A Message from the Country Director
It is my pleasure to present to you the World Bank Group’s first Systematic Country Diagnostic (SCD) for India.
The SCD is an analytical exercise we conduct in all countries. It articulates, from the perspective of the World Bank Group, an analysis of the most important opportunities and challenges to achieving, in that country, the two goals the Bank Group holds itself accountable for – eliminating extreme poverty and boosting shared prosperity.
But formulating an SCD for India is a near-impossible task. There is no one narrative that can capture the diversity, complexity, and challenges of this magnificent country. Indeed, the world has no blueprint for development on such a large and diverse scale.
This SCD is simply one analysis of the drivers of development facing an India poised to transition to a higher level of prosperity. Development choices made today will determine if its citizens can indeed join the ranks of the global middle class by 2047—the centenary of India’s Independence.
We present this account to you and invite you to share your views -- your narratives -- of where India stands, and what it can do to achieve its true potential and fulfill the soaring aspirations of its citizens.
Your inputs, ideas and comments will feed into the WBG’s Country Partnership Framework for India, the roadmap that will guide the Group’s activities in India over 2018-22. They will thus serve to inform the Bank’s Group’s subsequent projects, policies and documents.
Please send in your comments at indiadialogue@worldbank.org. We hope to print a summary of the comments received --without any attribution -- as an addendum to the SCD.
Junaid Kamal Ahmad
Country Director, India
