Kerala gets $100 million ADB loan for ASAP

Kerala gets an ADB loan of $100 million for its Additional Skill Acquisition Program (ASAP). An agreement was signed with Asian Development Bank (ADB) to support the State of Kerala in its initiative to increase the employability of higher secondary and undergraduate students by way of providing opportunities to improve their English fluency and IT skills, and to learn market relevant, in-demand vocational skills outside regular school hours. Nearly 2,35,000 needy students in Kerala will be benefited under the program during 2014-2018.

This $100 million loan for supporting Kerala’s Additional Skill Acquisition Program (ASAP) is the first Results Based Lending (RBL) facility from ADB in India. Key outputs of market-relevant vocational training introduced in post-basic education; enhanced access to quality vocational training; increased awareness and facilitation of private sector participation as also improved program management and monitoring and evaluation would be considered for disbursement of due amounts.