The Hindu Business Line : World Bank okays $65 m more for poverty reduction in AP

Hyderabad, July 12 The World Bank has approved $65 million in additional financing for the Andhra Pradesh Rural Poverty Reduction Project, a programme that the Bank claims has improved the lives of some 5.7 million women since its inception in 2003.

The project objectives will remain the same as the original project – to enable the rural poor, particularly the poorest of the poor, improve their livelihood and quality of life.

The additional money will finance investments in institution and capacity building that will allow community institutions of poor women become sustainable and self-reliant.

It will also support investments in livelihood-based institutions such as business franchises and producer companies, a bank announcement said.

“This project has been critical in developing self-help managed institutions for the poor,” said Ms Isabel Guerrero, World Bank Country Director for India.

“Poor rural women in Andhra Pradesh, especially the vulnerable and marginalised, are now making decisions that affect their lives and livelihoods. The results are very encouraging. Rural poverty has gone down and incomes and savings have increased significantly.” The project has mobilised some 57 lakh poor women, or 80 per cent of the poor in the project districts, into nearly 470,000 self-help groups.

These groups have used seed money to pool resources and make small loans to each other to help pay for education, medical treatment, food, and other small, but important needs.

They have formed federations, leveraging their finances and influence, and even began to deliver insurance, ambulance, extension, commercial and Government services.

The self-managed institutions of the poor have collective savings of $226.7 million and leveraged commercial bank linkages of $883 million since 2003.

The average amount of assets owned by a self-help group member is $2,835. Two years ago, the value was $1,641.

Correspondingly, there has been an increase in income, from $355 a year to $548 in the same period.

The credit is provided by the International Development Association (IDA), the World Bank’s concessionary lending arm, and has 35 years to maturity and a 10-year grace period.