New Delhi: Asking India to take care of the rising fiscal deficit, World Bank (WB) today (Nov 17, 2004) indicated over $ 3 billion financial assistance to the country in the next few years.

"We are talking at the moment of sanctioning over $ 3 billion annually for the next few years," the World Bank president James D Wolfensohn said in New Delhi today after meeting Finance Minister P Chidambaram.

The World Bank laid stress on participating in funding for various projects, especially infrastructure and social sector.

"I don't think that money is the way to judge it (the bank's assistance to India)," Wolfensohn, who is on a two-day visit to the country to monitor the bank-funded schemes and discuss with Government officials ways to step up lending to the country, said.

At the luncheon meeting with Chidambaram, Wolfensohn said, "I asked the Finance Minister to take care of fiscal deficit."

The World Bank's loan sanctions is expected to be about $ 2.5 billion this fiscal, higher than little over $ 1.5 billion in 2003-04.

Today he met President A P J Abdul Kalam and is slated to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia tomorrow (Nov 18, 2004).

The World Bank president's visit to India assumes importance in the wake of Finance Minister P Chidambaram's deliberations on the need to step up multilateral aid to developing nations at the IMF-World Bank meeting in Washington last month.