Prime Minister of India - Dr. Manmohan Singh

NABARD to bridge Bharat Nirman funding gap

The Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh has asked the Union finance ministry to direct NABARD (National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development)to create a separate financing window to bridge the funding gap in the rural roads and irrigation works components of Bharat Nirman.

Bharat Nirman is a time-bound business plan for four years for rural infrastructure covering roads, electrification, water supply, irrigation, housing and telephone connectivity. While nearly Rs 30,000 crore will be available for Bharat Nirman from internal revenue mobilization and external assistance, a funding gap of Rs 4,000 crore per annum remains to be bridged. This will be done by NABARD.

The Prime Minister has also directed that the entire information pertaining to targets,execution of works,funding and other aspects of Bharat Nirman should be placed in the internet by November 14th, to enable accountable delivery.