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In a sense, the so-called bold move of the UPA Government to begin decontrol of petroleum products, irrespective of the country going through high inflation, was timed ahead of the Toronto Summit of G-20 which had last year advocated phasing out of fuel subsidies. No doubt, it contributes to deficit reduction and adds to the comfort of the Finance Minister with his focus on fiscal consolidation and growth. It hardly matters if millions of Indians, already bearing the brunt of a prolonged spell of double-digit food prices, leading to general inflation, have to endure some more pain. They can be continually fed with hopes of prices easing some time or the other.

International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission to the Russian Federation has said in a concluding statement that the authorities responded forcefully to the global financial crisis, taking full advantage of the considerable buffers that had been afforded to them by the prudent policy of taxing and saving much of the oil revenue windfall and by the attendant large increase in reserves. Looking ahead, our main concern is that withdrawing the fiscal stimulus will be exceedingly difficult, not least because the budget has become far less flexible amid significant increases in permanent spending. Failure to do so as cyclical conditions normalize would cause significant upward pressure on the real exchange rate.

Dubai, UAE - A new regional report on HIV/AIDS in the Middle East and North Africa: “Time for Strategic Action”, produced by the World Bank in collaboration with UNAIDS and WHO, brings together, for the first time, a comprehensive collection of evidence on HIV epidemic in the MENA region.

WASHINGTON - The World Bank's Board of Executive Directors has approved four credits totaling US$456.5 million in support of Vietnam's development efforts. This brings the total of World Bank lending to Vietnam this fiscal year (see below *1) to US$2.13 billion, a record figure.

WASHINGTON - The World Bank Board of Executive Directors has approved a financing credit to the Republic of Moldova in the amount of US$ 25 million for an Economic Recovery Development Policy Operation. The main objective of this credit is to adequately fund priority expenditures for economic recovery and social protection during fiscal correction, and lay the foundations for a sustained post-crisis recovery in Moldova through exports and private investment.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — At meetings of the multilateral Climate Investment Funds (CIF) governing bodies here last week, three groups of low income and developing countries received support to engage in climate action which will transform their approach to development and poverty reduction. The three groups were selected under the target programs of the CIF Strategic Climate Fund (SCF).

Washington - The World Bank Board of Executive Directors has approved a proposal to provide $55 million in funding for projects in the West Bank and Gaza (WBG) to support Palestinian economic recovery and development.

WASHINGTON ― The World Bank Group has approved an additional amount of US$70 million for the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) under the Ghana Energy Development and Access Project (GEDAP).

WASHINGTON - The World Bank Board of Executive Directors has approved an International Development Association (IDA) grant of US$20 million equivalent for Chad to support the implementation of the Government of Chad's Second Population and HIV/AIDS Project for the period 2010-2012. The project seeks to encourage the Chadian population to adopt behaviors which will reduce the risk of HIV infection and too closely spaced and/or unintended pregnancies. The project would thus contribute to progress towards Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 4, 5, and 6.

WASHINGTON -The World Bank Board has approved financing in the amount of US$44.7 million from the International Development Association (IDA) to the Government of Ghana as additional funding for the ongoing eGhana Project. The original eGhana Project of US$40 million was approved in 2006 to support the Ghana Information Communication Technology (ICT) for Accelerated Development Program.