The World Bank has announced a $100 million loan to Odisha to improve its early forecasting systems and enhance social protection coverage for poor and vulnerable households. The loan is part of the "Odisha State Capability and Resilient Growth Programme," which aims to strengthen the state's economics and statistics wing, disaster resilience capacity, and social protection delivery platform. The poverty rate among tribal populations in Odisha is 63%, which is significantly higher than the statewide average of 33%.
This disparity is a factor in the concentration of poverty in the southern and western regions where the majority of the tribal population resides. The program will help to scale up existing social protection systems to better protect vulnerable households from climate shocks. The state revenue and disaster management department will develop a social protection delivery platform that allows citizens to interface through multiple channels.
Despite the execution of various social assistance and insurance programs, investments in social protection and human capital development are fragmented, and access remains a challenge for the most vulnerable. Odisha is frequently impacted by natural calamities, with an average of Rs. 3,000 crore in financial losses incurred each year due to floods, severe cyclones, and droughts.
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