GOI, WB, sign $ 100 m loan agreement for Tamil Nadu project

Speed Post News Network

New Delhi : The Government of India and World Bank (WB) on January 30, 2018, signed a $100 million Loan Agreement that is expected to promote rural enterprises, facilitate their access to finance, and create employment opportunities for youth, particularly women, in selected blocks of Tamil Nadu across 26 districts directly benefitting over 4,00,000 people.

The Tamil Nadu Rural Transformation Project will create an enabling environment for producer organizations and enterprises to promote businesses across select value chains. Based on the analysis, communities will identify commodities and sub-sectors in the value chain for preparing business plans. Thirty percent of the financing for these business plans will be through a matching grant programme from the project and the remaining 70 % will be leveraged from other financial institutions, according to a PIB release.

Speaking on the occasion, Sameer Kumar Khare, Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, said that the Government of India is committed to help create an enabling environment of institutional reforms, policies and investments which are key factors that will help India attain speedy and inclusive rural transformation. He said that the Project will enable producer organizations and enterprises especially women entrepreneurs in Tamil Nadu, build businesses that will help them access finance, markets and networks and generate employment.

The Agreement for the project was signed by Sameer Kumar Khare, Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, on behalf of the Government of India, Praveen P. Nair, Project Director, on behalf of the Government of Tamil Nadu, and Junaid Ahmad, Country Director, World Bank India, on behalf of the World Bank. The Project will be operational in 120 blocks across 3,994 villages in 26 Districts of Tamil Nadu with 4,11,620 direct beneficiaries.