A $1 billion package was announced last month to support the country's health sector earlier.

The World Bank approved $1 billion aid to support India's effort for providing social assistance to poor and vulnerable households, severely impacted by the pandemic.

This takes the total commitment from the World Bank towards emergency COVID-19 response in India to $2 billion. A $1 billion package was announced last month to support the country's health sector earlier.

The World Bank said that the billion-dollar support for social protection will help India leverage its PM Garib Kalyan Yojana. The new support will be funded in two phases - an immediate allocation of $750 million for FY20 and a $250 million second tranche will be made available for FY21.

Junaid Kamal Ahmad, Country Director (India), World Bank, said: “This program will support Indian government's efforts towards a more consolidated delivery platform - accessible to both rural and urban populations across state boundaries. The platform draws on the country's existing architecture of safety nets - the PDS, the digital and banking infrastructure, and Aadhaar - while positioning the overall social protection system for the needs of a 21st century India.”