WB in talks with Andhra govt on funding livelihood schemes

The World Bank is in talks with the governments of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Orissa on funding livelihood projects, according to Michael Carter, India country director of the bank.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a two-day conference on "Emerging Opportunities at the bottom of the pyramid "� transforming the Indian rural economy through profitability," jointly organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry(CII) and the World Bank, Carter said that the bank had so far committed over $1 billion to the ongoing initiatives in rural empowerment programmes.

While maintaining that it was too early to quantify the future funding to the three states, he said that a substantial portion of the money committed by the World Bank had already been spent.

The Andhra government has submitted proposals to the multilateral lending agency seeking financial assistance for the third livelihood project as part of the ongoing rural livelihood programme.

During his recent visit to the state, World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz responded positively to the state government's request for further funding of their poverty alleviation efforts. The bank is funding the current projects in the state.

Earlier, speaking at the inaugural session of the conference, Michael Carter exhorted the corporate sector to work for building vital supply chains with rural communities to develop a mutually beneficial business model.

"Growing incomes for the poor means growing markets for business. For this, stable partnerships and a vibrant competition should be created for private businesses and rural communities," he said.

V Subramanian, special secretary, Union ministry of rural development, said that the coordinated efforts of the government, corporates, cooperatives and other institutions would build a strong rural base to create new opportunities for business and livelihoods.

The topics for discussion at the conference included the ongoing poverty reduction projects in states like Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu, agribusiness opportunities, BPO, IT, credit and infrastructural initiatives in the rural sector.