Chhattisgarh gets Centre’s nod for World Bank funded school project

Tags: State News

The Chhattisgarh government has received in-principle approval from the Centre for a $300 million (approximately ₹2,100 crore) school education project, funded by the World Bank to the state government.

• What is the proposal?

• A World Bank team will visit Chhattisgarh later this month for the first phase of talks.

• The discussion on this proposal started two months ago, and was then sent to the Centre after the approval of the state finance department.

• The World Bank will lend the Chhattisgarh government $300 million over a five-year period at interest far below market rates and repay it over a period of 20 years.

• After assessment by the World Bank team, a Detailed Project Report (DPR) will be prepared, which will be placed before the World Bank Board and the Centre for final approval.

• The DPR will also have a detailed plan of how the money will be spent.

• What is an in-principle nod? 

• This means that the Centre has no objection to the state borrowing from an external financial institution like the World Bank.

• It is not a final nod, but it paves the way for the state to move forward with subsequent discussions.

• Similarly, the World Bank has also given in-principle approval that it is ready to fund the project.

• World Bank's association with India’s school education

• The World Bank has been associated with India’s school education system since 1994.

• The World Bank signed a $500 million Strengthening Teaching-Learning and Results for States Program (STARS) with India in 2021 to improve the quality and governance of school education in six Indian states.

• However, Chhattisgarh is not included in that list.