India to return to 8-9 per cent growth: Zoellick
04 Dec 2009
According to World Bank president Robert Zoellick India could return to a 8-9 per cent growth trajectory in two years but it needed more investment in infrastructure for sustaining such growth.
The Indian economy, the third largest in Asia expanded 6.7 per cent in the fiscal year ended March 2009, which was slower than in the previous three years. Government officials forecast between 6.5 per cent to 7 per cent growth for 2009-10.
The World Bank has agreed to lend $1 billion to India over the next five years to clean up the Ganges which is one of the most polluted of the world's rivers.
The river which runs 2,500 kilometers is severely polluted with industrial wastes, farm pesticides and other sewage. Zoellick said, the clean up would involve the entire river network.
The funds would go towards building sewage treatment plants, revamping of drains and other measures to improve water quality.
The loans form a part of the Indian governments' multi-billion dollar initiative to end the discharge of untreated waste into the river by 2020.