By IANS
Patna : World Bank-assisted rural livelihoods project, ‘Jeevika’, for enhancing social and economic status of rural people in Bihar will be launched Friday here.
The project will be launched by chief minister Nitish Kumar Sep 28, Arvind Kumar Choudhary, chief executive officer of the project said Thursday.
‘Jeevika’ aims to improve rural livelihood of nearly 500,000 families in 4,000 villages in six districts of Nalanda, Gaya, Muzzafarpur, Madhubani, Khagaria, and Purnea.
“In the first phase of five years, the project will help develop and strengthen the livelihood opportunities which will contribute to empowerment and enhancement of the socio-economic status of the rural population, particularly women,” Choudhary said.
He said the project would enable women and weaker sections to access and negotiate better services, credits and assets from public and private sector agencies and financial institutions.
Last month the World Bank signed a credit agreement of $63 million for the project.
According to official figures, about half of Bihar’s rural population is in the ‘Below Poverty Line’ category.