The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has signed an agreement with India to provide a huge sum of USD 31 million as loan for sustainable water resource management in river basins in Karnataka. The loan is the first portion of the USD 150 million project named Karnataka Integrated and Sustainable Water Resources Management Investment Programme, which was approved by the ADB in 2014.
The programme will improve irrigation efficiency in three river basins in the state, saving 1,700 million cubic meters of water that could be used on an additional 160,000 hectares of farm land. The ADB said farming this additional land could increase farm incomes by about 50 per cent and benefit about 1.5 million people.
The ambitious programme will strengthen capacities of staff in Karnataka’s water agencies and enable them to draw up and roll out effective river basin management plans. Under the first project, it will support modernisation of the Gondi irrigation scheme, while under the second project it will target Vijaynagara and the Tungabhadra left Bank Canal.
Tidbits
- The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is a regional development bank established on 22 August 1966.
- The ADB is headquartered in Metro Manila, Philippines.
- The main objective of ADB is to facilitate economic development in Asia.
- Japan holds the largest proportion of shares in ADB followed by USA, China, India, and Australia.
GK Questions
- What is the motto of Asian Development Bank? Fighting poverty in Asia and the Pacific
- Who is the present President of ADB? Takehiko Nakao
- How many member countries are there in ADB? 67
