Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Atmanirbhar Mission came for praise by the World Bank as it approved a $1 billion social protection package for India amid the coronavirus pandemic that has affected people and its economy.
Junaid Ahmad, World Bank’s India director, made the comments while announcing the aid to support India’s efforts for providing social assistance to poor and vulnerable households.
“I think PM’s Atmanirbhar Mission is very important in terms of directions and India is not making a distinction between life and livelihoods in the aftermath of Covid-19,” Ahmad said.
The social protection package for India is linked to the central government’s programmes. Ahmad said.
World Bank said that the billion-dollar social protection package was in addition to the previous package of $1 billion allocated to India for Covid-19 emergency response and health systems.
“The World Bank’s billion-dollar support for social protection will help India leverage its PM Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY),” Ahmad added.
Last month, the bank had approved a plan to roll out $160 billion in emergency aid over 15 months to help countries deal with the impact of the global coronavirus pandemic.
The board of the development lender had announced the first set of fast-track crisis funding, with an initial $1.9 billion going to projects in 25 countries and operations moving forward in another 40 nations.
India was the largest beneficiary of the first wave of programmes with a facility for $1 billion.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a Rs 20 lakh crore or $266 billion support package for the economy on Tuesday to help mitigate the damage caused by the coronavirus and the lockdown it has triggered.
Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman has been announcing the details on the package, equivalent to around 10% of India’s GDP.
