For the first time, World Bank will hold its two-day Annual Bank Conference on Development Economics in India from May 21.

Usually held at its headquarters in Washington DC, ABCDE, to be held in Bangalore, would focus on international issues like fostering entrepreneurship, challenges of development in lagging regions and scaling up and evaluation, the bank said in a statement in New Delhi.

"India and Indians have been at the forefront of research in development economics," World Bank country director (India) Michael Carter said in the statement.

Organised in association with the National Council for Applied Economic Research, the India-specific theme would include issues in public services and delivery, private sector and development, globalisation and South Asia, and reforming infrastructure.

Apart from senior vice president and chief economist of World Bank, Nicholas Stern, the other key speakers would be Wipro chairman Azim Premji, Reserve Bank of India deputy governor Rakesh Mohan and noted economist T N Srinivasan of Yale University.