$750 million to Protect Indias Poorest from COVID-19 pandemic

Government of India and the World Bank signed a $750 million of $1 billion proposed for Accelerating India’s COVID-19 Social Protection Response Programme.

The agreement aims to support India’s efforts at providing social assistance to the poor and vulnerable households, severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In April 2020, the World Bank announced $1 billion support towards immediate support to India’s health sector.

With this, the total fund committed from the Bank towards emergency COVID-19 response in India to $2 billion.

The support by the World Bank will be funded in two phases. In the first phase, there will an immediate allocation of $750 million for the fiscal year 2020. In the second phase, a sum of $250 million second tranche will be made available for the fiscal year 2021.

This programme aims to expand the impact and coverage of India’s social protection system by helping vulnerable groups access more social benefits directly and across the country.

The project will help India to move from 460 plus fragmented social protection schemes to an integrated system that is fast and more flexible, acknowledging the diversity of needs across states

It also aims to enable geographic portability of social protection benefits that can be accessed from anywhere in the country. It will ensure food, social insurance, and cash-support for all, including for migrants and the urban poor.