Govt signs $300m financing agreement with WB

With a view to modernising the cash transfer of major social protection programmes, the government signed a $300 million financing agreement with the World Bank on Sunday, reports BSS.

This will bring transparency and efficiency in the disbursement process and help nearly 6.5 million poorest and vulnerable people, including the elderly, widows, and people with disabilities, get the benefit easily.

The social protection programmes of Department of Social Services (DSS) are: the Old Age Allowance; Allowances for the Widow, Deserted and Destitute Women; Allowances for the Financially Insolvent Disabled; and Stipends for Disabled Students.

Additional Secretary of Economic Relations Division (ERD) Mahmuda Begum and Qimiao Fan, World Bank country director for Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal, signed the agreement on behalf of their respective sides.

The credit is provided by the International Development Association, the World Bank's concessional lending arm, which provides grants or zero-interest loans.