India inks $125 mn loan pact with World Bank for inclusiveness project

The government has inked a loan agreement of USD 125 million with World Bank's investment arm to fund 'Innovate in India for Inclusiveness' project.

The loan agreement was signed yesterday between Sameer Kumar Khare, joint secretary, Ministry of Finance and Hisham Abdo, Acting Country Director, World Bank (India), an official statement said today.

The objective of the project is to nurture indigenous innovation, foster local product development and accelerate commercialisation process, it said.

It will involve bridging critical skill and infrastructure gaps to promote affordable and innovative healthcare product generation for inclusive development and increasing competitiveness in India.

The project would support consortia of public, private, and academic institutions to overcome key market failures that are holding back development of an innovative biopharmaceutical and medical devices industry in the country.

The project consists of three parts -- strengthening of pilot-to-market innovation ecosystem, acceleration of the pilot-to-market process for specific products, and project management, monitoring and evaluation.

The closing date of the project is 30 June, 2023.