World Press Freedom Day 2018

Sumir Lal is Director for External and Corporate Relations at the World Bank, Washington, DC. He heads a department that advises the World Bank’s Global Practices and operational units in strategic communication, advocacy, reputation management, stakeholder engagement, and leadership communication. He also leads implementation of the Bank’s Access to Information Policy, considered the gold standard for international financial institutions.

Sumir has a special interest in the politics of development, and on matters related to governance, right to information, and stakeholder engagement. His paper “Can Good Economics Ever Be Good Politics” (2006) on the power sector in India remains a benchmark. He has published a number of other papers on the political economy of reform.

Sumir has previously been the Bank’s Manager for Operations Communications, its head of Internal Communications, and its External Affairs Advisor for India. 

Prior to joining the World Bank, Sumir was an award-winning journalist in India. He was Deputy Editor of The Telegraph, Kolkata, from 1993 to 1998, and Associate Editor of the Hindustan Times, Delhi, from 1998 to 2000. During his journalism career, he reported and commented on Indian and South Asian politics, conflict, and development issues.

Sumir holds an advanced degree in public policy from Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).