The World Bank Group (WBG) is a family of 5 international organizations that make leveraged loans to developing countries. The organizations are

1.International Bank for Reconstruction and   Development (IBRD)- An institution that provides debt financing to governments that are considered middle income,

2.International Development Association (IDA)- This is a group that gives interest-free loans to the governments of poor countries.,

3.International Finance Corporation (IFC)- This organization, focuses on the private sector and provides developing countries with investment financing and financial advisory services,

4.Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA)- This is an organization that promotes foreign direct investments in developing countries

5. International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID)- This is an entity that provides arbitration on international investment disputes..

Each member countries in the organisation get voting power according to the shares held in the organisation’s capital.

Background:

• The Bretton Woods Conference, officially known as the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference, was a gathering of delegates from 44 nations that met from July 1 to 22, 1944 in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire (USA), to agree upon a series of new rules for international financial and monetary order after the conclusion of World War II.
• The two major accomplishments of the conference were the creation of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and International Monetary Fund (IMF).
• Founded in 1944, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) — soon called the World Bank — has expanded to a closely associated group of five development institutions.
• Originally, its loans helped rebuild countries devastated by World War II. In time, the focus shifted from reconstruction to development, with a heavy emphasis on infrastructure such as dams, electrical grids, irrigation systems, and roads.
• With the founding of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) in 1956, the institution became able to lend to private companies and financial institutions in developing countries.
• Founding of the International Development Association (IDA) in 1960 put greater emphasis on the poorest countries, part of a steady shift toward the eradication of poverty becoming the Bank Group’s primary goal.
• International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) founded in 1966 settles investment disputes between investors and countries.
• Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) founded in 1988 insures lenders and investors against political risk such as war.

India and World Bank

• The cooperation between the World Bank and India goes back to the foundation of the International Bank of Reconstruction and Development in 1944
• India received its first bank loan of US$34million from the International Bank of Reconstruction and Development in November 1948 for railway rehabilitation
• During the 1950s, the IBRD was India’s sole source of World Bank borrowings
• During the 1960s and 1970s, the IDA accounted for nearly three-fourths of all WB lending to India and, in turn, India was by far the largest recipient of IDA funds, accounting for more than two-fifths of all its lending
• The lending portfolio changed sharply after the 1991 macroeconomic crisis
• India became one of the last important borrowers in order to undertake structural adjustment lending
• Currently, the World Bank Group (WBG) has approved a $25-30 billion commitment plan for India for the period 2019-22