World Bank commits $100 million to boost Tamil Nadu's rural economy

The Tamil Nadu Rural Transformation Project will create an enabling environment for producer organisations and enterprises to promote businesses, finance ministry said in a statement

The government and World Bank on Tuesday signed a $100 million (about Rs 6,400 crore) loan agreement to promote rural economy in selected blocks of Tamil Nadu across 26 districts, benefiting over 4 lakh people.

The funding aimed at promoting rural enterprises, facilitate their access to finance, and create employment opportunities for youth particularly women, the finance ministry said in a statement.

The Tamil Nadu Rural Transformation Project will create an enabling environment for producer organisations and enterprises to promote businesses across select value chains, it said.

"Based on the analysis, communities will identify commodities and subsectors in the value chain for preparing business plans. 30 per cent of the financing for these business plans will be through a matching grant programme from the project and the remaining 70 per cent will be leveraged from other financial institutions," it said.

It will also specifically support eligible households from socially and culturally disadvantaged groups harness their existing assets, skills, and resources, it said.