In a big boost to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pet project, the World Bank and the Government of India on Wednesday signed a $1.5 billion loan agreement for the Swachh Bharat Mission Support Operation Project.
This loan is "to support the Government of India in its efforts to ensure that all citizens in the rural areas have access to improved sanitation with a focus on changing behaviour and eliminating the practice of open defecation by 2019,” said the World Bank in a statement.
The loan agreement for the project was signed by Raj Kumar, Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance on behalf of the Government of India and Onno Ruhl, World Bank Country Director, India on behalf of the World Bank.
The project will support the rural component, known as SBM – Gramin (SBM-G), over a five-year period using a new performance-based program which links funds directly to results, ensuring that benefits are delivered to the people in need – more than 60 per cent of India’s population that resides in rural areas, said the World Bank.