An agreement to this effect was signed here in the presence of WB President Robert B Zoellick, who is on a three-day visit to this country.

Finance Minister P Chidambaram, Commerce Minister Kamal Nath and Labour Minister Oscar Fernandes were also present at the signing ceremony.

As per the agreement, the WB will provide a loan of $64 million to finance the Karnataka Community Based Tank Management Project. The project has so far mobilized 1,518 Tank User Groups to develop and manage around 1,681 irrigation tanks since April 25, 2002, when the original project was approved by the WB.

To improve livelihood
The project will continue to improve rural livelihoods and reduce poverty by developing community-based approaches to improving and managing small reservoirs, locally known as “tanks”, a World Bank official said.

The WB will also give $600 million toward boosting rural cooperative credit projects in India and $280 million for supporting 400 Industrial Training Institutes spread across the country  over four years. 

Speaking on the occasion, Zoellick said “the three projects being signed today reflect the government of India’s very pertinent focus on revitalizing the rural economy and on removing skill gaps that could impact India's sustained growth. The Bank is committed to supporting these priorities”.

Reforming and revitalizing the country’s rural cooperative credit institutions will provide millions of farmers access to affordable credit for their critical needs, be it for better quality seeds and fertilizers, or a higher breed of cattle, he said.

Talking about the Karnataka project, he said “the ongoing Karnataka tanks’ project is helping farmers rejuvenate tanks, an integral part of the traditional village water bodies, which have been put to disuse because of inadequate maintenance”.

Chidambaram said “the three projects, signed today(Friday), reflect Government of India’s priority to rejuvenating the rural economy”.

Fernandes said the Vocational Education Project, which is being funded by WB, was part of the country’s strategy for skill enhancement of the workforce. 

“This strategy has implications for poverty reduction and spreading the benefits of economic growth to large segments of our population,” he said.