Press Information Bureau

Government of India

Ministry of Finance

05-November-2012 17:36 IST

An agreement for loan of US$ 106 million (equivalent) for Phase-I of the World Bank assistance for the “ICDS Systems Strengthening and Nutrition Improvement Project (ISSNIP)” was signed at New Delhi today between Shri Prabodh Saxena (Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs) on behalf of Government of India and Mr. Onno Ruhl, Country Director, World Bank (India) on behalf of the World Bank. Representatives from Ministry of Women and Child Development and officials from the World Bank, among others, were present.

The overarching Goal of the proposed two-phased Program is to improve nutritional outcomes of children in India. The Objective of the Phase-I is to support Government of India and participating states to:

o Strengthen the Integrated Child Development Service (ICDS) policy framework, systems and capacities, and facilitate community engagement, to ensure greater focus on children under three years of age

o Strengthen convergent actions for improved nutrition outcomes.

Project Component:

1. Institutional and systems strengthening in ICDS

2. Community mobilization and behavior change communication

3. Piloting convergent nutrition actions

4. Project management, technical assistance, monitoring and evaluation

The Phase-I of ISSNIP is for 3 years.

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DSM/RS/bs

Loan agreement enables ICDS systems strengthening and convergent nutrition actions to improve early childhood nutrition outcomes. A loan agreement finances Phase I of the ICDS Systems Strengthening and Nutrition Improvement Project, a three year program to improve child nutrition by strengthening ICDS policy, systems and capacities, promoting community mobilization and behavior change, piloting convergent nutrition actions, and providing project management, technical assistance, and monitoring and evaluation support.