The World Bank today signed a credit agreement of $154 million (around Rs 719 crore) for additional financing of the Tamil Nadu Empowerment and Poverty Reduction Project. The agreement was signed by the representatives from the government of India, the state government and the World Bank.
The signatories to the agreement include Venu Rajamony, joint secretary, on behalf of the central government; K Allaudin, principal secretary (rural development and panchayat raj), Tamil Nadu; Dheeraj Kumar, project director, government of Tamil Nadu; and Roberto Zagha, country director (India), World Bank.
The objective of the Tamil Nadu Empowerment and Poverty Reduction Project – called 'Vazhndhu Kaattuvom' (Let’s show how to live) – is to create economic opportunities and build social capital in the poorest communities.
This puts poor people at the centre of the planning and implementation of the changes that affect their lives. It builds on the state's existing programmes and good practices using what is called the community-driven development approach.
Although Tamil Nadu has achieved significant development outcomes over the past decade, large numbers of people still live in poverty, especially in rural areas where agriculture is vulnerable to drought, according to the World Bank.
So far, the project has reached 2,500 villages covering an estimated 1.5 million people. The government of Tamil Nadu is providing $39 million (around Rs 180 crore) towards the project.
Assessments have demonstrated that over 87 percent of households have shown an improvement in their economic status, with mean incomes of $ 668 or about Rs 30,060 against the project baseline of $ 469 or about Rs 21,105. In addition, 53,810 young people have been trained for employment in areas such as the construction industry, service sector, telecommunications and garment production, according to the Bank.
