In news– Recently, the Government of India, the State Governments of Karnataka and Odisha and the World Bank have signed a $115 million REWARD project.
About the REWARD project-
- REWARD refers to Rejuvenating Watersheds for Agricultural Resilience through Innovative Development Programme.
- It was initiated by the Department of Land Resources, Ministry of Rural Development.
- The objective of the project is to improve land and water conservation and climate resilience in selected watersheds, and strengthen capacities of national and state institutions to deliver more effective science-based watershed development programs.
Components of the project are:
- Improved National Watershed Governance and Institutional Capacity Building.
- Improved State Watershed Governance and Institutional Capacity Building.
- High Impact Demonstration Watersheds in Rainfed Agricultural Areas.
- Project Management and Coordination.
- It will help national and state institutions adopt improved watershed management practices to help increase farmers’ resilience to climate change, promote higher productivity and better incomes.
- The Government of India has committed to restoring 26 million hectares of degraded land by 2030 and doubling farmers’ income by 2023.
- Effective watershed management can help enhance livelihoods in rainfed areas, while building a more resilient food system.
- In this context, the new program will help the participating state governments in their efforts to transform watershed planning and execution and adopt science-based planning that could be replicated across the country.
- The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) financing will support Karnataka with $60 million (INR 453.5 crore), Odisha with $49 million (INR 370 crore), and the remaining $6 million (INR 45.5 crore) will be for the central government’s Department of Land Resources.
- The $115 million (INR 869 crore) loan has a maturity of 15 years, including a grace period of 4.5 years.
Source: PIB
