13 January 2011: World Bank Group President Robert B. Zoellick and India’s Minister of State for Environment and Forests (Independent Charge) Jairam Ramesh, met in Delhi, India, to discuss how to further strengthen their partnership to advance India’s green-growth agenda.

The partnership between the World Bank and the Government of India will support programmes that help India maintain high growth as a primary objective, while either building climate resilience or promoting clean energy solutions, consistent with India’s 11th Five Year Plan. This includes projects that build fuel-efficient transport infrastructure, clean energy hydropower plants, efficient water supply and wastewater systems, as well as programmes that help farmers, fishing communities and people in other vulnerable communities safeguard their livelihoods against the impacts of climate change.

On the side of India’s Government, efforts for integrating environment sustainability into its high-growth agenda are focused on applying rigorous environmental safeguards for infrastructure projects, strengthening the environmental governance system, revitalizing regulatory institutions, investing in air and water quality improvements, and addressing the challenge of climate change on an ongoing basis. [World Bank Press Release]