World Bank approves $245 million loan for railway logistics project

Tags: National News

The World Bank has approved a loan of USD 245 million to support the Railway Logistics Project.

• The loan will support India's efforts to modernise rail freight and logistics infrastructure.

• Railways are losing market share to trucks over time. The market share was 32 per cent in 2017-18, compared to 52 per cent a decade ago.

• Railway Logistics Project

• The Railway Logistics Project will help India move more traffic from road to rail.

• This will make freight and passenger transport more efficient.

• It will also reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) by millions of tonnes every year.

• The project will also focus on harnessing commercial financing by developing a customer-oriented approach and involving the private sector.

• This will help strengthen the institutional capacity of the Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited (DFCCIL).

• Freight transport through railways

• Indian Railways is the fourth largest rail network in the world.

• It has transported 1.2 billion tonnes of freight in the financial year 2019-2020.

• 71 percent of India's goods are transported by road, while 17 percent is transported by rail.

• About World Bank

• The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the International Monetary Fund were established together in 1944 during the Bretton Woods Conference in New Hampshire, USA.

• The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development is also called the World Bank.

• At present, 189 countries are members of the World Bank.

• Its headquarter is in Washington DC, the capital of America.

• President– David Malpass

• CEO- Anshula Kant