All You Need to Know About the World Bank

The World Bank Group (WBG) was set up in 1944 under the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) along with three other institutions, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

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Although the aim behind WBG was to rebuild Europe that stood the attacks of World War II, today’s it’s become a goliath of a financial institution that’s helping the world to fight poverty by giving loans and developmental assistance to the middle-income and low-income countries.

Membership of IBRD and its Hierarchy

IBRD, which is the main wing of the WBG, has 184 member countries. To become a member, a country is required to join the IMF first. It also has to pay a subscription fee which is about 88.29% of the quota (which depends on the size of its economy) it has to pay to the IMF.

The largest shareholder of the World Bank is also the president of the group, which is the United States. It also has 24 executive directors (ED) to whom powers are delegated throughout the year.

The top 5 shareholders of the WBG, which are US, UK, France, Japan, and Germany have their own ED. The remaining 19 EDs represent the rest of the member states as groups of constituencies.

Role of World Bank in India

India is one of the oldest members of the WRG which joined it at the time of inception itself, i.e. the year 1944.

WBG works in close partnerships with the central and state governments in India. It aims at pushing economic development in the country by extending financial support to not just the governments but also various NGOs, corporations, and even academics, etc. It has actively funded numerous projects including affordable housing, water, sanitation, and more. It’s also one of the reasons why India is the largest recipient of WBG loans (amounting to $102.1 billion) over the last 70 years.