Hardtalk

World must focus on creating jobsRahul Tandon speaks to Ajay Banga, President of the World Bank.Born in India in 1959, Mr. Banga’s career in business began in the early-1980s, when he started out as a management trainee with the food multinational Nestlé. He then made the move into finance over a decade later, when he joined the Citigroup bank. He quickly rose through the ranks to become the Chief Executive of the bank’s Asia-Pacific business, before then moving onto Mastercard, where he eventually became CEO.During this time, Mr. Banga, who became a US citizen in 2007, also advised a number of senior US politicians - including President Barack Obama and later, Vice-President Kamala Harris. It was Harris’ boss, President Joe Biden, who subsequently nominated him to lead the World Bank in 2023.The World Bank is a group of international organisations, such as the International Development Association and the International Finance Corporation, that provide grants and loans to low and middle-income countries for