Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is likely to skip her visit to the US this month due to Parliament sitting from April 16-18 to introduce bills to fast-track implementation of 33% reservation for women in Lok Sabha and state assemblies and set up a delimitation commission, people familiar with the matter said. The federal cabinet approved the bills on Wednesday.
Sitharaman was expected to meet CEOs in New York City and attend the spring meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund in Washington, DC. In October, Sitharaman skipped the annual meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund amid tensions between India and the US over 50% tariffs on Indian goods, including a punitive tax on Russian oil purchases.
The Spring Meetings kick off on April 13 against the backdrop of rising energy prices after the US-Israeli attack on Iran escalated into a regional conflict and disrupted vital supply chains with the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital corridor for global energy shipments. The conflict has disrupted supplies of oil, gas, fertiliser, aluminium, methanol, sulfur and helium.
UN Trade and Development estimates that global merchandise trade is expected to slow from growth of about 4.7% in 2025 to between 1.5% and 2.5% in 2026. Inflation pressures and the withdrawal of foreign investors are weakening currencies and increasing borrowing costs for developing countries.
On Monday, Sitharaman described the US-Iran conflict as a “systemic earthquake” hitting the global economy. She added that global debt rose even as financial shocks, such as the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russian-Ukrainian war, hurt global growth prospects.
The IMF and World Bank meetings will focus on the new jobs agenda and driving private sector-led growth. Sitharaman has been participating in meetings of the World Bank Development Committee and the International Monetary and Financial Committee since 2019.
