India seeks more from World Bank

India is seeking to double the assistance it receives from World Bank to $4 billion annually to fund infrastructure development.

The matter is expected to be taken up by Finance Minister P Chidambaram with World Bank President James D Wolfensohn when he visits India on November 17 and 18.

Officials said that at present, India receives around $1.8 billion from the World Bank's International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) as assistance annually, in addition to around $1 billion from the Asian Development Bank and $500 million from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica), a large chunk of which was used for infrastructure development.

They added that a part of the IBRD assistance was used for other projects, which generated some economic returns.

Power Grid Corporation's proposal for a Rs 5,000 crore assistance for implementing the Rs 70,000 crore National Grid was among the major infrastructure projects in need of funds.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had recently said that India needs $150 billion investment in the infrastructure sectors over the next decade.

The requirements of India's airports and railways is estimated at over $55 billion in the next 10 years.

The power sector would require around $75 billion and telecom, $25 billion, over the next five years.

India receives around $ 3 billion World Bank assistance annually, of which $1.2 billion comes from the International Development Association and are used to meet the funding needs for projects which do not generate economic returns.