ADB - infrastructure development is a key role for India

13 Mar '06

2 min read

Manila based Asian Development Bank (ADB) President Haruhiko Kuroda told that infrastructure development has a crucial role to play if India is to sustain its high growth, which must become more inclusive as the country matures.

He was speaking in the middle of a three-day visit, in which he visited Hyderabad - venue for ADB's 39th Annual Meeting this coming May - and New Delhi.

Addressing the Federation of India Chambers of Commerce and Industry, New Delhi, Kuroda said no one should be constrained by the lottery of birth.

He said that India's economic performance in recent years has been among the best in the world, leading to a decline in poverty.

"Despite these improvements, most poverty-related education and health indicators continue to show disturbing gender gaps, large rural-urban differences, and wide variation across the states," he said.

He added that India was in danger of failing to meet several of the non-income Millennium Development Goals.

"Since India accounts for nearly 16% of the world population, this would imply that the world as a whole will fall short of attaining the MDGs," he warned.

While in New Delhi, Mr Kuroda met with key officials, including Finance Minister P Chidambaram, private sector representatives, academics, and journalists.

His appearance there followed a trip yesterday to Hyderabad, where he visited the Hyderabad International Convention Center - venue for ADB's upcoming Annual Meeting - and met with Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy.

More Asian Development Bank News... More Textiles News - Philippines...