G20 meet to begin in US, economic crisis on agenda

ON A MISSION: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is in Washington to take part in the summit.

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Wahsington: As the world grapples with the biggest economic crisis since the Great Depression, the leaders at the G20 meet at Washington to focus on ways to stimulate global growth.

Over the next 24 hours, the G20 will find ways to grapple with the global economic crisis that has plunged much of Europe into its first recession since the Euro currency was formed.

The leaders of major economies, who between them account for over 80 per cent of world trade, will try to find ways to ensure the crisis started by a crash in the US housing market is not repeated.

The meeting will officially begin from Saturday morning but the world leaders got together at a working dinner on Friday night.

For India too, economy is the big worry apart from terror at the moment. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh reached Washington late on Friday night to take part in the summit.

India wants to insulate its economy from the crisis and the Prime Minister and Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram have made it clear that the crisis didn't happen due to India and hence it should not suffer.

Chidambaram wants the World Bank to provide assistance so that the Indian infrastructure projects can continue.

Finance Minister P Chidambaram has said that the World Bank should enhance assistance to India to help tide over the fallout of the global financial crisis on his way to the G-20 summit in Washington.

''The World Bank can step up lending to India from the present level of $3 billion a year for Central and State projects and programmes. It is very important that the few countries that are able to drive economic growth and other countries which are put on the bandwagon of development, should not suffer in the period during which we grapple with the world crisis. Resources must be made available to developing countries, including India, so that they can continue to grow," Chidambaram said when the Indian delegation made a brief stop in Frankfurt, on their way to Washington.

Manmohan Singh is likely to demand a bigger say for India in financial bodies such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

(With inputs from Prerna Kumar)