France commits 200 million Euros for India's COVID-19 response

France and India on Thursday signed an agreement committing 200 million euros to increase the state and central governments' capacities to support India's most vulnerable people in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis.

New Delhi: France and India on Thursday signed an agreement committing 200 million euros to increase the state and central governments' capacities to support India's most vulnerable people in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis.

The credit financing agreement was signed by C.S. Mohapatra, Additional Secretary - Department of Economic Affairs, and Bruno Bosle, Director - AFD (French Development Agency) in India in the virtual presence of Emmanuel Lenain, Ambassador of France to India, according to a statement by French embassy.

"Through this loan, France will work with India to increase the state and central governments' capacities to support the country's most vulnerable people in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis," it said.

The programme design, developed by the World Bank in collaboration with the Indian authorities, seeks to optimize and scale up the Indian Government's existing social protection measures, it said.

"Focusing on boosting the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojna, the programme will provide further benefits to low-income families to ensure that the health, social and economic shocks arising from Covid-19 do not endanger people's well-being or their contribution to the country's economic growth in the long run," it said.

The programme also seeks to protect essential frontline workers of the pandemic, including those in healthcare, sanitation, and security, by providing them with health insurance. Social assistance programmes will also be put in place for migrant workers and low-income urban households that may be unable to seek compensation under PMGKY, it added.

Recalling the importance France attaches to facing global challenges through multilateral cooperation, the Ambassador of France to India Lenain, said, President Macron and Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi have been working together so that the excellent relations between our two countries translate into concrete cooperation in the fight against Covid-19.

"The Indian Government's rollout of the PMGKY is a testament to its commitment to ensuring that the most vulnerable sections of society are protected, and it is this commitment that France, through the French Development Agency and its partners, is determined to support.

(PTI Report)