If elected, Banga will use his knowledge of creating public-private alliances, as well as his experience living and working in emerging markets, to mobilise funds and take action to address persistent problems.
Ajay Banga, a candidate for the presidency of the World Bank, has been quarantined and is being kept in isolation after testing positive for COVID-19 during routine testing in New Delhi, where he was on the final stage of his global tour. According to a government statement, his appointment with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has been postponed for the time being.
In the last two weeks, influenza and coronavirus instances have increased in India. According to statistics updated on Wednesday by the Union Health Ministry, the nation has seen 1,134 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total number of active cases to 7,026.
Banga will be in New Delhi on March 23 and 24, the last stop on his three-week world tour, which started in Africa and then travelled to Europe, Latin America, and Asia.
“Ajay Banga tested positive for COVID-19 during regular testing, but he is still asymptomatic. He is quarantining in seclusion in accordance with local regulations, the Department of Treasury reported on Thursday afternoon.
The 63-year-old Banga was due to meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Minister of Finance Nirmala Sitharaman, and Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar while in India, according to a prior release from the Treasury.
Soon after Banga’s nomination was made public, India supported his run for office.
Since then, a wide range of governments, including those from Bangladesh, Côte d’Ivoire, Colombia, Egypt, France, Germany, Ghana, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Saudi Arabia, the Republic of Korea, and the United Kingdom, have voiced their support for Banga.
Banga met with top government officials, stakeholders, business executives, entrepreneurs, and members of civil society during his international listening tour.
He has steadily gained support for his candidature along the road from activists, academics, development specialists, business leaders, Nobel Laureates, and former government officials.
If elected, Banga will use his knowledge of creating public-private alliances, as well as his experience living and working in emerging markets, to mobilise funds and take action to address persistent problems.
That includes his work at Mastercard, where he was effective in bringing 50 million small businesses online and bringing 500 million previously unbanked people into the digital economy.
According to information provided by the health administration, New Delhi recorded 84 coronavirus cases on Wednesday, with a positivity rate of 5.08 percent.
Fresh Covid infections have increased in the city over the past few days, coincident with a steep rise in H3N2 influenza cases nationwide.
