World Bank to lends 290mn dollar for Bihar's JEEVIKA II

The Centre and the Bihar government have signed a $290 million credit agreement with the World Bank under the state's rural development project 'JEEVIKA-II'. The project covers 300 new blocks in 32 districts not covered by earlier schemes.
•    It will organise rural poor into self-help groups, enabling them to access markets and financial services, the lender added
•    The Bihar government has been implementing the Bihar Rural Livelihoods Project (JEEViKA), a World Bank supported programme for poverty alleviation, across six districts and 42 blocks of Bihar since 2007.
•    The credit agreement for the project was signed by Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Finance Raj Kumar on behalf of government of India, Rural Development Department Secretary Arvind Kumar Chaudhary on behalf of government of Bihar, and World Bank’s Program Leader and Acting Country Director John Blomquist.
•    The credit is from the International Development Association (IDA), the World Bank’s concessionary lending arm, with a maturity of 25 years, including a 5-year grace period.