Japan extends fresh loan to India to combat socio-economic impacts of Covid

New Delhi: Japan on Friday decided to assist India by providing a loan of up to 30 billion yen (appx. INR 2,129 Crore) for its efforts to mitigate socio-economic impacts of COVID-19 here.

The Exchange of Notes for the COVID-19 Crisis Response Support Loan for Social Protection were signed by SUZUKI Satoshi, Ambassador of Japan to India and Dr C. S. Mohapatra, Additional Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs.

This yen loan is the latest addition to Japan’s supports to India in its fight against COVID-19. After the outbreak of the pandemic, Japan provided swift assistance to India, which includes the following:


Yen loan for COVID-19 emergency (up to 50 billion yen or INR 3,549 crore approximately): This financial support is for the implementation of health and medical policy by the Government of India, and is expected to lead to the development of hospitals equipped with ICUs and infection prevention and management facilities. It is also expected to lead to the enhancement of telemedicine using digital technology in numerous villages across India, according to a Japanese Embassy official.

Grant aid to provide for Oxygen Generators to Government of India (1 billion yen or INR 71 crore appx.): Oxygen Generators can be employed for the treatment of COVID-19 patients under critical conditions. This grant aid aims at strengthening India’s infectious disease countermeasures, as well as her health and medical systems.

Japan has also been partnering with international organizations to provide emergent assistance to the Government of India after COVID-19. The total amount of assistance through these international organization to India amounts to more than USD 7.26 million (appx. INR 52 Crore).

Together with the new loan announced on Friday, Japan’s COVID-19 related assistance to India amounts to more than INR 5,800 Crore (appx.). COVID-19 has brought enormous economic and social strains. Temporary suspension of economic activities due to the lockdown and thereafter affected the disadvantaged and vulnerable people, including women, in India, officials pointed out. This new yen loan is provided, in addition to the previous support directly targeting the improvement of public health, to ensure much needed social protection to these people by assisting the Government of India’s relevant policies, including Prime Minister Modi’s Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY).

This yen loan is a “budget support” to assist India’s policy objectives, as was the case with its 50-billion-yen predecessor, allowing a higher degree of flexibility for the Indian government to make effective responses to the emergency situation, the official said, adding, “We hope this assistance will lead to the mitigation of socio-economic impacts of COVID-19 and to the higher resilience of India’s societies, helping India, a trusted partner and close friend of Japan, emerge even stronger after the pandemic.”