World Bank President Ajay Banga has said that India has arrived at a point in its development journey where its experiences — spanning digital public infrastructure and technology-driven agriculture — hold transferable lessons for other nations. Banga made the remarks on the sidelines of the G20 Finance Ministers' meeting in Asheville on 2 September.

India's Development Experience as a Global Template

'I think India has reached a stage of development where India has learnings that can be shared elsewhere,' Banga said. He specifically highlighted India's digital public infrastructure stack — stretching from Aadhaar to bank accounts — as a model that other countries could study and adapt. Technology adoption in the agricultural sector was cited as a second area of potential knowledge transfer.

'You look at your digital public infrastructure starting from Aadhaar all the way to bank accounts, the work you're now doing in agriculture. These are things that others can learn from,' he said. The remarks reflect a broader recognition within multilateral institutions that India's low-cost, high-scale digital architecture — built over roughly a decade — has outpaced comparable efforts in many emerging economies.

Viksit Bharat 2047: Beyond Domestic Growth

Banga noted that India's trajectory toward its Viksit Bharat 2047 ambitions would hinge not only on the pace of domestic economic expansion but equally on the stature India commands in global economic and political forums. 'The way that India will become a Viksit Bharat by 2047, you know, economy of that size is not just from its own growth, of course, but also the stature it occupies in world economics and in world politics,' he said.

He added that both dimensions were central to where India's leadership intended to take the country over the next 15 years. This framing positions India's international standing — its role in bodies such as the G20 and its growing bilateral economic ties — as a co-determinant of its long-term development outcomes, not merely a byproduct of them.

On-Ground Example: UP Cooperatives and Google Partnership

Banga pointed to a firsthand example from his most recent visit to India, when he observed agricultural cooperatives in Uttar Pradesh working alongside Google and the World Bank to give small farmers access to inputs and support at scale. 'When I was in India last time I was in UP and I got a chance to see cooperatives working in UP with technology from Google and us trying to enable small farmers to get access to the inputs and stuff they need at scale,' he said.

He also described how digital connectivity could link decentralised primary healthcare clinics with doctors and regional hospitals — an approach he framed as combining local delivery systems with technology to extend reach without proportionally increasing cost.

World Bank's Expanding India Engagement

The World Bank's current engagement with India spans physical infrastructure, education, skills development, healthcare, regulatory reform, and efforts to mobilise private investment. Banga said the institution was also exploring opportunities in tourism and support for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). The breadth of the partnership signals that the World Bank views India not merely as a borrower but as a co-producer of development knowledge.

On Leadership and India's Progress

Asked about the role of political leadership in India's economic progress, Banga declined to separate leadership from the people it represents. 'I mean, I think people and leadership are intertwined. People get the leader they deserve,' he said. 'And I think that's what India should feel proud about, that they've got leadership that is taking them in the right direction.'

As the World Bank deepens its knowledge-exchange framework with India, Banga's remarks at Asheville signal that New Delhi's development playbook is increasingly being studied — and potentially replicated — well beyond its own borders.