Union Government signed a loan agreement with World Bank for Neeranchal National Watershed Project

Union Government on 14 January 2016 signed a loan agreement with World Bank in New Delhi for the Neeranchal National Watershed Project.

All 28 states which implement the watershed projects will benefit from this project. However, the nine states, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujrat, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan and Telangana will benefit more from the project as they are implementation of large number of watershed schemes in their states.

Features of Neeranchal National Watershed Project

• The project was approved by the Union Cabinet in October 2015 with a total budget of 2142 crore rupees in which India would bear 1071 crore rupees and the rest 50 percent cost will be borne by the World Bank.

• It will be implemented by the Ministry of Rural Development over a six-year period (2016-21).

• It will support the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayi Yojana in hydrology and water management, agricultural production systems, capacity building and monitoring and evaluation.

• Around 12 percent of the area of wasteland will be targeted through this project to make about 336 lakh hectares of land arable.

• The Minister said that the effective implementation of the scheme will go a long way in strengthening the economic conditions of the farming community.

Now get latest Current Affairs on mobile, Download # 1 Current Affairs App