Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Saturday, Jan 11, 2003
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Saturday, Jan 11, 2003 |
|
|
|
|
|
Industry & Economy
-
Economy Japan resumes ODA package to India Our Bureau
NEW DELHI, Jan. 10 JAPAN has resumed its Official Development Assistance (ODA) programme for India with an offer of a 110,344 million yen (about Rs 4,434 crore) package of soft loans during 2002-03. The loan package is earmarked for seven specific projects spread across various sectors such as power, urban transport, environment, cultural heritage conservation and tourism development. According to Japanese Embassy sources, the announcement of the loan package was made during the bilateral talks that the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan, Ms Yoriko Kawaguchi, had with her Indian counterpart, Mr Yashwant Sinha, during her official visit to India this week. Significantly, the loan assistance package on offer marks the full resumption of Japan's ODA programme for the country after the discontinuation of economic measures in October 2001, which were introduced following the nuclear tests conducted by India in May 1998. The current ODA package — intended for the Simhadri power project in Andhra Pradesh, the Bakreswar power extension project in West Bengal, the Delhi Metro, the Yamuna action plan, conservation of Ajanta-Ellora and afforestation projects in Punjab and Rajasthan — is in line with the mutually agreed strategy for Japan's ODA to India for the development of infrastructure, poverty reduction through agriculture and rural development, improvement of the environment through afforestation as also improvement in the quality of water. The loans, to be made available through the Japan Bank for International Co-operation (JBIC), are to be offered at an interest rate of 1.8 per cent with a repayment period of 30 years, including a grace period of 10 years in the case of general projects. For environment-related projects, the interest rate is lower at 0.75 per cent with a repayment period of 40 years, including the 10-year grace period.
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
|
Stories in this Section |
|
The Hindu Group: Home | About Us | Copyright | Archives | Contacts | Subscription Group Sites: The Hindu | Business Line | The Sportstar | Frontline | Home |
Copyright © 2003, The
Hindu Business Line. Republication or redissemination of the contents of
this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of
The Hindu Business Line
|