The World Bank on Tuesday approved a $ 1.5 billion Credit and Loan for India's "Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana" (PMGSY) aimed towards improving rural accessibility of roads. The new project will concentrate on the states of Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Meghalaya, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh, the Bank said in a statement quoted by the Press Trust of India. Over the next five years, the project will aim to provide these states with an average connectivity of around 91 per cent by constructing 24,200 km of all-weather roads to benefit an estimated 6.1 million people. The project will also develop a system for maintaining these roads in good condition over the long term.
