Ajay Banga is elected as the new president of the World Bank, an organisation that helps low-income countries. He was formerly the owner of “MasterCard”, The President of America nominated him for the post, and he was the first ever “Indian American” to lead the bank.
He will take the place of David Malpass, who caused controversy by appearing to cast doubt on humans’ contribution to climate change.
Mr. Banga will take charge on June 2 for a five-year term. He is now a citizen of America; he started his career in his native country, India, where his father was an artist. He started working at Citigroup and Nestle after he joined MasterCard, where he worked for more than a decade.
In a statement announcing Mr. Banga’s appointment, the executive directors of the bank expressed their eagerness to work together with him “on all the World Bank Group’s objectives and activities towards solving the most difficult problems of growth facing nations that are developing.”
The decision to choose the head of the organisation that lends billions of dollars to nations annually has historically been made by the US, the World Bank’s largest shareholder.
The only contender for president was Mr. Banga, despite complaints from developing nations in the past.
The “development organisation” is in need of Mr. Banga’s hiring right now.
The bank has been under pressure to increase loans to combat climate change from the US and other wealthy countries. To assist developing nations in coping with climate change, the bank provides about $100 billion (£80 billion) in loans annually, a long cry from the $1 trillion they claim is required.
Many developing countries fear that the focus on climate change will distract from their efforts to combat poverty.
The global epidemic, hikes in food and energy prices, and unmanageable debt levels have severely impacted developing nations.
Without any certain new funding on the table, Mr. Banga will have to deal with these challenges in his capacity as president of the World Bank.
