For LSR girls, lessons from WB chief

NEW DELHI: World Bank president Dr Jim Yong Kim, the first without a formal background in finance or banking, spoke to students at Lady Shri Ram College for Women on his two-day visit to India on Thursday. A wide range of issues were discussed at the interactive session titled 'Pathways to Prosperity' organised by the economics department.
The long-term impact of Britain's exit from the European Union and its effect on India was met by a positive response from Kim.He said that India-UK relations are still going strong and this chain of events would not bring many fluctuations in our economy.
Kim praised Modi's government for high growth rates, low inflation and a healthy BOP. Asked about the opposition faced by the World Bank from economists across the world on 7% growth rates of India, he said, "World Bank is comfortable with these numbers."
However, he expressed concern about the lack of hygiene in India. He talked of open defecation leading to malnutrition due to easier spread of diarrhoea.
Kim also appreciated Modi's efforts of making India solar efficient. He said the cost of solar energy needs to be lower than that of coal, only then will people be incentivised to switch to the renewable energy.