New Delhi, March 2 (IANS) The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors on Saturday announced a new programme of $452 million to support Assam to improve connectivity for over 1.8 million people living in rural areas, especially during extreme weather.
Assam is the largest state in northeast India and the gateway to Southeast Asia and South Asian markets. With its abundant natural resources like tea and spices, Assam has the potential to leapfrog to the next level of competitiveness in the global value chain.
However, it is frequently exposed to climate events such as floods, cyclones, and landslides. Currently, smallholder farmer communities and tribal settlements are not well connected to all-season bridges and roads, and this affects their lives and livelihoods.
The $452 million Assam Resilient Rural Bridges Programme aims to strengthen the resilience and management of roads and bridges to help people living in 1,739 villages gain round-the-year access to wholesale markets, schools, hospitals, and places of work.
As a result of better connectivity, savings of more than $82 million within the next six years are expected against the earlier costs for people to journey to these places.
The Programme will also connect almost 633,000 women-led textile and handicraft producers living within two km of roads or collection points. Electronic vehicles and logistics hubs set up through the Programme will help gain access to regional markets with reduced emissions.
“The Programme will support the government of Assam to attract private investment for quality jobs, increase farmers’ incomes and enhance value chains, thus promoting inclusive and diversified growth in the rural sector,” said Auguste Tano Kouame, the World Bank’s Country Director for India.
The Programme will help to strengthen the Assam Public Works Roads Department’s financial and procurement processes using the state’s own systems and provide training to improve disaster risk management.
“In addition, it will help increase women’s participation by almost 20 per cent in jobs related to bridge design, construction and maintenance, as well as operating digital platforms at rural transportation hubs,” said Tesfamichael Mitiku, Anup Karanth, and B.K.M. Ashraful Islam, the Task Team Leaders for the Programme.
The $452 million Programme loan from the International Bank of Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) will use the financing instruments of Program-for-Results and Investment Project Financing to link disbursement of funds directly to the achievement of results while providing technical assistance.
The programme loan has a maturity of 19 years with a grace period of 4.5 years.
–IANS
vg/uk
Disclaimer
The information contained in this website is for general information purposes only. The information is provided by TodayIndia.news and while we endeavour to keep the information up to date and correct, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the website for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.
In no event will we be liable for any loss or damage including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising from loss of data or profits arising out of, or in connection with, the use of this website.
Through this website you are able to link to other websites which are not under the control of TodayIndia.news We have no control over the nature, content and availability of those sites. The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.
Every effort is made to keep the website up and running smoothly. However, TodayIndia.news takes no responsibility for, and will not be liable for, the website being temporarily unavailable due to technical issues beyond our control.
For any legal details or query please visit original source link given with news or click on Go to Source.
Our translation service aims to offer the most accurate translation possible and we rarely experience any issues with news post. However, as the translation is carried out by third part tool there is a possibility for error to cause the occasional inaccuracy. We therefore require you to accept this disclaimer before confirming any translation news with us.
If you are not willing to accept this disclaimer then we recommend reading news post in its original language.
