Multilateral development banks (MDBs), including the World Bank, must evolve their operating model as the global financial environment changes and more countries achieve middle-income status. For nations like India, which has significantly deepened its capital markets and reduced reliance on external finance to cover its fiscal deficit from 15% in 1991 to 1.5% by 2025–26, accessing knowledge and technology is now a greater challenge than raising capital.
MDBs now lend to middle-income countries on near-commercial terms, making price less attractive due to rising global interest rates and depreciating local currencies. India's experience, aiming to become a developed country by 2047 with substantial investment in infrastructure and industrialization, highlights that know-how, not money, is the primary constraint for complex projects. The Bengaluru metro rail project exemplifies MDBs providing knowledge for integrated urban planning and best practices. A recent report confirms widespread demand for "Finance+" (knowledge and technical assistance) from MDB client countries, expecting more than one dollar in value per dollar borrowed through capacity-building and diffusion of best practices, complementing domestic capital.
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