For Immediate Release February 27, 2019 Delhi: New Delhi: In a historic 7-1 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court decided in Jam v. IFC that international organizations like the International Finance Corporation of the World Bank Group do not enjoy absolute immunity. The Court’s decision marks a defining moment for the IFC – the arm of the World …
Continue reading Historic Supreme Court Win: World Bank Group Is Not Above The Law
25 years of Inspection Panel has a special significance for India, having played a key role in its formation. As in the case of all safeguard and other policies, the independent accountability mechanisms (IAMs) of multilateral development banks are also a result of the valiant struggle fought by the communities affected of various projected financed …
Continue reading Case Study on India’s Experience with Independent Accountability Mechanisms
The Inspection Panel is completing 25 years in its role, as an accountability mechanism of the World Bank. As you are aware, the Bank’s failure to comply with its operating policies was seen by the entire world in the Bank’s financing with the Sardar Sarovar Dam project on River Narmada. The tenacity of massive grass-roots uprisings …
The Asian region has experienced the emergence of new MDBs over last few years. For many years, the Asian Development Bank was the only development bank in the region and has been dominated by the Japanese owing to the number of votes it has as compared to other members. However, the newly constituted NDB in …
“AIIB has created a superstructure, an ecosystem which acts as a complex web of shining terminologies and projects to attract investments, which actually is a smoke screen to hide the fact that there’s no human development happening” senior activist Medha Patkar said in her speech.
Senior activist Ulka Mahajan of Sarvahara Jan Andolan said, “The infrastructure that is being developed is not what people demand, but it is what global capital demands. The international financial institutions are promoting corporate interests over that of people and also pushing the states to the financial debt. On the one hand, the Maharashtra government …
Continue reading The Infra being Pushed is not what the People Demand
Financial analyst and journalist Sucheta Dalal said that the Indian banking system is at the verge of crisis, reeling under the mounting bad loans, caused by unfettered corporate loans. Referring to government’s announcement in the Parliament that Rs. 2.4 lakh crore bad loans are written off, she said that “ if farm loan waiver was …
Continue reading Sucheta Dalal on the Growing Crisis in the Indian Banking Sector
Delhi Metro is the largest metro system in India and is also considered one of the most “successful” public transport projects. After nearly three decades of construction and operation in Delhi, the demand for creating metro systems in all million plus cities has grown despite being a capital intensive project. Few scholarly articles published in …
Continue reading Riding on Debt: Financial Assessment of Delhi Metro
In the political resolution adopted at the end of the People Convention on Infrastructure Financing delegates resolved to challenge the undemocratic and economically unsound functioning of IFIs including AIIB, World Bank, IFC and others. The Convention also resolved to push for people-centered alternatives in all sectors of the economy, and to advance an inclusive model …
Continue reading Mumbai Resolution of the People’s Convention on Infrastructure Financing
Press Statement People’s Convention Vows to Challenge Undemocratic & Destructive Global Finance: Resolves to Build Political and Economic Alternatives Mumbai, June 23: “The international financial institutions like AIIB (Asia Infrastructure and Investment Bank) must function in a deeply democratic manner respectful of national sovereignty, or else be shut down for they constitute a threat to …
Working Group on IFIs 