GOVERNMENT OF JAPAN EXTENDS US$74,885 GRANT ASSISTANCE FOR ONE GRASSROOTS PROJECT

NEW DELHI: 19 December 2005

The Embassy of Japan in India, under its scheme ‘Grant Assistance for Grassroots Projects’, today decided to extend grant assistance totalling US$74,885 (approximately equivalent to Rs.34 lacs) to the following Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), to support a health care project undertaken by it:

Arunodaya Charitable Trust was established in 1990 for providing quality eye care services for all sections of the society, especially the economically weaker sections in Delhi and Gurgaon, Haryana. The Trust is planning a project for installing ophthalmic equipments in the Arunodaya Deseret Eye Hospital, which will not only provide basic diagnosis and treatment, but can also provide professional surgical treatment for poor patients in the surrounding slums and rural areas.

Realizing the need, the Embassy of Japan decided to give a grant assistance of US$74,885 for the project. With the implementation of this project, a maximum of around 30,000 patients every year will get clinical and treatment service in eye care with low or free of cost.

The Signing Ceremony to formalize the arrangements is scheduled to take place at 1600hrs on Monday, 19 December 2005, at the Embassy of Japan, between Ambassador Yasukuni Enoki and the respective representative of the above NGO.

The scheme of "Grant Assistance for Grassroots Projects" was introduced by the Government of Japan in 1989, to provide timely assistance directly to the activities of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) promoting welfare of the people in developing countries. Projects eligible for the grant assistance include such fields as primary healthcare, primary education, care of the handicapped people, poverty alleviation, enhancing status of women, public welfare, environment protection, etc. The Embassy of Japan and the Consulates General of Japan in Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai are in charge of this scheme in their respective regions.

For further information, please contact Mr. Yasushi Furukawa, First Secretary, Embassy of Japan. Telephone No.2687-6564.