Ajay Banga, Joe Biden's Nominee, Appointed World Bank President

Indian-origin Ajay Banga has been appointed the World Bank president for the next five years. Banga was earlier the CEO of Mastercard.

"He will help steer the institution as it evolves and expand to address the global challenges that directly affect its core mission of poverty reduction, including climate change," US President Joe Biden said on Banga's appointment as he called him a "transformative leader".

Born in Maharashtra in 1959, Banga completed his education from IIM Ahmadabad and worked in companies like Nestle and PepsiCo. He has been a US citizen since 2007 and has held top posts in organisations like General Atlantic, Exor and Mastercard.

He was awarded Padma Shri, the highest civilian honour by the Indian government in 2016.