Does the Indian economy’s complexity make it difficult for the bank to design projects?
It is. India is an extraordinarily complex country, highly diverse with its huge geographic size, and its great cultural and social diversity. For the Bank it was a very interesting issue. How on earth do we deal with an enormous thing called India, which is far bigger than most countries of the world? In a sense, it is like dealing with 28 different countries with different issues and problems. There are difficulties in doing projects in India but I am not sure that they stem from the great inequality between people and regions. There are, of course, no complete answers to India’s problems. My recommendation to my colleagues is continuously refine your approach to your work in the country. Also this: let’s make sure that every activity that we do here relates to the issue of poverty. If you were to ask me just to tell you in one word what will hold the key to the success of the Bank’s plans for India as a whole, it will be empowerment, especially that of women’s empowerment. How has W
