World Bank Has Approved USD 562 million To Fund Three Projects In India

1
252

World Bank has approved three loans totaling USD 562 million (about Rs 4,393.70 crore) to fund an education project in Gujarat, a social protection programme in Tamil Nadu and a project to help recovery in the fisheries sector post the pandemic, the multilateral funding agency said on Thursday.

The World Bank Board of Executive Directors approved financing of USD 250 million for Gujarat Outcomes for Accelerated Learning (GOAL), a programme which aims to improve education results for children. The financing towards GOAL will benefit an additional 3,000 schools that have been disproportionately affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Besides, the board of executive directors of the World Bank approved a USD 150 million funding to support the recovery of India’s fisheries sector and a USD 162 million for the RIGHTS project to strengthen the social protection systems and capability of the State of Tamil Nadu to promote inclusion, accessibility, and opportunities for persons with disabilities.

Also, Read This: This Is The Best Time To Be An Entrepreneur In India: Infosys Co-founder Narayana Murthy

In 2020-21, the fisheries sector saw losses of about USD 5.5 billion and fish production fell almost 40 per cent in one year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, said the multilateral funding agency.

The financing complements the original loan of $500 million, which was approved in March 2021, and is in line with the Bank’s Rapid Response Framework that seeks to:

  • Reach every child and retain them in schools
  • Assess learning levels regularly
  • Prioritize teaching the fundamentals
  • Increase catch-up learning
  • Develop psychosocial health for students and teachers.

“This additional financing will scale-up the coverage of the original programme from a total of 9,000 to 12,000 schools, while also supporting new efforts to test the efficacy of the program’s interventions,” said Shabnam Sinha, Lead Education Specialist and Task Team Leader for the project.

Under the USD 150 million loan to support the recovery of India’s fisheries sector, World Bank said it currently employs about 12 million people directly and another 13 million through associated activities. The Fisheries Sector COVID-19 Recovery Project will complement the Government of India’s Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana, which aims to transform the sector in a sustainable manner by introducing modern practices, improving access to finance and making it more climate-resilient.

Also, Read This: Can India Allow Rupee-Rouble Trade With Russia To Bypass US Sanctions?

follow-us-on-google-news

1 COMMENT

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here