Germany and India signed an Agreement today for financial assistance of EUR 19.4 million (appr. Rs. 130 crore) towards an Umbrella Programme for Natural Resource Management.
The Agreement was signed by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), representing the Indian government, and Germany’s Development Bank KfW, representing the German government.
The financial assistance for the programme consists of a EUR 15 million standard loan and a grant of EUR 4.4 million. NABARD is the executing agency for the project. The German Technical Cooperation (GTZ) had earlier signed another Agreement to provide technical support worth EUR 3.0 million for the implementation of the Programme.
The Umbrella Programme aims to demonstrate the viability of loan-based financing of participatory natural resource management and conservation initiatives for the rural poor in India. NABARD has already implemented five pilot projects on developing economically viable models of sustainable poverty alleviation.
With the support of funds committed by the German government, NABARD is now poised to upscale its initiatives. The programme will encourage the use of innovative financing instruments by attracting additional financing from both public and private sectors.
The Agreement signed today forms part of the Financial Cooperation between India and Germany. This area of cooperation is channeled through KfW, which acts as the implementing agency on behalf of the German Government. KfW is the German Development Bank and one of the largest banks in Germany.
Indo-German bilateral development cooperation focuses on three priority areas – Environment, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development. The main objective of the German government is to work together with the Indian government in facilitating inclusive growth, reducing poverty and meeting the Millennium Development Goals.
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