World Bank approves $1.5 billion financing to support India's reform programmes

📌 Summary:

• The World Bank's Board of Executive Directors on Friday approved $1.5 billion in financing to India to support structural reforms aimed at boosting private sector-led job creation and economic growth
• The financing is provided under the World Bank's Development Policy Financing (DPF) Operation
• Stated impact: it can help create job opportunities for the roughly 11 million youth entering India's labour market every year over the next two decades
• Significance: aligns external concessional financing with India's domestic reform agenda — private-sector-led growth, employment generation and demographic-dividend utilisation

🎯 UPSC Relevance: GS3 — growth, employment and structural reforms; role of multilateral institutions (World Bank) in India's development financing.

📝 Prelims Facts:

• Instrument used: Development Policy Financing (DPF), a World Bank budget-support instrument tied to policy/institutional reforms
• Amount: $1.5 billion approved by the World Bank's Board of Executive Directors
• Target: ~11 million youth entering the labour market each year over the next two decades

🔑 Key Term: Development Policy Financing (DPF) — World Bank financing that provides general budget support to a government conditioned on agreed policy and institutional reform actions, rather than funding specific projects.