India Gets $1.75 bn World Bank Loan

The World Bank has approved loans totaling USD 1.75 billion (approximately Rs 13,834.54 crore) to fund India's Prime Minister Ayushman Bharat scheme and private investment to boost economic growth.

The health sector will receive USD 1 billion of the total loan, while the remaining USD 750 million will be in the form of a development policy loan (DPL) to fill financing gaps through private sector investment in the economy.
The World Bank's Executive Directors approved two complementary loans totaling USD 500 million each to support and improve India's health sector.

The World Bank will support India's flagship Pradhan Mantri-Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PM-ABHIM), which will be launched in October 2021, with this combined financing of USD 1 billion, the World Bank said in a release on Friday.

The funds will be used to improve the country's public healthcare infrastructure. In addition to national-level interventions, the multilateral funding agency stated that one of the loans will prioritise seven states: Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Meghalaya, Odisha, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, and Uttar Pradesh.

Separately, its board of directors approved the DPL to the union government to support critical reforms to address financing gaps by leveraging private sector investment in infrastructure, small businesses, and green finance markets.