India inks Loan Agreement with World Bank for Bihar Kosi Basin Development Project

Union Government has signed 250 million dollars Financing Agreement with World Bank for Bihar Kosi Basin Development Project.
The loan has been sanctioned by the World Bank’s concessionary lending arm International Development Association (IDA). The loan has implementation period of 5 years and Bihar Government is the implementing agency.

About Bihar Kosi Basin Development Project

• Project objective is to enhance: (i) Resilience to floods from Kosi River which is infamously dubbed as sorrow of Bihar and increase agricultural production and productivity of targeted districts along the river basin. (ii) State’s capacity to respond promptly and effectively to an eligible crisis or emergency.
• Five components of Project are: (i) Improving Flood Risk Management. (ii) Augmenting Connectivity. (iii) Enhancing Agricultural Productivity and Competitiveness. (iv) Implementation Support (v) Contingent Emergency Response.
• Primary beneficiaries of this Project: Rural households and producers in the Kosi River Basin who are regularly exposed to floods.
• It will mainly include farmers who have lost their agricultural lands by the devastating 2008 Kosi River Flood due to the silt deposition.
• It will also include farmers from the project area currently not having access to irrigation and other technologies, adequate transport network and improved agricultural practices.

Month: Current Affairs - January, 2016