Onno Ruhl, a Dutch national, has taken over as World Bank'snew country director for India, replacing N. Roberto Zagha, who is due to retirefrom the bank by October end.
Ruhl was previously the director for Operations Services andQuality in the South Asia region of the World Bank.
"His strong experience on finance and operations, andhis leadership skills, will ensure that the bank's strategy for India isformulated and implemented in order to support the development objectives ofone of our most important clients in these challenging times," said IsabelGuerrero, World Bank vice president for the South Asia region, announcing Ruhl'sappointment.
Ruhl joined the bank in 1993 as country officer for Moldovaand Armenia. He has since held various positions within the bank in East andCentral Asia as well as Africa.
Prior to working in the bank, Ruhl was with the ministry offoreign affairs of the Netherlands government and was also the alternatedirector on the Board of the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency.
He started his career teaching economics in Alkmaar in theNetherlands.
The World Bank's $23 billion-portfolio in India covers 76active investment projects.
During FY12, the bank's board approved $3 billion in fundingfor 10 new projects for India spanning a range of sectors includinginfrastructure, education, health and rural development.