The World Bank announced on Thursday that it had authorised three loans totaling USD 562 million (about Rs 4,393.70 crore) to support projects for education in Gujarat, social protection in Tamil Nadu, and the rehabilitation of the fisheries industry after the epidemic.
The Outcomes for Accelerated Learning (GOAL) initiative, which aims to enhance educational outcomes for kids throughout the state of Gujarat, received additional funding of USD 250 million from the World Bank Board of Executive Directors, according to a release.
An extra 3,000 schools that have been disproportionately impacted by the Covid-19 epidemic will benefit from the funding for GOAL.
Additionally, the World Bank’s board of executive directors approved funding of USD 162 million for the RIGHTS project to strengthen the social protection systems and capacity of the State of Tamil Nadu to promote inclusion, accessibility, and opportunities for people with disabilities as well as USD 150 million to support the recovery of India’s fisheries sector.
According to the multilateral finance agency, the Covid-19 epidemic caused losses in the fishing sector of almost USD 5.5 billion and a drop in fish production of about 40% in just one year in 2020–21.
According to the World Bank, it is in line with the Bank’s Rapid Response Framework, which aims to reach every child and keep them in school, routinely assess learners’ skill levels, give priority to teaching the fundamentals, and boost catch-up learning.
It also strives to promote the mental wellbeing of both teachers and students.
According to Shabnam Sinha, Lead Education Specialist and Task Team Leader for the project, “This additional funding 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 success of the program’s activities.”
According to the World Bank, the fishing industry in India today directly employs roughly 12 million people and supports another 13 million through related businesses through a loan of USD 150 million.
The Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana, which intends to modernise the sector in a sustainable way by introducing contemporary methods, expanding access to finance, and making it more climate-resilient, will be complemented by the Fisheries Sector COVID-19 Recovery Project.
Due to a lack of finance and credit options as well as beliefs that the industry is high-risk, incentives for more private investment in India’s fisheries sector have been limited.
By connecting them with government programmes that offer financial assistance to farmers, such the Kisan Credit Card and the Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency Limited, the project would assist small businesses in getting access to working money (MUDRA).
Prasanta Patnaik