Padma Shri Ajay Banga to be Next World Bank Chief, David Malpass Steps Down Amid Criticism

GUWAHATI: The World Bank named Ajay Banga, an Indian-American and former CEO of Mastercard, as its 14th president on Wednesday. His term will begin on June 2, 2023, and it will last for the next 5 years. Banga was appointed to the position by a 25-member executive board after being chosen by shareholders in 2011.

Ajay Banga, 63, was born in Pune, Maharashtra, India to a Saini Sikh family and spent his early life there, has been a citizen of the United States since 2007. At General Atlantic, he most recently held the position of vice chairman.

From 2020 to 2022, Ajay Banga, an expert in finance and development, served as Honorary Chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce. The only candidate to succeed departing World Bank chief David Malpass, an economist and former employee of the US Treasury during the Trump administration, is Banga.

The third-highest civilian honour in India, the Padma Shri, was given to Banga in 2016. Late in February, US President Joe Biden recommended his name for the position.

 His father was a retired lieutenant general who had served in the Indian Army with his lineage going back to Jalandhar in Punjab. He graduated from St. Stephen's College with an economics degree and has an MBA from IIM Ahmedabad.

Citing sources, Reuters reports that since his nomination, Banga has met with representatives from 96 governments and has travelled a total of 39,546 miles over a three-week across-the-globe tour to meet with business executives, political figures, and civil society organizations.

Banga will preside over the Board of Executive Directors of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) in his capacity as President of the World Bank Group. Along with a few other international boards, he will serve as the ex officio chair of the International Development Association (IDA) Board of Directors.

In February 2023, Ex-World Bank President quit after facing criticism over his stance on climate change.

David Malpass, the ex-president of the World Bank, announced his resignation a few months after causing controversy by declining to clarify whether he believed fossil fuels were to blame for the global catastrophe. Malpass was nominated to his five-year-term then former US President Donald Trump in 2019.

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