Global News Post: World Bank

India Signs Loan Agreement with World Bank for US$ 106 Million for “ICDS Systems Strengthening and Nutrition Improvement Project”

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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">NEW
DELHI (PIB) ---An agreement for loan of US$ 106 million (equivalent) for
Phase-I of the World Bank assistance for the “ICDS Systems Strengthening and
Nutrition Improvement Project (ISSNIP)” was signed at New Delhi today between
Prabodh Saxena (Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs) on behalf of
Government of India and Onno Ruhl, Country Director, World Bank (India) on
behalf of the World Bank. Representatives from Ministry of Women and Child
Development and officials from the World Bank, among others, were present. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The
overarching Goal of the proposed two-phased Program is to improve nutritional
outcomes of children in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region>.
The Objective of the Phase-I is to support Government of India and
participating states to strengthen the Integrated Child Development Service
(ICDS) policy framework, systems and capacities, and facilitate community
engagement, to ensure greater focus on children under three years of age and strengthen
convergent actions for improved nutrition outcomes. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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India Signs Loan Agreement with World Bank for US$ 106 Million for “ICDS Systems Strengthening and Nutrition Improvement Project”

NEW DELHI (PIB) ---An agreement for loan of US$ 106 million (equivalent) for Phase-I of the World Bank assistance for the “ICDS Syste...

Former Indian Govt. Official is World Bank New Chief Economist

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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">WASHINGTON (NNN-Bernama) -- The World Bank on Wednesday appointed Kaushik Basu, a former Indian government official and Cornell University professor, as its new chief economist and senior vice president.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">World Bank president Jim Yong Kim announced the appointment for Basu, who most recently served as chief economic advisor of the Indian Ministry of Finance while on leave from his position as professor of Economics and International Studies at Cornell University. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">Xinhua news agency reports Basu will begin his term on October 1. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">"Having worked in a Ministry of Finance, in addition to his impressive academic achievements, Kaushik is uniquely suited to help us offer evidence-based solutions and advice to client countries and provide innovative excellence in leading our development research," said Kim. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">Basu holds a PhD from the London School of Economics and founded the Centre for Development Economics at the Delhi School of Economics in 1992. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">He also served as chairman of Cornell University's Department of Economics and director of Cornell's Centre of Analytic Economics where he headed the programme on Comparative Economic Development. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">In 2008, Basu was awarded India's Padma Bhushan award for "distinguished service of high order." -- NNN-BERNAMA</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

Former Indian Govt. Official is World Bank New Chief Economist

WASHINGTON (NNN-Bernama) -- The World Bank on Wednesday appointed Kaushik Basu, a former Indian government official and Cornell University ...

India: Government of India, Government of Bihar and World Bank Sign US$ 100 Million Agreement for Additional Financing for Rural Livelihoods Project

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<div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: center; unicode-bidi: embed;"><b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Government of India, Government of Bihar and World Bank Sign US$ 100 Million Agreement for Additional Financing for Rural Livelihoods Project in Bihar – Expected to Directly Benefit 1.5 Million Households</span></b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRRnuKQEiCxcUnRImvsxOZeec-zRRtk9X8dikaLL1vy8hdH6v11ceOxJ1mzMyR96LLmDq_362q5Fm-V-GTao14FUCDXzdm1_KWPuWcEd61kFniIIvEn1l9pnpsuH9PJ34pk9Jb02M6Xg0/s1600/l2012070941307.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="324" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRRnuKQEiCxcUnRImvsxOZeec-zRRtk9X8dikaLL1vy8hdH6v11ceOxJ1mzMyR96LLmDq_362q5Fm-V-GTao14FUCDXzdm1_KWPuWcEd61kFniIIvEn1l9pnpsuH9PJ34pk9Jb02M6Xg0/s640/l2012070941307.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">The Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance,  Venu Rajamony, the Senior Country Officer, World Bank (India), Smt. Mandakini Kaul and the Principal Secretary, Department of Finance, Govt. of Bihar,  Rameshwar Singh signed the US$ 100 Million loan agreement for Rural Livelihoods Project in Bihar, in New Delhi on July 09, 2012.</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Photo © PIB<o:p></o:p></span></div></td></tr>
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</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;">NEW DELHI (PIB) --- The Government of India, the Government of Bihar and the World Bank today signed here an agreement for US$ 100 million additional credit to scale-up the ongoing Bihar Rural Livelihoods Project, named Jeevika (or `livelihood’ in Hindi). The Project is aimed at enhancing the social and economic empowerment of the rural poor in Bihar.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;">The additional financing will help consolidate and expand the Project to cover all the blocks in the existing six districts covered under the Project. This will not only allow the Project to cover all the villages in the existing districts, but also provide a comprehensive district wide model for poverty alleviation in Bihar, a predominantly rural state with 89 percent of the population living in rural areas.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;">The agreements for the Bihar Rural Livelihoods Project were signed by . Venu Rajamony, Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, on behalf of the Government of India;  Rameshwar Singh, Principal Secretary, Department of Finance, on behalf of the Government of Bihar;  Arvind Kumar Chaudhary, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), on behalf of the Bihar Rural Livelihoods Project; and Mandakini Kaul, Senior Country Officer, World Bank (India) on behalf of the World Bank.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;">Later Venu Rajamony, Joint Secretary in the Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Government of India said that the additional financing will directly benefit 1.5 million households. It will further help the Jeevika Project consolidate and deepen some of the key activities initiated in the parent project so that the learning from these interventions can be internalized and scaled up across the state under the Government of India’s National Rural Livelihoods Mission, he added.  Rajamony further said that the additional financing for this Project will also help scale up activities by converging with various ongoing schemes and programs of the Government of India (GOI) and Government of Bihar (GOB) in the areas of health, nutrition, social protection, rural employment, and agriculture.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;">So far the Project has mobilized 515,000 poor women into 46,000 self-help groups (SHGs) and 3,500 village organizations. Of these, more than 90 percent belong to vulnerable groups such as scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and backward castes. These community organizations are managed by nearly 30,000 trained grassroots women leaders and 8,000 para-professionals, resource persons and functionaries trained in the areas of institutional capacity building, bookkeeping, providing linkage with commercial banks and livelihood support services.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;">Roberto Zagha, World Bank Country Director for India said that effective targeting of the poor, especially the most vulnerable groups, has been a major focus of the ongoing Project. He said that this additional financing will not only help expand the social mobilization strategy to newer blocks, but also deepen the social inclusion impact in the existing blocks.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;">Parmesh Shah, the Project’s Task Team Leader and Lead Rural Development Specialist, World Bank said that the additional financing will help the project develop scalable models in key livelihood sectors such as agriculture, dairying, job creation for migrant youth and nonfarm employment and also ensure access to safety nets for the poor through convergence with government programs.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;">The Project has initiated a number of interventions on a pilot basis through convergence with other government programs and enabled access to public entitlements for the poor. These include access to social security pensions for nearly 29,000 households in partnership with the social welfare department and access to wage employment under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) in partnership with the rural development department for nearly 5000 SHG women.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;">The Project will be financed by a credit from the International Development Association (IDA) – the World Bank’s concessionary lending arm – that provides interest-free loans with 25 years to maturity and a grace period of five years.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;">The focus will now be on consolidating and increasing investments in different livelihoods sectors such as agriculture, dairying, job creation for migrant youth and nonfarm sector employment; investments will be made in cross-sectoral delivery of services through convergence with various GOI/GOB development programs; partnerships with civil society, social entrepreneurs and private sector will be strengthened for innovative practices in social, financial and economic inclusion; and the monitoring and evaluation systems will be strengthened to capture change.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;">These SHGs of the poor have so far cumulatively saved over US$ 5.5 million, and accessed US$ 22 million credit from commercial banks. A strong partnership has been built with mainstream financial institutions through signing of Memorandum of Understandings (MOUs) with four commercial banks and three regional rural banks.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;">A recent independent evaluation of the impact of Jeevika on socio-economic outcomes based on a survey of 4,000 randomly selected households show that the Project has positively impacted the savings of project households with 58 percent more households starting regular savings. It has led to increased food security with a 27 percent reduction in the duration of food shortage and has increased ownership of assets like cows (by 59 percent) and bullocks (by 177 percent).</span></div></div>

India: Government of India, Government of Bihar and World Bank Sign US$ 100 Million Agreement for Additional Financing for Rural Livelihoods Project

Government of India, Government of Bihar and World Bank Sign US$ 100 Million Agreement for Additional Financing for Rural Livelihoods Proje...

CHINA EXPECTS NEXT WORLD BANK HEAD TO PROMOTE GOVERNANCE STRUCUTRE REFORM

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">BEIJING (NNN-XINHUA) -- China expects the next president of the World Bank to promote governance structure reform, says Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Liu Weimin.</span></div><table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2" style="text-align: justify;"></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2" style="text-align: justify;"></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Liu made the remarks at a routine press briefing here Wednesday while commenting on the election process for the next World Bank president, as the three candidates for the position have been undergoing interviews.</span><table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2" style="text-align: justify;"></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2" style="text-align: justify;"></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">China hopes the next president will further enhance developing countries' rights to speak and represent themselves at the World Bank, and, therefore, make contributions to global poverty reduction and development, he added.</span><table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2" style="text-align: justify;"></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2" style="text-align: justify;"></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Liu said the election of the next World Bank president had been following the open, transparent and merit-based process for the first time. The process reflects the consensus of the group of 20 (G20) leading developed and emerging nations on international financial institutional reform and its substantive progress.</span><table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2" style="text-align: justify;"></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2" style="text-align: justify;"></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">There are three candidates vying to become the next president of the World Bank -- Jim Yong Kim. a university dean from the United States, Nigerian Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and Jose Antonio Ocampo, a former finance minister of Colombia.</span><table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2" style="text-align: justify;"></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2" style="text-align: justify;"></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The US has always held the position since the Bank was founded at the end of World War II but there has been increasing pressure in recent years for the next head of the Bank to be from a developing nation. -- NNN-XINHUA</span><table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2" style="text-align: justify;"></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; text-align: justify;"></table></div>

CHINA EXPECTS NEXT WORLD BANK HEAD TO PROMOTE GOVERNANCE STRUCUTRE REFORM

BEIJING (NNN-XINHUA) -- China expects the next president of the World Bank to promote governance structure reform, says Chinese Foreign Mini...

India: Bihar CM Wants Probe into World Bank Report on Corruption

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">KOLKATA, India (NNN-Bernama) -- India's eastern state Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday demanded a high-level probe into a World Bank report highlighting corruption and fraud in national highway projects funded by the bank. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">"It is a serious issue. There should be a high-level investigation into it," Xinhua news agency quoted the minister as saying. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Kumar, who has declared a war on corruption in Bihar, said the central government must 'act fast to expose those who are held responsible, if the charges are true.' <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">"The World Bank's revelation is something that affects all of us as fraud activities in national highway projects would have hit everyone," he said. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">According to a report by World Bank, private contractors had offered bribes to officials of the National Highway Authority of India to obtain contracts. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The World Bank's Institutional Integrity Unit has sought a thorough probe into the matter, reports said. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The investigation is likely to further highlight concerns about corruption in development projects and increase pressure on outgoing President Robert Zoellick to tackle shortcomings in the bank's oversight of projects. -- NNN-BERNAMA<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

India: Bihar CM Wants Probe into World Bank Report on Corruption

KOLKATA, India (NNN-Bernama) -- India's eastern state Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday demanded a high-level probe into ...

US Nominee for World Bank Chief's Post Meets Indian Finance Minister Pranab

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">NEW DELHI (NNN-PTI) -- US nominee for World Bank President's post Jim Yong Kim on Tuesday met finance minister Pranab Mukherjee and is believed to have sought India's support for his candidature.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Kim, Dartmouth College President and global health expert, was picked by US President Barack Obama to contest for the World Bank presidentship.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">He is also schedule to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the evening.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Current President Robert Zoellick, who took office in July 2007, is schedule to retire in June.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Kim - Korea-born American citizen - has spent more than two decades working towards improving conditions in the developing countries.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Besides Kim, the other two candidates in the fray for the presidentship are Jose Antonio Ocampo, a Colombian national and Professor at Columbia University in New York and Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Nigerian Finance Minister.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">BRICS, a grouping of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, has been insisting that the selection of the World Bank President should be transparent, based on merit and not on the basis on nationality.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Since its inception in 1944, the World Bank has always been headed by an American national.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The new President of the multilateral lending body is expected to be elected during the Spring Meetings of the IMF-World Bank to be held in Washington from April 20.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Expectations are that the President would be selected by consensus during the Spring Meetings, which will be attended by Mukherjee. -- NNN-PTI<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

US Nominee for World Bank Chief's Post Meets Indian Finance Minister Pranab

NEW DELHI (NNN-PTI) -- US nominee for World Bank President's post Jim Yong Kim on Tuesday met finance minister Pranab Mukherjee and is ...

Poverty Line: World Bank Not to Cut India Loans

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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"></span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">MUMBAI (NNN-AGENCIES) -- The World Bank will not reduce financial assistance to India for poverty alleviation measures because of the recent official data that showed a decline in the number of poor people in the country.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">  <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The international funding agency takes a long-term view on its commitments and the poverty data released on Monday will not have any bearing on that commitments, World Bank Country Head N Roberto Zagha said on the sidelines of an event here Wednesday.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Zagha said, however, that the Bank does use official data put out by Indian agencies while making its plans. "We are constantly analysing (data), and right now I don't feel there will be any cut because the data have shown a reduction in poverty."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The Washington-based multilateral lender envisages lending USD 14 billion for projects in the country between 2009 and 2012, according to the Bank's country website.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">According to the data by the Planning Commission, the number of people under the poverty line - whose daily consumption is below Rs 28.65 for urban centres and Rs 22.43 for rural areas - declined to 29.8 per cent in 2009-10, from 37.2 per cent in 2004.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Zagha welcomed the Union Budget 2012-13 that was presented to Parliament last week, calling it "realistic".<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">He said, however, that energy, uneducated labour force, increased urbanisation and regulatory issues are the challenges being faced by the country at present and demand added attention of policymakers. -- NNN-AGENCIES<o:p></o:p></span></div></span></div></div>

Poverty Line: World Bank Not to Cut India Loans

MUMBAI (NNN-AGENCIES) -- The World Bank will not reduce financial assistance to India for poverty alleviation measures because of the rece...

India and the World Bank Signs an IDA Credit of US$ 152 Million to Finance the Government of India's Efforts to Help Improve the Efficiency, Quality, and Accountability of Health Services in the State of Uttar Pradesh

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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6EoYaPomRSvfoLJDmr8hg5MrzpuR5ewcsnB8gAY39ns7xT022IiOairsjf9Nt_2lrSRdeV9uQmhkEYJj6PyczFQ8ziLCefzKdztCWM2Tp5hmEJMFj0sikq__aDvblskD4MebqXtmYS7A/s1600/l2012032139795.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6EoYaPomRSvfoLJDmr8hg5MrzpuR5ewcsnB8gAY39ns7xT022IiOairsjf9Nt_2lrSRdeV9uQmhkEYJj6PyczFQ8ziLCefzKdztCWM2Tp5hmEJMFj0sikq__aDvblskD4MebqXtmYS7A/s400/l2012032139795.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">The Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance,<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Venu Rajamony, the Principal Secretary, Government of Uttar Pradesh,<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Sanjay Agarwal, the Project Director, UP Health Systems Project,<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Lokesh Kumar and the Operations Adviser, World Bank (India),<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Hubert Nove-Josserand signed the documents for the World Bank assisted<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Uttar Pradesh Health Systems Strengthening Project, in<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">New Delhi on March 21, 2012. Photo © PIB<o:p></o:p></span></i></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">New Delhi (PIB)</span> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">--- Government of India and the World Bank today signed an IDA credit of US$ 152 million to finance the Government of India`s (GOI) efforts to help improve the efficiency, quality, and accountability of health services in the state of Uttar Pradesh (UP), one of India’s low-income States with some of the poorest health indicators in the country. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">With a population of approximately 200 million, UP will determine the achievement of India’s own health goals and its health-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Despite recent improvements, UP continues to face over-whelming health challenges. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The Uttar Pradesh Health Systems Strengthening Project (UPHSSP) seeks to help the Government of Uttar Pradesh (GOUP) strengthen the management and systems capacity of its Health department in order to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of healthcare services to its people. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The GOUP has been steadily increasing its commitment to the health sector, and public health spending in the state now stands at 1.6 percent of the gross state domestic product, which is higher than the national average of about 1 percent. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Venu Rajamony, Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Government of India, said that the proposed Project is expected to help the State Government improve the efficiency, quality and accountability of its health services by strengthening the Health Department’s management and systems capacity, its governance and accountability mechanisms, as well as its ability to engage effectively with the private sector. He said that the Project proposes to help the State Government pilot mechanisms at the health facility and village levels to improve the responsiveness of service providers. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rajamony further said that it will seek to improve the flow of information to citizens from the health system, create simple feedback mechanisms, and publicize service response standards, so that people know what they can expect from the health service providers and can hold them accountable.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The agreements for the Uttar Pradesh Health Systems Strengthening Project were signed by Venu Rajamony, Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, on behalf of the Government of India; <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sanjay Agarwal, Principal Secretary, on behalf of the Government of Uttar Pradesh; <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lokesh Kumar, Project Director, on behalf of the UP Health Systems Project; and <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hubert Nove-Josserand, Operations Adviser, World Bank (India) on behalf of World Bank. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sanjay Agarwal, Principal Secretary, Government of Uttar Pradesh said that today institutional constraints to better health services are affecting the entire population of UP, particularly the poor. Through this Project we hope to build the necessary institutional capacity of the state to achieve sustainable health outcomes, he further said.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The Project, which focuses on institutional development will comprise of two main components. First, it will focus on strengthening the Department of Health`s management and accountability systems. In this context, the Project will improve, planning capacities, information flows and data inputs to enable policy-makers to better monitor and manage service delivery in UP. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Second, the project will help the state government improve the Department of Health’s capacity to perform its quality assurance role and engage more effectively with the private sector, which is already a significant player in the UP health system. Other quality enhancement interventions supported by the Project include the development and implementation of regulatory functions such as transparent licensing, strengthening the accreditation program and quality enhancement in public sector hospitals in order to bring quality health services to its people, especially the poor. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Hubert Nove-Josserand, Operations Adviser, World Bank (India) said that inadequate health systems affect the poor most, and it is estimated that 8 percent of households in UP fell below the poverty line due to health-related out-of-pocket expenditures. He said that we hope that this Project’s focus on organizational strengthening and improving accountability will help bring better healthcare to all citizens of UP, especially to the poor who comprise one-third of its population. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Vikram Rajan, Senior Health Specialist and the World Bank Team Leader of UPHSSP informed that the proposed Project supports improvement of upstream and midstream systems that would enable GOUP to better utilize funds available and is complementary to other state and federal programss. The focus on improving demand-side accountability will help public service providers become more responsive to the communities they serve. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This Project builds on the earlier Bank-financed UP Health Systems Development Project (2000-2008), which supported investment in secondary health care services and systems strengthening. Complementary investments for primary and preventive health services were supported through World Bank investments in national programs for reproductive and child health, immunization, polio eradication and disease control (TB, vector borne diseases, HIV/AIDS, cataract, leprosy). <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This Project will be financed by a credit from the International Development Association (IDA) – the World Bank’s concessionary lending arm – with a final maturity of 25 years including a grace period of five years and a 1.25 percent interest rate. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div></div>

India and the World Bank Signs an IDA Credit of US$ 152 Million to Finance the Government of India's Efforts to Help Improve the Efficiency, Quality, and Accountability of Health Services in the State of Uttar Pradesh

The Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Venu Rajamony, the Principal Secretary, Government of Uttar Pra...

World Bank Approves US$4.3 Billion Aid to India

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</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><st1:state w:st="on"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">WASHINGTON</span></st1:state><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"> (NNN-PTI) -- The World Bank announced US$4.3 billion financial aid to <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region> through a new innovative and flexible financing arrangement to help the country fight poverty. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">This arrangement, while facilitating a US$4.3 billion increase in support to <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region>, is designed to maintain International Bank for Reconstruction and Development's (IBRD) - which is its lending arm - net exposure within the limit of US$17.5 billion established by it. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">In a statement, the World Bank said the new arrangement will allow for special bonds to be issued by the World Bank and purchased by <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region>, to offset additional planned lending. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">This will enable <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region> to continue accessing long-term, low-interest IBRD finance for development projects aimed at improving the lives of its people, one third of whom are yet to make their way out of poverty. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"Without taking this action, it would have been difficult for the Bank to assist <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">India</st1:country-region></st1:place> meaningfully as it tackles the remaining large challenges of lifting some 300 million out of poverty," said WB vice president for South Asia Isabel Guerrero. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"This new arrangement will work towards supporting <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">India</st1:country-region></st1:place>'s development needs, showing the Bank can be innovative, flexible and responsive to the differentiated needs of our client countries," she said in a statement. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The Bank said like other emerging economies, <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region> is faced with the challenge of removing bottlenecks in infrastructure and human skill development that can constrain its ability to sustain non-inflationary, rapid and inclusive growth. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">In line with its aim to support <st1:country-region w:st="on">India</st1:country-region>'s development goals, the World Bank has nearly 80 active projects in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region>, with several large projects in the critical area of infrastructure. -- NNN-PTI<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

World Bank Approves US$4.3 Billion Aid to India

WASHINGTON (NNN-PTI) -- The World Bank announced US$4.3 billion financial aid to India through a new innovative and flexible financing a...

World Bank Honours India’s Chennai Food Entrepreneur

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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background: white;">  <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background: white;">NEW YORK (NNN-Bernama) -- A slum boy who now owns a food industry empire in Chennai - thanks to his poverty stricken mother who sold idlis on pavements to educate him - was honoured at the World Bank youth conference for his entrepreneurship and leadership skills. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background: white;">Sarath Babu Elumalai was among three youths invited from across the globe for the Bank's annual flagship event, the Global Youth Conference, to engage the broader development of community with youths around the world. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background: white;">The theme of this year's conference was Youth Unemployment: Empowering Solutions through Innovation and Inclusion, Press Trust of India reported. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background: white;">Convened by youth experts and advocates, the conference was webcast internally and externally with online participants from over 20 countries. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background: white;">Ronan Farrow, advisor on Youth Issues to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, addressed the participants. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background: white;">Sarath Babu told PTI in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Jersey City</st1:place></st1:city> that at one time he struggled to continue his school education due to poverty. His mother who worked as a low grade servant at the State Government nutritious noon meal scheme project decided to make idlis and sell them in a pavement shop to educate her son. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background: white;">Babu was admitted at BITS-PILANI for a Chemical Engineering degree and landed in the Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (IIMA) later for an MBA. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background: white;">Today, the 30-year-old's multi-crore Food King Restaurant and catering business has crossed Chennai and operates in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Hyderabad</st1:city></st1:place> and Jaipur as well. He now employs around 300 people mostly from the poor strata of the society. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background: white;">"I was born and raised in a slum in Madipakkam in Chennai. I have two elder sisters and two younger brothers and my mother was the sole breadwinner of the family," Babu told audience at the conference. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background: white;">"It was really tough for my mother to bring up five kids on her meager salary. She sold Idlis in the mornings, worked for the mid-day meal at the school during daytime and taught at the adult education programme of the Indian government, thus doing three different jobs to bring us up and educate us. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background: white;">We went hungry many a days and I know the impact of hunger." <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background: white;">After graduating from IIM-A, Babu setup "Food King" - a food catering services in 2006 with the vision to offer employment to illiterate and semi-illiterate people and improve their standard of living. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background: white;">"I put values ahead of money and power. And I have learned it the hard way, rising up from delivering idlis prepared by my mother." <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background: white;">In 2010, he started "Hunger Free India Foundation" with the objective of contributing in his own way to address the problem of hunger in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region> through various programmes. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background: white;">That year, the foundation undertook a food distribution programme in 40 orphanages, senior citizens homes and special schools serving nearly 10,000 residents in the Chennai, <st1:city w:st="on">Coimbatore</st1:city>, <st1:city w:st="on">Salem</st1:city>, <st1:city w:st="on">Bhavnagar</st1:city> and <st1:place w:st="on">Goa</st1:place> areas. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background: white;">This year he plans to feed 20,000 hungry stomachs. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background: white;">After his speech, he was inundated with over 2000 tweets asking his advice on his novel entrepreneurship and how he overcame poverty and developed a business empire before he could turn 30. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background: white;">"It took time but I replied to all of them in two days," he said. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background: white;">Over 90 per cent of his staff are either school dropouts or living in abject poverty. He trains them with soft skills and various programmes before positioning them in the organisation. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background: white;">At the conference, successful youth entrepreneurs shared their stories and brainstormed on how to curb unemployment. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background: white;">Speakers shared the concern that many young people around the world are frustrated and voiceless and the rich resources they offer to their communities and the world remain untapped. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background: white;">According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), youths aged 15 to 24 make up a whopping 40 per cent of the globally unemployed for varied and complex reasons. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background: white;">World Bank Managing Director Caroline Anstey said the mismatch between skills provided by current education systems and skills needed in the work force needs to be addressed. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background: white;">Youths should assert themselves and take responsibility for their own futures through networking and self-organisation, said Branka Minic, director of Global Corporate and Government Affairs at Manpower, a world-renowned global staffing firm. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background: white;">Advisor on Youth Issues to <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">US</st1:place></st1:country-region> Secretary of State, Ronan Farrow, said governments and companies should also include young people as honest partners and lauded youth who are already engaged in the political process and who push boundaries to make them heard. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background: white;">A common theme among the suggested solutions was the need for a multi-faceted partnership between government ministries, the private sector, academia, and NGOs to create an environment in which youths could be considered honest partners and use their voice in policy making and problem solving. – NNN-BERNAMA<o:p></o:p></span></span></div></div>

World Bank Honours India’s Chennai Food Entrepreneur

NEW YORK (NNN-Bernama) -- A slum boy who now owns a food industry empire in Chennai - thanks to his poverty stricken mother who sold idl...

World Bank Sees FDI Streaming into Africa in 2012

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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">NAIROBI (NNN-ANGOP): Capital flows into Africa are seen growing significantly in 2012 as investors seeking higher returns out of Europe, look at the continent for better opportunities in infrastructure projects, a World Bank's senior official said on Friday.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The Washington-based development lender expects economic growth on the world poorest continent to be 5.3 percent this year and 5.6 for 2013, despite increased concerns about the euro zone debt crisis, its main export market.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Marcelo Giugale, Africa's Poverty Reduction and Economic Management director at the bank, said that the appreciation of the region's currencies against the dollar was an indication of increased foreign direct investment (FDI).<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span dir="LTR"></span>"Most currencies in Africa have appreciated this year, which means investors expect some of those countries to do very well," Giugale told Reuters in an interview.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span dir="LTR"></span>"There is a boom in urban construction mainly from repatriated money. The amount of offer that Africa is getting to build their infrastructures, which are long haul investments, is clearly increasing."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">For instance, the government in Tanzania said it plans to build a $684 million 300 MW gas-fired power plant in the south of the country in the 2011/12 financial year, which runs until June 30, 2012, to plug energy shortages, after securing a loan from China.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Tanzania says the project would also involve construction of a 1,100-kilometre power transmission line from Mtwara in southern Tanzania to Singida region in the centre of the country.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">In neighbouring Uganda, British oil company Tullow Oil Plc has a $10 billion plan to start pumping oil from huge reserves discovered on the shores of Lake Albert. Early production is scheduled to start in 2013 before ramping up to a major production phase in 2016. -NNN-ANGOP<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

World Bank Sees FDI Streaming into Africa in 2012

NAIROBI (NNN-ANGOP): Capital flows into Africa are seen growing significantly in 2012 as investors seeking higher returns out of Europe, l...

India: World Bank to Provide $60 Million for Urban Local Bodies

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</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">NEW DELH (NNN-PTI): The World Bank will provide credit worth USD 60 million to the government for capacity building of urban local bodies in the country.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">An agreement to this effect was signed here on Thursday between the multilateral agency and the Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, an official release said.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">The credit will come from the International Development Association (IDA) -- the World Bank's concessionary lending arm. The maturity period will be for 25 years, including a five-year grace period.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">The project aims to improve skills of urban local bodies (ULBs) for better urban management, thereby reducing poverty.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">This will help states and at least 20 ULBs in the initial phase to improve systems for financial management, urban planning, service delivery and better governance.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Besides, it will provide support at the central and local levels for policy formulation, implementation and monitoring, in the area of urban poverty alleviation.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">This will be with special focus on building-up information systems, fostering knowledge, information exchange and learning to promote community participation in implementing urban poverty alleviation programmes.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Through this project, the union government will set up a Challenge Fund which will recognise innovative practices by ULBs on urban poverty alleviation.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">It will also constitute a network of practitioners that will include government officials from select ULBs, academics and other actors active in the area of urban poverty alleviation both nationally and internationally. -NNN-PTI<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

India: World Bank to Provide $60 Million for Urban Local Bodies

NEW DELH (NNN-PTI): The World Bank will provide credit worth USD 60 million to the government for capacity building of urban local bodies ...

India's Education Quality Remains Poor, Says World Bank

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</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><st1:city w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">DOHA</span></st1:city><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"> (NNN-Bernama) -- World Bank Director Education Elizabeth M King said though <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region> is enrolling more students in schools and colleges, the quality of education in the nation remains poor. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"<st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region> has the resources to formulate an efficient education policy; inequality in distribution of resources remains a cause of concern. There is no opportunity for the poor as the government is not using the funds appropriately," she told Press Trust of India (PTI) on the sidelines of World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) here. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"It's not enough that you are putting more children into schools and colleges each year, you will have to bring them at par with international standard." <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">She said that although <st1:country-region w:st="on">India</st1:country-region> has some good institutions like Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), but it has not reach the standard like The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename w:st="on">Leeds</st1:placename></st1:place> in terms of quality of education provided. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">King said that the World Bank expects <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region> to have ambitions to compete with the best education providers in the world. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Praising Indian Minister of Human Resource Development Kapil Sibal for his good vision for future of <st1:country-region w:st="on">India</st1:country-region> and open to technological innovations, King said <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region> is a country which experiments a lot but the school and colleges functioning without any infrastructure. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">On another note, she said World Bank played the role in helping education scenario in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region> by supporting basic education in the country to augment the Right to Education (RTE). <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"Our contribution is to bring knowledge and experience to help design education policy. In terms of monetary help, we only contribute a drop in the bucket," she said. -- NNN-BERNAMA <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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India's Education Quality Remains Poor, Says World Bank

DOHA (NNN-Bernama) -- World Bank Director Education Elizabeth M King said though India is enrolling more students in schools and college...

World Bank Signs Loan Agreement with Government of India

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<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 14pt;">World Bank Signs Loan Agreement worth US$ 975 Million with Government of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region> and DFCCIL for the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor Project- I<o:p></o:p></span></i></b><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 7.0pt;">The Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Shri Venu Rajamony, the Country Director India, World Bank, Mr. Roberto Zagha and the Project Director, DFCCIL, Shri Anshuman Sharma signed a loan agreement for the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor Project-I, in New Delhi on October 27, 2011. Photo:PIB<o:p></o:p></span></i></div></td></tr>
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">The World Bank today signed a US$ 975 million loan agreement with the Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Government of India, and the Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Ltd. (DFCCIL) to set-up the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor-I (a freight-only rail line) that will help faster and more efficient movement of raw materials and finished goods between the Northern and Eastern parts of India. The corridor will also allow Indian Railways to free up capacity and better-serve the large passenger market in this densely populated region.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">This is part of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s first Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) initiative – being built on two main routes – the Western and the Eastern Corridors. These corridors will help <st1:country-region w:st="on">India</st1:country-region> make a quantum leap in increasing the railways’ transportation capacity by building high-capacity, higher-speed dedicated freight corridors along the “Golden Quadrilateral” – the four rail routes that connect <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Delhi</st1:place></st1:city>, Mumbai, Chennai, and Kolkata. Currently, these routes account for just 16 percent of the railway network’s length, but carry more than 50 percent of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s total rail freight. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">“The Indian Railways urgently needs to add freight routes to meet the growing freight traffic in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region>, which is projected to increase more than 7 percent annually. Dedicated freight corridors will not only meet this growing freight demand, but also decongest the already saturated rail network and promote the shifting of freight transport from road to more efficient rail transport,” said Venu Rajamony, Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance. “Augmenting its transport systems is a crucial element of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s trillion-dollar infrastructure agenda for the next Five-Year Plan (XIIth Plan) which starts in 2012. Since the 1990s, road transport has advanced more rapidly than the railways, and now accounts for about 65 percent of the freight market and 90 percent of the passenger market in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region>, and those shares are growing. The project also has significant contribution in reducing GHGs and the Government of India is committed to increasing the share of rail transport in this mix, he added. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">The agreements were signed by Mr Venu Rajamony, Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, on behalf of the Government of India; Mr Anshuman Sharma, Project Director, on behalf of the DFCCIL; and Mr Roberto Zagha, Country Director for <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">India</st1:country-region></st1:place> on behalf of the World Bank. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">The Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor Project (EDFC) will ease congestion choking the railway system and reduce travel-time for passenger trains on the arterial Ludhiana-Delhi-Mughal Sarai railway route. The corridor will add additional rail transport capacity, improve service quality and create higher freight capacity. It will also help to develop the institutional capacity of the Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation (DFCCIL) and Ministry of Railways to best utilize heavy haul freight systems. World Bank financing for the EDFC will cover a route length of 1,130 kilometers (out of a total corridor length of 1,839 kilometers) and will be provided in three phases. The Project signed today will finance the first phase, which is the 343 kilometer section that runs between Khurja and <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Kanpur</st1:place></st1:city>. The Project will help increase the capacity of these freight-only lines by raising the axle-load limit from 22.9 to 25 tons and enable speeds of up to 100 km/hr. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">“Eastern & Western Dedicated Freight Corridors are ICONIC projects and will greatly upgrade rail transport capacity and help to increase the market share of railways”, said Mr R.K.Jain, Adviser (Infrastructure), Railway Board <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">“Implementing the DFC program will provide India the opportunity to create one of the world’s largest freight operations, adopting proven international technologies and approaches which can progressively be extended to other important freight routes throughout the network,” said Roberto Zagha, World Bank’s Country Director in India. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">In addition to the efficiency improvement and other operational benefits, the Project is expected to bring in significant reductions of Green House Gas (GHG) emissions. Unlike the existing rail network, which runs on a combination of diesel and electrical locomotives, the proposed DFC corridor will operate entirely through electric locomotives, thereby further reducing GHG emissions. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">A Carbon Footprint Analysis conducted by DFCCIL for the Eastern DFC Project shows the corridor is expected to cause 2.25 times less carbon emissions when compared to a scenario where the freight is transported through a non-DFC network of the Indian Railways. It also shows that the Eastern corridor is expected to generate about 10.48 million tons of GHG emissions up to 2041-42, as against 23.29 millions of GHG emissions in the absence of EDFC – a 55 percent reduction of GHG emissions. EDFC will also bring about a 15 percent reduction in carbon intensity as compared to using existing alternate routes of transport. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">“Studies show that DFC will enable the Indian Railways to reduce GHG emissions on these routes by over 64 percent - an actual reduction from 12.3 million tons of GHGs to 4.3 million tons of GHGs as a result of DFC,” said Ben L. J. Eijbergen, Lead Transport Specialist and Task Team Leader for the Project. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">The loan, from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), has a maturity period of 22 years including a 7-year grace period. ---PIB<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

World Bank Signs Loan Agreement with Government of India

World Bank Signs Loan Agreement worth US$ 975 Million with Government of India and DFCCIL for the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor Proje...

World Bank Says European Crisis is Hurting Developing Countries

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</i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>World Bank President Robert Zoellick says new programs may be needed to help developing countries hurt by the European debt crisis.</i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i><br />
</i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Zoellick made the remarks Wednesday while touring a slum community outside the Philippine capital Manila where residents are benefiting from a World Bank anti-poverty program.</i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i><br />
</i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>He said the European crisis has driven borrowing costs up and lowered stock prices and exports around the world, even in countries as far away as the Philippines.</i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i><br />
</i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>The European crisis is also causing concern in Beijing, where Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu was asked about it Wednesday at a briefing.</i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i><br />
</i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>She said China hopes the European Union will adopt effective measures to restore market confidence and stability.</i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i><br />
</i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Despite the severity of the crisis, Zoellick said he was not too concerned that European leaders are saying they need more time to come up with a comprehensive solution to the problem.</i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i><br />
</i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>But he said the European leaders cannot take too long to decide what they want to do.</i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i><br />
</i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>On Thursday, Zoellick will meet with Philippine President Benigno Aquino to discuss his efforts to fight corruption and revitalize the economy.---VOA NEWS</i></span></div></div>

World Bank Says European Crisis is Hurting Developing Countries

World Bank President Robert Zoellick says new programs may be needed to help developing countries hurt by the European debt crisis. Zoell...

Russia needs World Bank advice, not loans - Putin

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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">MOSCOW (RIA Novosti)- Russia does not need loans from the World Bank but intends to cooperate with it and seek its advice, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Monday.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"We have very good relations with the World Bank. Thank God we don't need large loans from the World Bank," Putin told a plenary session of the Consultative Council on Foreign Investment.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"We have worked and will continue to work with the World Bank as an adviser, as a structure, which enjoys our deep respect and has contributed much to our joint work from the viewpoint of modernizing <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Russia</st1:place></st1:country-region> and introducing the best world standards," Putin said.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Earlier on Monday, Putin, who is all but set to win the next presidential elections in March, said Russia must speed up teh diversification of its energy-dependent economy, where oil and gas revenues account for half of the budget.<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

Russia needs World Bank advice, not loans - Putin

MOSCOW (RIA Novosti)- Russia does not need loans from the World Bank but intends to cooperate with it and seek its advice, Russian Prime Mi...

World Bank Chief Says 2nd Recession Unlikely

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</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Charlie-Rose-Robert-Zoellick-Welch/dp/B002Z7C38I?ie=UTF8&tag=glob036-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Charlie Rose - Robert Zoellick / Suzy Welch (May 1, 2009)" height="240" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=B002Z7C38I&tag=glob036-20" width="320" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=glob036-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B002Z7C38I" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" />World Bank President Robert Zoellick says he believes the world will avoid sliding into a second recession.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Zoellick made the remark Tuesday to reporters in Singapore, where he is attending an economic conference amid plummeting world stock prices and worries over a slowdown in U.S. economic growth.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Zoellick said he believes the United States and the world will avoid a "double-dip" recession, but he admitted that growth is likely to remain slow and prospects are uncertain. In an interview with Bloomberg Television, Zoellick said the world is moving into a "dangerous period."</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">In an address to the conference, Zoellick said the United States could reassure markets with steps to slow the increase in its debt, rather than deep cuts in spending.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">He also said Asia's expanding economies can help by investing more in other developing countries. (VOA News)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&tag=glob036-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&search-alias=aps&field-keywords=World%20Bank%20President%20Robert%20Zoellick" target="_blank">Search Amazon.com  for World Bank President Robert Zoellick</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=glob036-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&tag=glob036-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&search-alias=aps&field-keywords=Slowdown%20in%20U.S.%20economic%20growth." target="_blank">Search Amazon.com  for Slowdown in U.S. economic growth.</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=glob036-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&tag=glob036-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&search-alias=aps&field-keywords=Recession" target="_blank">Search Amazon.com  for Recession</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=glob036-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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World Bank Chief Says 2nd Recession Unlikely

World Bank President Robert Zoellick says he believes the world will avoid sliding into a second recession. Zoellick made the remark Tues...

World Bank Chief Warns of New Danger Ahead

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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span> </span><span> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The president of the World Bank is warning the world's already troubled economic recovery is in even greater trouble.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Charlie-Rose-Robert-Zoellick-Welch/dp/B002Z7C38I?ie=UTF8&tag=glob036-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Charlie Rose - Robert Zoellick / Suzy Welch (May 1, 2009)" height="240" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=B002Z7C38I&tag=glob036-20" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">World Bank chief Robert Zoellick<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=glob036-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B002Z7C38I" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /> told The Weekend Australian newspaper the global economy has entered what he called a "new and more dangerous phase."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In the interview, published Saturday, Zoellick put most of the blame on debt problems in Europe.<span>  </span>He urged European leaders to tackle the debt crisis with more urgency but said there is little finance officials can do with monetary policy to ease the strain.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">He also expressed concerns that the recent riots in Britain could dissuade the government there from moving forward with a series of announced austerity measures.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Guide-World-Bank-Second-Hardback/dp/0821367188?ie=UTF8&tag=glob036-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="A Guide to the World Bank, Second Edition (Hardback)" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=0821367188&tag=glob036-20" /></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Zoellick is in Australia for an official visit and is scheduled to meet with Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=glob036-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0821367188" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /> and other top officials.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">He said Australia's close ties with many growing East Asian and Pacific economies should help the country's economy in the short term. <span> </span>(VOA News)<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

World Bank Chief Warns of New Danger Ahead

The president of the World Bank is warning the world's already troubled economic recovery is in even greater trouble. World Bank c...

Government of India and World Bank sign US$ 1 Billion Agreement to give a major boost to Rural Livelihoods

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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwfsEHEdUs2F9AP4un1xGUN63j4bX-ROS0sEJFU9z4RkJFIJzK0S6PUxT1vPDzoiWJ1KxbTakYdhADeMufQxaC1KrZJgd_9B7XT8FS3LC3DPdfAlW_u-Wb39UKGJk568f1quhngMBeKMyZ/s1600/worldbank.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwfsEHEdUs2F9AP4un1xGUN63j4bX-ROS0sEJFU9z4RkJFIJzK0S6PUxT1vPDzoiWJ1KxbTakYdhADeMufQxaC1KrZJgd_9B7XT8FS3LC3DPdfAlW_u-Wb39UKGJk568f1quhngMBeKMyZ/s320/worldbank.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">The Acting Country Director World Bank, Mr. Hubert Nove Josserand and the Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Shri Venu Rajamony exchanging the signed documents of an Agreement between World Bank and Ministry Of Rural Development on $ 1 Billion loan for National Rural Livelihoods Project (NRLP) under the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM), in the presence of Union Minister for Rural Development, Shri Jairam Ramesh and the Ministers of State for Rural Development, Shri Pradeep Jain and Ms. Agatha Sangma, in New Delhi on July 18, 2011.</span></b></i></span></td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">The Government of India and the World Bank today signed a Credit Agreement of US$1 billion (approximately Rs. 4,600 crores) for the National Rural Livelihoods Project (NRLP). The Project will strengthen the implementation of the Government of India’s newly launched National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM). The NRLM is one of the world’s largest poverty reduction initiatives,</span></b><b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">aiming to reach 350 million people (almost a quarter of India’s population), with an outlay of approximately US$ 6.5 billion.</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Welcoming the NRLP, Minister for Rural Development, Mr. Jairam Ramesh said “I am delighted that the NRLP is being launched. This is a critical project that will help scale up our battle against poverty across the country, through the activation of self-help groups, skill building, and other innovative livelihood interventions among BPL households. NRLP will specifically focus on 12 states which have the highest number of poor people, thereby creating a major impact on poverty.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>The NRLM will help us move 70 million BPL households out of poverty over the next ten years through a time-bound, demand driven process.”<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Scaling-up Innovations</span></b><b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">The NRLP will help scale up the successes of past livelihood initiatives, particularly to other lagging regions of the country. So far, World Bank supported livelihoods projects in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Tamil Nadu have mobilized some 35 million rural poor since 2000.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Under the aegis of the NRLM, the NRLP will now support specific additional investments in the 12 states that have the highest numbers of poor people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>These States, namely Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal account for almost 85 percent of India’s rural poor.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">NRLM: An Innovative Approach to Poverty Alleviation</span></b><b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Deriving lessons from the state rural livelihoods initiatives, the NRLM will adopt a saturation approach – one that aims to bring at least one member, preferably a woman member, of each of the 70 million rural BPL households under the SHG network.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>As of now, about 30 million rural BPL families are covered under the SHG net. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">NRLM will lay special emphasis on making agriculture-related livelihoods more productive and more sustainable, given the fact that more than 70 percent of the rural populace derives their livelihoods from agriculture.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Another innovation that NRLM will be scaling up is the use of social capital created under various rural livelihoods programs; expansion of coverage of the program in a rapid and effective manner; and knowledge dissemination.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Key proposed initiatives include:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">· Investing in building people’s institutions namely Self Help Groups (SHG) and Federations of SHGs at village, cluster, block and district levels;<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">· Promoting thrift-based groups and promoting financial discipline;<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">· Investing in financial literacy & business planning as a core activity of SHG formation; and<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">· Helping SHGs address the livelihood needs including consumption purposes (such as health emergency, child education) and income generating activities.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">The two major shifts under NRLM, vis-a-vis its predecessor program, the Swarnjayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY) are:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">(i)NRLM will be a demand driven program - States will formulate their own poverty reduction action plans based on their past experience, capacities and resources.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">(ii)NRLM will provide for a professional support structure that will enable effective program implementation at all levels from State to sub-district level. Eventually, it is expected that people’s institutions will replace the external support structures by gradually taking over their roles and responsibilities.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Expanding access to finance and private sector investments in rural India</span></b><b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">The NRLM aims to encourage thrift and prudent financial behavior, and institute mechanisms that will impart financial literacy and credit counseling. SHGs will be able to create the space for financial services providers to bring in a range of affordable financial services for the poor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>Current state livelihood programs have helped open 1.5 million SHGs accounts and 4.5 million savings accounts for the poor in commercial banks; set up 3000 help desks in commercial banks to facilitate banking services for poor clients and enabled 21,200 community institutions to function as village level “banking correspondents”.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">The Project will draw lessons from some of the current state livelihood programs that have, for example, enabled SHGs to access savings of more than US$1 billion which helped them make accumulated investments of US$9 billion over the last ten years in micro, small, and community enterprises. This resulted in expansion of rural markets and attracted several private sector and multinational firms to partner with these projects. Self-Help Groups (SHGs) have leveraged nearly US$7.5 billion in credit from commercial banks, and achieved annual turnover of US$500 million through collective marketing of farm and non-farm produce. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Enabling voice and accountability</span></b><b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">The Project will help NRLM create an institutional platform by mobilizing rural poor, particularly women, into robust grassroots institutions of their own. These beneficiaries, with the strength of the group behind them, will then be able to exert their voice and enforce accountability over providers of educational, health, nutritional and financial services. This, based on past experience in several Indian states, is expected to have a transformational social impact, supporting India’s efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) on Nutrition, Gender, and Poverty.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>Towards this end, NRLM will also focus on areas of the country such as Integrated Action Plan (IAP) districts, desert areas etc.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Building job skills</span></b><b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Supporting the rural poor in building their skills and capabilities for self-employment will enable them to graduate from dependence on safety nets to building productive assets of their own. Producer groups in agriculture, dairy, and the non-farm sector will be better able to upgrade technologies that will improve the productivity and quality of their products, access market information, develop value chains, attract the private and cooperative sector to do business with them, and negotiate fairer terms of trade for their products and services.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>As an example, about 500,000 youth from poor households were trained and placed in leading companies like Nokia, Hyundai, Samsung, HSBC, Group 4, More, Future Group etc.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">NRLP will also invest in a robust Management Information System (MIS) which will help both the National and State-level Rural Livelihood Mission Management Units (i.e., NMMU and SMMUs) monitor the overall livelihood and financial performance of the SHGs and federations. The Project will also establish e-governance architecture for NRLM with use of ICT including mobiles up to the village level.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">The credit is from the International Development Association (IDA) – the World Bank’s concessionary lending arm – the Credit is on IDA terms with a maturity of 25 years, including a five year grace period. PIB<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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Government of India and World Bank sign US$ 1 Billion Agreement to give a major boost to Rural Livelihoods

The Acting Country Director World Bank, Mr. Hubert Nove Josserand and the Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Fin...