World Bank–India Partnership Framework: Putting Jobs at the Heart of India’s Growth Story Towards Viksit Bharat 2047

As India charts its path towards becoming a developed nation by 2047, one question sits at the centre of the national conversation: how will growth translate into meaningful jobs for millions of Indians? This week, a major global partnership offered a clear and structured answer.

The World Bank Group and the Government of India on Thursday unveiled a new Country Partnership Framework (CPF)—a long-term roadmap designed to support India’s next phase of economic expansion. At its core lies a simple but powerful idea: economic growth must create jobs, at scale, and across every corner of the country.

The framework aligns closely with India’s Viksit Bharat 2047 vision, which aims to transform the country into a developed economy by the time it marks 100 years of Independence. More than just a funding plan, the CPF is being positioned as a strategic reset—one that brings together public resources, private investment and global expertise to convert growth into real opportunities for India’s people.

World Bank–India Partnership Framework

Welcoming the new framework, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the partnership mirrors India’s national priorities. She underlined the importance of using public funds to crowd in private capital, expanding employment opportunities across rural and urban India, and leveraging the World Bank Group’s global knowledge to deliver results with speed and scale.

The timing of the partnership is significant. Every year, nearly 12 million young Indians enter the labour market, creating both an enormous opportunity and a pressing challenge. The CPF has been designed to respond directly to this demographic moment by unlocking private investment in sectors that can create jobs at scale, raise productivity and ensure that growth reaches a wider population.

World Bank Group President Ajay Banga, who was in India for the announcement, described the country as one of the key engines of global growth. He stressed that job creation remains central to the World Bank Group’s engagement with India, adding that the new framework combines financing, reforms and private sector participation to turn economic momentum into tangible opportunities for millions.

From Growth Numbers to Real Livelihoods

Globally, the World Bank Group’s jobs strategy rests on three pillars: building strong physical and human infrastructure, creating a predictable and business-friendly regulatory environment, and using risk-management tools to encourage private investment. In India, this approach will focus on sectors with high job-creation potential.

These include infrastructure and energy, agribusiness, healthcare, tourism and value-added manufacturing—areas that can generate locally relevant employment across regions. The idea is not just to create jobs, but to create better-quality jobs that are resilient, productive and aligned with the future economy.

Under the new strategic partnership, the World Bank is expected to support India with $8–10 billion in annual financing over the next five years. This funding will deploy the Bank Group’s full range of instruments to mobilise private capital, support policy reforms, strengthen skills and help enterprises—especially small and medium businesses—scale up.

A Year of Rethinking the Partnership

Officials described the CPF as the outcome of a year-long collaboration in which India and the World Bank Group fundamentally re-examined how they work together. The result is a sharper focus on selectivity, scale and impact.

At the centre of this approach is private sector–led job creation. The framework aims to reduce barriers for small and medium enterprises, upgrade workforce skills, and expand opportunities for youth and women—groups that remain critical to India’s long-term growth story.

Renewed Focus on Rural India

With nearly 60 percent of India’s population living in rural areas, the framework places strong emphasis on boosting rural prosperity and resilience. The goal is to move beyond agriculture alone by diversifying income sources, strengthening value chains, improving market access and managing scarce water resources more efficiently.

By supporting modern agribusiness practices, digital tools and climate-resilient farming, the partnership aims to improve rural livelihoods while creating new economic opportunities closer to home.

Cities as Engines of Employment

At the same time, the CPF recognises the scale of India’s urban transformation. India’s urban population is projected to double to 800 million by 2050, making cities central to future job creation.

The partnership will support investments in urban infrastructure, housing, public services, innovative financing models and integrated planning. The aim is to help cities become engines of productivity, innovation and employment, rather than pressure points of inequality and congestion.

Investing in People, From Childhood to Careers

A key pillar of the framework is long-term investment in people. Priorities span the full life cycle—from early childhood health and nutrition to secondary education and market-aligned skills.

The CPF also focuses on smoothing the school-to-work transition, ensuring that education and training systems are better aligned with industry needs. In healthcare, the emphasis is on patient-centred systems that use digital tools and integrated data to improve outcomes and workforce productivity.

Powering Growth Through Clean Energy and New Technologies

The partnership also looks ahead to India’s clean growth ambitions. By attracting private capital into renewable energy, e-mobility and frontier technologies like green hydrogen, the CPF aims to strengthen energy security while creating future-ready jobs.

These sectors are expected to play a key role in India’s next growth phase, supporting climate resilience while opening up new employment pathways.

Projects Already on the Ground

Implementation of the framework begins immediately through a mix of ongoing and new projects. Among the key initiatives are:

• An $830 million loan to support the Pradhan Mantri Skilling and Employability Transformation initiative, upgrading Industrial Training Institutes and helping over one million young people, especially women, gain job-ready skills.

• A $490 million Maharashtra Project on Resilient Agriculture (Phase II), using digital tools and precision farming to improve crop productivity and resilience.

• A $280 million Kerala Health Systems Improvement Program, focused on digital health services, integrated data platforms and cybersecurity.

• A $750 million higher education financing program through Credila Financial Services, supporting up to 190,000 students in gaining job-relevant qualifications.

• Accelerated support for India’s electric mobility ecosystem, including clean transport, domestic manufacturing, job creation and payment security mechanisms for state and municipal transport bodies.

A New Way of Working Together

Officials noted that the CPF also reflects internal reforms undertaken by the World Bank Group since 2023 to become faster, simpler and more impact-oriented—many of which gained momentum during India’s G20 presidency.

The new engagement model places greater emphasis on measurable results, mobilisation of private capital and the strategic use of global knowledge, alongside public financing.

India remains the World Bank Group’s largest client, with wide-ranging commitments across public projects and private-sector initiatives. With the new Country Partnership Framework, the relationship is set to evolve further—shifting decisively towards leveraging private capital and expanding job opportunities at scale.

As India accelerates towards its Viksit Bharat 2047 goal, this partnership signals a shared belief: that sustained growth, backed by jobs and opportunity, is the strongest foundation for a developed and inclusive India.