World Bank to commit $1 bn in clean India programme

World Bank today said it will commit USD 1 billion in the government's Swachh Bharat (Clean India) campaign.

World Bank's country director in India Onno Ruhl said the World Bank is considering considerable large sums of financing for that.

"The government has asked us at the highest level to prepare this with speed. So, we have teams here working flat out day and night to support.

"Given the fact that we haven't fully completed our discussion, I wouldn't want to commit to an amount. However it will be no less than USD 1 billion. So, it is a significant amount," he told private news channel CNBC-TV18.

He said the World Bank is working with the government on this specific programme where it would support the programme in the low income states in India.

He further said the World Bank would try to use its money to help make the government's programme "really result focus".

On October 2, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched the country's biggest-ever cleanliness drive. The mission is expected to cost over Rs 62,000 crore.