The World Bank authorised a $250 million loan to Indian government

The World Bank has approved a $250 million loan to help the Government of India’s road safety programme for seven states, which will include the development of a single accident reporting number to better handle post-crash events.

The World Bank-funded India State Support Program for Road Safety will be applied in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal. The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) loan of $250 million has an 18-year maturity duration with a 5.5-year grace period.

The initiative will also make a national standardised crash database system to analyse accidents and apply the results to build better and safer roads.

It will also support network expansion of basic and advanced life support ambulances, as well as on-the-spot training for first responder caregivers to road crash victims.

The project will also give states with incentives to leverage private finance through PPP concessions and pilot programmes.