. They encouraged greater emphasis on women’s economic
empowerment and improvement of women’s situations, with indicators incorporated in the
results framework. Directors looked forward to the upcoming gender assessment and the
operationalization of its findings during the CPS period.

        Directors were pleased to note the strong collaboration among IBRD, IDA, and IFC in
the CPS and encouraged exploring a broader role for MIGA. They recognized that IFC’s
catalytic role in the private sector - especially in low-income states - will complement the
IBRD/IDA program and achievement of results. Directors encouraged continued collaboration
and coordination with other development partners to leverage the resources the World Bank
Group can provide. They also supported greater South-South collaboration and regional
integration efforts.


    This summary is not an approved record.