By IANS,
Lucknow : The World Bank Tuesday assured “increased development assistance” to Uttar Pradesh for improving rural and urban infrastructure.
World Bank president Jim Yong Kim gave the assurance to Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav at an hour-long meeting here.
Yadav sought more than $3.5 billion over the next five years.
Kim told the media that he had made it a “personal point” to come to Uttar Pradesh and said he wanted to battle poverty and share the economic growth with the poorer sections of the society.
“I want this to happen in our lifetime, in our generation,” he said.
Yadav said he wanted to achieve high economic growth and admitted that the state faced “significant challenges particularly in areas of infrastructure”.
He said the assistance sought by Uttar Pradesh was meant for roads and to strengthen urban systems including power, solid waste management and tourism.