World Bank to extend $290 mn credit for Bihar's JEEViKA II

Centre, Bihar government and World Bank signed a USD 290-million credit agreement on July 9 to help improve livelihood opportunities for poor rural households across 300 blocks and 32 districts of the eastern state.

"The new project would cover 300 new blocks in 32 districts (not covered in the earlier phase or through National Rural Livelihood Project), thus covering the entire state," the multilateral lending agency said in a statement.

Bihar Transformative Development Project, also known as Jeevika II, will mobilise rural population into self-help groups (SHG) and higher level federations and help them gain access to markets, public services and a range of financial services from formal financial institutions, the World Bank said.

In line with the emerging priorities and JEEViKA's already significant experience, the new project will scale up farm and non-farm value chain interventions including setting up of women-owned farmer producer companies, it 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, the World Bank said.