THE WorldBank IN INDIA VOL 18 / NO 3 NOVEMBER 2019 INSIDE Roads to development in Rajasthan 1-6 Development Dialogue: Roads that connect more Real-time data can help India’s water crisis 7-9 than villages in Rajasthan ICR Update: Technical S Engineering Education ince 2004, the World Bank has been helping connect remote Quality Improvement villages of Rajasthan through roads. This is part of the World Bank’s Project 10-12 wider support for the nation-wide Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana Lighthouse India: Eat (PMGSY). In Rajasthan, a series of rural road projects have helped bring Right India: A 360 degree approach 13-15 hitherto unconnected habitations onto the country’s road grid. These roads have given people access to schools, hospitals and a chance at Face to Face: Water management is the key better livelihoods 16-17 Most men in habitations around Sikar district in Rajasthan have been Recent Project Signings cattle-herders for generations. The sandy and rocky terrain in the area and Approvals 18 is not ideal for farming, so they focus instead on raising cattle and then New Additions to the Public selling the animals for profit. Information Center 19-31 Contact Information 32 Until a few years ago, negotiating the dirt the difficulties she and others like her faced in road near Kalakhet village was a nightmare getting an education when the unpaved road for cattle-herders such as Baldev Gurjar as to her village would fill up with rainwater. “Girls they headed out daily to find forage for their especially did not go to school in my village,” cattle. “Covering even short distances of three she says of the situation eight years ago. to four kilometers would take hours,” Baldev Earlier, children had to walk several kilometers says. “We had to cross bushes and sand, and to get to the nearest school and needed an during the monsoons, the unpaved roads were escort to accompany them for safety reasons. clogged with rainwater as well as water from Now, school buses come right up to the farms.” village; girls cycle to school independently or All that changed with the construction of an in groups, and access to colleges in nearby all-weather road in 2013. Now, as Baldev Alwar or Sikar city is no more a distant dream. prepares to take his cattle out in the morning, his face fills with pride as he loads the animals into his new pick-up van. Access to schools and hospitals School teacher Shikha Rani in Mandha Majra village of Alwar district exemplifies how the new roads have changed lives. Rani, who holds a Master’s degree in Arts, remembers 12 2 The World Bank in India • November 2019 stretch across more than 10,000 km and benefit 3,677 habitations. World Bank standards in design and implementation World Bank support for India’s Rural Roads Program has set global standards in project design, planning and implementation, strengthened overall systems and introduced several innovations. Bhaguri Devi of Bhagwa village is the proud For instance, before the path for the road was mother of two sons, both of whom go to chalked out, communities were consulted college in Sikar and in Udaipurvati. She herself extensively, with community members even is an Aanganwadi worker and is also studying choosing the route of the road through a for her Class 10 exams. She remembers how, process called the ‘Transect Walk’. Women, earlier, women in labour had to be carried on minority communities, and others affected by cots or on camel carts to the nearest hospital, the project were involved. Villagers donated often resulting in their death. Now one can call the land for road construction voluntarily. for an ambulance or a private car to transport the sick. Medicines, vaccinations and other Local communities, including women’s self- medical help for women and children now help groups, also monitored the construction reach the village easily. and maintenance of the roads with the help of “Our village is now moving forward. Our children are able to go to school; their future is bright,” she says. These are beneficiaries of the World Bank’s Rural Roads Project-II which supports the central government’s flagship program Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY RRP-II). In Rajasthan, World Bank funding of over Rs 2,800 crore for this project has helped in the construction of over 3,600 roads, which The World Bank in India • November 2019 12 3 12 4 The World Bank in India • November 2019 specially-devised toolkits. Performance-based Tamil Nadu to West Bengal. He decided to contracts were introduced. It has been found come back to his village and converted his that when citizens monitor road construction tea shop into a permanent structure in 2013. at multiple stages, accountability is enhanced, Over the last five years, he has also added issues are identified early on, and the quality four guest rooms for travellers. He says he of the road improves. now earns Rs 300-500 a day from his roadside tea shop, which goes up to Rs 1,500 a day on Keeping in mind depleting natural resources, festival days when people throng to visit the the program mandates that 15 percent of the nearby Shakambhari Mata temple. length of any sanctioned road be constructed using waste and recyclable materials.An online He married-off his eldest daughter two years monitoring, management and accounting back, explaining how difficult it was to get system made the procurement of construction marriage proposals from nearby villages materials more transparent and efficient, earlier. “People would refuse to send their bringing down the time taken from up to three daughters or marry our sons because there months earlier to between 45 and 60 days. was no access to our village.” Increased options for In Kayasthpura village of Jhunjhunu district in Rajasthan, milkman Ram Niwas Saini has livelihood seen his sales rise ten-fold, from 20-30 litres Budhram Gurjar owns the sole roadside a day to about 300 litres a day today, thanks tea shop—Guru Kripa Hotel—on the 15- to the newly constructed road. “Before the km Sangarwa stretch. A truck driver earlier, road was built, we had to carry supplies on Budhram says he got tired of being away from our back and it would take hours to cover home and driving across the country, from the smallest of distances,” he recalls. His The World Bank in India • November 2019 12 5 earnings have helped him to build a large house with toilet facilities. Most people in the Snapshot of the Rural Roads village now own motorcycles and some even own four-wheelers. Project l Since 2004, the $41-billion PMGSY His daughter, Kanchan, studies in a college program has benefited about in Bagad about four kilometers away. “I go 323,000 habitations across India by on my scooty to college,” she says, showing building new roads and upgrading off her two-wheeler. “There are no restrictions old ones.* from our parents as far as going out with l The World Bank has supported the friends is concerned.” Kanchan says she program with a total loan of $1,800 would like to study further or find a job. Her million under the Rural Roads father has the same aspirations for her, and Project. Another $500 million has when asked if he would like to get her married, also been approved as additional he brushes off the suggestion saying, getting a funding till the year 2020. job is a priority. l So far, 36,000 kms of roads have All told, Rajasthan’s rural roads have not only been completed under the World led to better access to education, healthcare Bank financed Rural Roads Projects and increased options for livelihoods, villagers and have opened for traffic. also shared a sense that the roads have put their previously nondescript villages on the l These roads connect almost map. Self-reliance and a feeling of being part 50,000 habitations. of India’s development story is a narrative *Source: omms.nic.in one hears in every house one visits in these villages today. 6 The World Bank in India • November 2019 12 Development Dialogue Real-time data can help India’s water crisis Despite limited water resources, India as a whole, is not a water-scarce country. Using accurate real-time data, it can develop an effective water management plan that can help harness its water resources and its use judiciously. In 2018, Cape Town made headlines as the world’s first major city to approach ‘Day Zero’ when the city would run out of water. Today, however, the challenge is of a different magnitude altogether. With rapid urbanization, the expansion of irrigation, and rising demand from the industrial, domestic, Shortly thereafter, an acute water crisis and power sectors, India’s limited water brought Shimla to a halt. Those were one-off resources are being stretched to the limit. events, we thought. Until this summer, when Chennai had to bring water by train from To make matters worse, climate change more than 200 km away. is playing out in ways we don’t yet fully understand. On the flip side, unprecedented floods ravaged Kerala last year. This year, large parts The country is now reaching a tipping point. of India were devastated by the deluge. Groundwater resources in more than half of India’s districts are critical or overexploited, Droughts and floods are not new in India. and some rivers are not reaching the sea. For centuries, they have stalked the vast Indian landmass, often in rapid succession. India, as a whole, is not a water-scarce country. Even though the availability of Two-thirds of India is prone to drought, water per person has fallen from 4,000 cubic affecting some 150 million people. And meters in 1950 to around 1,000 cubic meters floods afflict another 32 million, robbing the today, India still has far more water per economy of a whopping Rs 6,000 crore ($10 person than Israel, for instance. billion) on average a year. 7 The World Bank in India • November 2019 12 Yet, despite its arid climate, Israel has overemphasized, especially in India where increased water security with just around 90 more than 5,000 medium and large dams are cubic meters of water per capita. spread across the country. It’s not so much a water crisis, therefore, Because, when dealing with such large as a water management crisis, calling for volumes of water, even the smallest mistake a paradigm shift in the can have devastating way we manage things. Key to managing consequences The key to managing downstream. water efficiently is having water efficiency is accurate, real-time data. having accurate, Although collecting water data is not new for India, As the saying goes, if you real-time data. it has often been difficult can’t measure it, you can’t manage it. Although collecting to use it, either because water data is not various water agencies For a start, we need to used different formats to know how much water the new for India, it has store their data or were country has, where it has often been difficult reluctant to share it with it, when it has it, and how to use it, either each other. this water is being used. Only then will we be able because various But now, reservoir operators will be able to assess the demand from water agencies used to employ this data to various sectors, harness different formats to run different models on water from every possible source, and plan its use store their data or a real-time basis and use decision support judiciously. were reluctant to systems to determine The online platform share it with each which reservoir to release indiawris.gov.in launched other. water from, how much to in August has made this release, and when. This easier. Users can now access the entire will allow them to maximize water storage country’s water data – both historic and real- while preventing flooding downstream. time – on a state and basin-wide basis. In a few years, it will be possible to accurately The importance of consistent, transparent, determine which villages will be flooded when and easily accessible water data cannot be river levels rise. 8 The World Bank in India • November 2019 12 This will enable urban planners to avoid What’s more, it will now be possible to development in flood-prone areas and assess the impact these structures will have remove encroachments from places where downstream, as many a time the construction communities might be at risk. of upstream structures dries out areas downstream. (This practice is already being More importantly, planners will be able followed in the World Bank-supported West to take a basin-wide approach to better Bengal Accelerated Development of Minor manage the fragile ecology of river basins. Irrigation project). And this is just the This will also allow An online platform beginning. them to adjudicate fairly in river water disputes, indiawris.gov.in In the years to come, as the digitization of launched in August information about the water data will make allows users access to the quality of surface and the system more transparent, and entire country’s water groundwater will help map the areas where hopefully increase trust data – both historic and water is unsuitable among stakeholders. real-time – on a state for drinking or other Agriculture departments and basin-wide basis. purposes. too will be able to give Reservoir operators, Artificial intelligence farmers customized advice such as which agriculture departments will also be able to put this voluminous crop to plant, where, and urban planners will data to use to better and when, depending be able to better advise understand the impact on the volume of water in the reservoirs and stakeholders on crucial of climate extremes and help devise appropriate ponds in their area. interventions. solutions. Until now, this has been a big challenge. Today, however, these interventions are crucial. For the need of the hour is efficient Decisions about where and what kind of and sustainable water management that rain-water harvesting structures, such as can meet the needs of the present without check dams, to build can also be made more compromising the future for coming transparently. generations. 9 The World Bank in India • November 2019 12 ICR Update T his is a short summary of the Implementation Completion Report (ICR) of a recently- closed World Bank project. The full text of the ICR is available on the Bank’s website. To access this document, go to www.worldbank.org/reference/ and then opt for the Documents & Reports section. Second Technical Engineering Educational Quality Improvement Project (TEQIP II) Context Second Technical Engineering In the early 2010s, India was a leading Educational Quality Improvement player in information technology, telecom Project (TEQIP II) and business outsourcing. The number of Approval Date: 18 March, 2010 engineering institutes in the country was growing – nearly 1000 engineering institutions Closing Date: 31 March, 2017 were added between 2007 and 2009. Total Project Cost $350 million However, enrollments in higher education courses was quite low and some of the Bank Financing: $192 million engineering intensive areas like information Implementing Ministry of technology, infrastructure and power faced a Agency: Human Resource shortage of skills. Studies also indicated that Development, employers were not satisfied with the quality Government of India of new hires. Outcome: Satisfactory Outdated curricula, inadequate academic infrastructure, shortage of qualified teachers, Risk to Development Low Outcome: poor industry interactions and non- participative and over-centralized governance Overall Bank Satisfactory mechanisms characterized the technical Performance: education system around that time. 10 The World Bank in India • November 2019 12 Project Development Objectives points higher) than the national average, TEQIP II was developed with the objective to further attesting to the quality of institutions improve the quality of engineering education under TEQIP. and produce more employable graduates. It Gender and social development: Institutes aimed to address key challenges facing the made special efforts to provide girl students sector through a series of academic and non- and students from disadvantaged social academic reforms in participating institutions. groups access to resources and services Academic reforms would focus on improving to help them cope with their education. the curriculum, the faculty and research, and Thus, transition rates between the first developing industry linkages and employment- and second year improved substantially focused activities. Non-academic reforms among all students including girls and would focus primarily on governance-oriented particularly among those from disadvantaged reforms, such as strengthening the functioning backgrounds. Female students constituted of the board of governors, greater use of 30 percent of all student beneficiaries in the data for decision-making, rewarding merit, project and this was slightly higher than the emphasizing accreditation, transparency and national average of 28 percent. building mechanisms for accountability and Governance: States like Maharashtra and sustainability. West Bengal showed proactivity in carrying The project beneficiaries included 190 out reforms in institutions funded under the institutions from 23 states and union project. On the other hand, progress on territories (UTs). Of these, 26 institutions were accreditation in Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan centrally funded, 126 were public or public- and Telangana was slower. Responses aided and 38 were private. from the tracer study and supervision missions showed that states and institutions TEQIP II followed the successful completion built strong linkages with industry with of TEQIP which was the World Bank’s first varying degrees of success. States with endeavor to strengthen higher education a considerable industrial base (such as in India. It was designed to meet the Indian Maharashtra and Karnataka) benefitted from government’s goal of creating a pool of world industry linkages but states with little industry class professionals to propel the knowledge such as Rajasthan faced limitations. economy forward. Academic autonomy: By the end of the Achievements project, 70% of project institutions obtained Accreditation: By the end of the project academic autonomy. These institutions period, the share of accredited programs in were able to make decisions about their project institutions – cleared by the National leadership, faculty appointments, curriculum, Board of Accreditation (NBA) – more than teaching, examinations and research doubled, going from 30 percent at baseline priorities. Institutions restructured or revised to 65 percent in 2014-15. Further, TEQIP II curricula – often with the involvement of supported programs received higher average industry and the country’s leading technical accreditation scores (about 30 percentage institutions. The World Bank in India • November 2019 11 12 Improved quality of Faculty: As part of 75% of employers were very satisfied with project activities, institutes were encouraged newly recruited engineers with the key area to spend 10% of their outlay on faculty of improvement being soft skills. and staff development training. As a result, Lessons Learnt the proportion of faculty with a Masters’ in Technology (M.Tech) doubled between 2009 ● Assessment tools used for measuring and 2017. By the end of the project period, student learning. It is always advisable to over 92 percent faculty had an M.Tech degree use valid and standardized assessment against an end target of 88 percent. tools, instead of proxies, to measure improvements in student learning and use The faculty to student ratio over the course this to improve performance of institutions. of the project went-up from 1:17 in 2010 to 1:14 in 2015-16. The number of faculty at ● Qualityimprovement requires behavior TEQIP institutions increased on average by change at different levels. A strong about 40 percent – with some states showing state support and an independent board phenomenal progress (Himachal Pradesh, of governors in colleges is essential for Haryana, Odisha) while some states like creating autonomous institutions that can Bihar, Tripura and Gujarat faced substantial bring about essential reforms. shortages. ● Higher education projects can benefit Enrollment for higher studies: The number from technical assistance to strengthen of Master and PhD students enrolled in country quality assurance systems. It is project institutions went from 30,000 at important to integrate capacity building baseline to 45,658, exceeding the end target of quality assurance systems in higher by nearly 5000 students. About 5% of these education projects, where accreditation is students were enrolled in PhD programs. an often-used metric for quality. Employer satisfaction: An employer ● Building successful institute-industry satisfaction survey conducted by the World collaboration requires a strategic Bank and FICCI in 2009-10 found that only approach and time. Institutions should 33% were satisfied with newly recruited utilize the opportunity of engaging with engineers, with soft skills being a key area industries strategically to establish of discontent. As a result, TEQIP II laid partnerships for mutual benefits. This considerable emphasis on building these requires time, effort and patience on the skills. A repeat survey in 2014-15 found that part of institutions. 12 The World Bank in India • November 2019 Lighthouse India Eat Right India – a food safety and health movement A new movement is taking shape across the country which promotes a simple philosophy – if it’s not safe, it’s not food; if it’s diseases. Managing diets and lifestyle has now become critical. not healthy, it’s not food; and if it’s not good A 360-degree approach for the planet, it’s not right to eat it! The campaign is unique in many ways, as it The Eat Right India campaign launched by addresses both demand and supply. On the the Food Safety and Standards Authority of demand side, it empowers consumers to ask India (FSSAI) could not have come at a better for food that is safe, healthy and holistic. On time. Diabetes and heart-related diseases the supply side, it enables industry to make have reached alarming levels in India. hard choices to produce and sell healthier Undernutrition and nutritional deficiencies food and encourages start-ups to innovate are still highly prevalent, as are food-borne and find solutions in food testing, availability, labelling and recovery of any surplus. It is teaching young children in schools to inculcate healthy eating habits. It is targeting campuses, workplaces, universities, hospitals and institutions to serve safe and healthy food. It is also training the frontline health workers at Aanganwaadi centres and ASHA on safe and healthy diets. With growing threats to the environment, Eat Right India also has a strong sustainability 12 The World Bank in India • November 2019 13 push. Its Repurpose Used Cooking Oil issues, people’s involvement and a sense (RUCO) initiative in partnership with oil of positive competition among the states companies and the Ministry of Petroleum, are the drivers,” said Pawan Agarwal, CEO, helps collect and convert used cooking oil to FSSAI. bio-diesel, thus effectively reducing unsafe consumption and at the same time creating a Passing the baton to states source of sustainable fuel. Going forward, the leadership and active FSSAI – from food safety participation of states is crucial to the movement’s success. “Now, it’s the state regulator to enabler level leadership and implementation at the state and district levels that has to be Perhaps the most novel aspect of the stepped up. So, learning from each other will movement is that for the first time FSSAI – be important and critical,” said Ashi Kathuria, a food regulator - has become an enabler Senior Nutrition Specialist, World Bank. integrating food safety, nutrition and the environment more consciously and visibly In September 2019, the World-Bank into its work. organised a knowledge exchange workshop on the FSSAI-led and Bank-supported Eat Donald Macrae, food safety consultant at the Right India initiative that seeks to transform World Bank commented on the scale of the India’s food ecosystem and ensure that program, saying, “I’ve not seen a food safety 1.3 billion Indians have access to safe and regulator tackling lifestyle and environment healthy food. Over 200 stakeholders from before. And nobody is doing it at the scale over 25 countries in Asia, Africa and Latin that India is attempting.” America and some 20 Indian states came But FSSAI cannot mould the food habits together to learn from each other. and lifestyles of 1.3 billion people alone. And The Indian delegates included state so, it has taken every possible stakeholder commissioners of food safety, representatives along – citizens, artists, restaurants, media, from the food industry, academia, consumer food producers, corporates and development interest groups and professional networks like agencies. NetProFaN, development partners like WHO “The conversation around food safety has and the media. The international participants changed. It used to be narrow and based on included food regulators, who brought in vital policing. But due to new ways of dealing with experience and learning. 12 14 The World Bank in India • November 2019 Fortifying food, reducing states, it recommended onboarding of Mandir Samitis and establishing standards of hygiene trans-fat and sanitation, licensing and registration of Food fortification is a key focus of the food providers. campaign to address micro-nutrient deficiencies. Chandigarh shared how it has Leveraging professional used government schemes (ICDS and mid- networks, campuses and the day meal) to “fortify the staples” through concerted efforts by all line departments, digital realm training and by streamlining supply. Resident So far, the Eat Right India movement appears welfare associations and grassroots to be spreading organically across many outreach has proved crucial to scaling up states. Even so, it needs to grow from Eat Right India across schools, hospitals and states to cities and districts, citizens and workplaces. professionals. Kerala shared how it was reducing trans-fat, One of the most promising channel one of the main causes of cardiovascular is NetProFaN, a large network of six diseases, through the “Trans-Fat Free India” professional bodies comprising doctors, program. It is doing so by training food nutritionists, dietitians, food technologists business operators (FBOs), using Information, and scientists, chefs and food analysts Education and communication (IEC) across India. A robust and ready platform, it campaigns and ensuring support through has chapters in 11 states across India. government policies. “FSSAI has launched an ambitious, unique Food vendors: All hands on and very inclusive campaign. The movement needs to grow to the interiors of the country. deck Our convergence with administrative authorities is the only way to get things really Street food is a great attraction for city moving,” said Jagmeet Madan, President, dwellers in many states of India. Small, Indian Dietetic Association (IDA). Madan also independent food businesses, whether stressed that the states need handholding formal or informal, have an enormous impact and guidance on structures, getting on India’s food landscape. Recognizing stakeholders together and flow of work and this, FSSAI actively engaged with the entire protocol. spectrum, from street food vendors to those supplying to schools, campuses and institutions and places of worship, which Building leaders and millions of people visit each day. champions Gujarat, which set up the country’s first “Capacity building, especially at the district Clean Street Food Hub, shared how it first level, is the next big need,” said Vivian conducted a gap-analysis in hygiene and Hoffman, IFPRI, Kenya. In line with this, over sanitation. They then trained and certified 350 probationers have already been trained street food vendors through FSSAI’s Food at the IAS training academy in Mussoorie, so Safety Training and Certification (FoSTaC) they are ready to ‘activate’ Eat Right India Program. FoSTaC, a private sector- from Day 1 in the districts they are posted to. partnership has helped train more than 1.5 Drawing inspiration to create a similar state- lakh food safety supervisors to ensure that level cadre, states suggested linking-in the food is handled hygienically, and vendors state administrative training institutes too. adhere to cleanliness standards. City Even as FSSAI is busy planning for multiple municipal corporations in Gujarat also played Eat Right events ahead, CEO Pawan Agarwal a critical role in setting up street food clusters. concluded that the workshop “has helped Maharashtra has similarly trained food to enhance the commitment of various providers at almost 250 places of worship stakeholders to the movement, reaffirm their under the Blissful Hygienic Offering to God or faith and belief that they are on the right path BHOG initiative. To help scale this up in other and celebrate the success so far.” 12 The World Bank in India • November 2019 15 Face to Face ‘Despite looming water scarcity, India remains one of the largest water users per unit of GDP’ India is among the world’s most water-stressed countries. Yet, it is believed that India does not so much face a water crisis as a water management crisis. IJsbrand H de Jong, Lead Water Resources Specialist at the World Bank, weighs in. What are the challenges that India faces with water management, especially given that we often have too little or too much water? India is home to 18 percent of the global population but has only 4 percent of the global water resources. Its per capita water availability is around 1,100 cubic meter (m3), well below the internationally recognized threshold of water stress of 1,700 m3 per person, and dangerously close to the threshold for water scarcity of 1,000 m3 per person. Population growth and economic development put further pressure on water resources. Climate change is expected to increase variability and to bring more extreme weather events. Paradoxically, India is also the largest net exporter of virtual water (the amount of water required to produce the products that India exports) and has one of the most water-intense economies. Despite looming water scarcity, India is one of the largest water users per unit of gross domestic product (GDP). This suggests that the way in which India manages its scarce water resources accounts for much of its water woes. Government capacities are lacking as far as improving water management is concerned, while policies and incentives often favour inefficient and unproductive use of water. This is coupled with weak or absent institutions (e.g. for water regulation) and poor data collection and assessment. 12 16 The World Bank in India • November 2019 January 2015 What important lessons in water management can India learn from other countries? We don’t have to go overseas to see good examples of water resources management. The Maharashtra Water Resources Regulatory Authority, established under a World Bank project, is putting in place policies, regulations, institutions and incentives that promote more efficient and more productive use of water, e.g., by ensuring the equitable distribution of water among users, and by establishing water tariffs. Efforts to establish effective authorities are also underway in other states, and Maharashtra is disseminating the lessons learned from its experience. In India, experience with improving water service delivery has been mixed as, only in rare cases, have efforts been embedded in a favourable policy and regulatory environment. When it comes to improving water service delivery, India can learn from Brazil, Colombia, Mozambique and New South Wales (Australia), among others. Poor or absent water management policies also exacerbate the effects of climate change on water. On the other hand, sound water management can neutralize many of the water-related impacts of climate change. Vietnam, for instance, has implemented a comprehensive program to manage water-related risks and build resilience. Nigeria has helped prevent erosion, reclaim valuable land and focused on sustainable livelihoods to reduce the vulnerability of people, infrastructure, assets, natural capital, and livelihoods to land degradation. And the Philippines is implementing comprehensive urban drainage works to improve water management. How is the World Bank supporting this issue? The World Bank’s Country Partnership Framework for India recognizes the importance of the efficient use of natural resources, including water, in support of the country’s ambitious growth targets. A number of World Bank projects support India’s efforts in the water sector: Through the National Mission for Clean Ganga, the World Bank is helping the Government of India build institutional capacity for the management and clean-up of the Ganga and investing to reduce pollution. The $1-billion operation has financed investments in wastewater and effluent treatment, solid waste management and river front development. Another World Bank project, the Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project, has improved the safety and performance of 223 dams in the country through rehabilitation, capacity- strengthening and measures to enhance legal and institutional frameworks. The National Hydrology Project is providing significant support to strengthen capacities, improve data monitoring and analysis, and laying the foundations for benchmarking and performance- based water management. The Shimla Water Supply and Sewerage Service Delivery Reform Development Policy Loan supports the Government of Himachal Pradesh in its policy and institutional development program for improving water supply and sewerage services that are financially sustainable and managed by an accountable institution responsive to its customers. The West Bengal Accelerated Development of Minor Irrigation supports farmer-led irrigation by improving service delivery to farming communities and linking these to agricultural markets. Innovative instruments are being deployed to finance these operations, such as the development policy loan in Shimla, the program-for-results financing in the Swachh Bharat Mission Support Operation and the National Groundwater Management and Improvement Project, and the use of disbursement-linked indicators in Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project-II. Analytical work at the World Bank focuses, among others, on irrigation and water and sanitation service delivery. The results will be incorporated into future lending operations. 12 The World Bank in India • November 2019 17 Recent Project Signing Uttar Pradesh Core Road Network Development Project T he Government of India, Government of Uttar Pradesh and the World Bank have signed a $400 million loan agreement to issues on road safety, improve traffic flows and reduce fatalities on congested district and state highways. help the state of Uttar Pradesh strengthen, Employment opportunities for women are upgrade and maintain about 500 kms of the expected to increase as all civil works state’s core road network of state highways, contracts drawn-up under the project will including measures to reduce crashes and require contractors to hire females for at least fatalities. 30 percent of the routine maintenance works. The Uttar Pradesh Core Road Network Contractors working under the project will be Development Project will help the state’s encouraged to recycle and use local materials Public Works Department to design and in construction, grow plantations along the build green highways which are resilient to corridor, practice soil and water conservation the effects of climate change. It will also and use energy-efficient lighting. strengthen the PWD’s capacity to identify Recent Project Approval Odisha Integrated Irrigation Project for Climate Resilient Agriculture T he World Bank Board of Executive Directors has approved a US$165 million project to support smallholder farmers in the districts of Odisha managing 128,000 ha of agricultural land. The project will strengthen the resilience state of Odisha. of smallholder farmers against adverse The Odisha Integrated Irrigation Project climate by improving access to resilient for Climate Resilient Agriculture will be seed varieties and production technologies, implemented in rural areas vulnerable to diversifying towards more climate-resilient droughts and largely dependent on rainfed crops, and improving access to better water agriculture. It will benefit about 125,000 management and irrigation services. smallholder farmer households from 15 Partnership Agreement J P Morgan to Invest in New World Bank Fund for Skill Development of India’s Workforce J P Morgan has announced a $10 million investment in a new World Bank Multi- Donor Trust Fund focused on improving The program will support innovative models in curriculum development; provide appropriate training for teachers as well as the quality of skills development for young career counselling for students; develop people in India. and match skills development programs to emerging demand in the future of work; The program – School to Work: Skilling foster inclusion of marginalized communities; India’s Youth – will improve access to quality and reduce gender gaps in accessing skills and market-relevant training for youth in development programs. Pilot projects will be select states of India. launched in Maharashtra and Rajasthan. 18 6 The World Bank in India • November 2019 12 New Additions to the Public Information Center T his is a select listing of recent World Bank publications, working papers, operational documents and other information resources that are now available at the New Delhi Office Public Information Center. Policy Research Working Papers, Project Appraisal Documents, Project Information Documents and other reports can be downloaded in pdf format from ‘Documents and Reports’ at www.worldbank.org India Publications Publications may be consulted and copies of unpriced items obtained from: from EVIDENCE to POLICY: Can microloans increase The World Bank PIC toilet ownership and use? The Hindustan Times House (Press Block) Available On-Line 18-20, Kasturba Gandhi Marg Published: August 2019 New Delhi – 110 001, India 4 pages Tel: +91-11-4294 7000, Ext. 753 English Version, Website: www.worldbank.org Paperback Facebook: www.facebook.com/WorldBankIndia Email: indiapic@worldbank.org Report No.: 140569 Without access to a PRINCIPAL DISTRIBUTOR hygienic toilet, and the Viva Books Pvt Ltd motivation to use one, people usually defecate in 4737/23 Ansari Road, Daryaganj the open, and fecal matter makes its way into homes, New Delhi – 110 002 food, and drinking water sources. In places such as Tel: +91-11-4224 2200 rural India where open defecation is very common, Fax: +91-11-4224 2240 finding effective and affordable approaches to increase Email: vivadelhi@vivagroupindia.net sanitation coverage is a major public health challenge. Other Preferred Stockist in India Anand Associates from EVIDENCE to POLICY: Can TB patients help 1219 Stock Exchange Tower successfully identify others for testing? 12th Floor, Dalal Street Mumbai – 400 023 Available On-Line Tel: +91-22-2272 3065/66 Published: September 2019, Email: thrupti@vsnl.com 4 pages Website: www.myown.org English Version, Fax: +91-11-2610 0573 (New Delhi) Paperback Fax: +91-80-4128 7582 (Bangalore) Report No.: 141949 Allied Publishers Pvt Ltd Tuberculosis is an infectious Tel: +91-22-2261 7926/27 airborne bacterial disease Email: mumbai.books@alliedpublishers.com that can lead to death when Website: www.alliedpublishers.com left untreated. The disease killed some 1.6 million people in 2017, according to the Bookwell World Health Organization, making it one of the top ten 24/4800 Ansari Road, causes of death worldwide. Treatment often is free of Daryaganj charge, but many cases of TB aren’t even diagnosed, New Delhi – 110 002 particularly in low-income countries. TB patients Tel: +91-11-2326 8786; 2325 7264 themselves might have better information than health Email: info@bookwellpublications.com workers about who is at risk of TB, because others in their social networks might share the same risk factors for the disease. 12 The World Bank in India • November 2019 19 important drivers of the forecast. The expected modest India: Policy Research Working Papers recovery to 6.3 percent in 2020 and 6.7 percent in 2021 is tentative as forecasts under current circumstances, WPS9011 particularly for investment, are highly uncertain. Can Women’s Self-Help Groups Contribute to In many countries across the region, further Sustainable Development? Evidence of Capability decentralization is a high policy priority. These policies Changes from Northern India are part of a global decentralization trend, which aims to By Paul Anand, Swati Saxena, Rolando Gonzalez and improve local service delivery. Empirical evidence of the Hai-Anh H. Dang effectiveness of decentralization is mixed, a result which This paper investigates a women’s self-help group is often attributed to partial decentralization. program with more than 1.5 million participants in one of Successful development requires both decentralization the poorest rural areas of Northern India. The program and centralization at the same time. In the interplay has four streams of activity in micro-savings, agricultural between central and local governments, the allocation enterprise training, health and nutrition education, and of resources plays a crucial role. In South Asia, a lack political participation. of geospatial data on expenditure and development The paper considers whether there is any evidence outcomes remains a major constraint. that program membership is associated with quality of life improvement. Using new data on a variety of Other Publications self-reported capability indicators from members and non-members, the paper estimates propensity score matching models and reports evidence of differences in Doing Business 2020: Comparing Business some dimensions as well as significant benefits to those Regulation in 190 Economies from the most disadvantaged groups—scheduled castes By World Bank and tribes. Available On-Line The paper considers robustness and concludes that for Published: October 2019, some dimensions, there is evidence that the program 149 pages English Version, has contributed to sustainable development through Paperback improvements in the quality of life. ISBN (paper): 978-1-4648- 1440-2 ISBN (electronic): 978-1- South Asia Publications 4648-1441-9 Doing Business 2020 is South Asia Economic Focus: the 17th in a series of annual studies investigating the Making (De)centralization Work regulations that enhance business activity and those that By World Bank constrain it. It provides quantitative indicators covering 12 areas of the business environment in 190 economies. Available On-Line The goal of the Doing Business series is to provide Published: October 2019, objective data for use by governments in designing 88 pages sound business regulatory policies and to encourage English Version, Paperback research on the important dimensions of the regulatory. ISBN (electronic): 978-1- 4648-1515-7 Global GDP growth is Enabling the Business of Agriculture 2019 decelerating, while trade By World Bank Group and industrial production Available On-Line are stagnating. The slowdown has been severe in Published October 2019, South Asia, which in recent quarters was no longer the 140 pages fastest growing region in the world. In most South Asian English Version, countries, growth is expected to be below long-run Paperback
ISBN (paper): averages this year but there is significant diversity evident 978-1-4648-1387-0 in the high frequency data of industrial production. ISBN (electronic): 978-1- Current account deficits have declined, as is often the 4648-1388-7 case during economic downturns. Inflation remains near target in most countries, but food price inflation is Enabling the Business of picking up. Growth forecasts for South Asia are revised Agriculture 2019 presents indicators that measure the downward considerably as uncertainty in global markets laws, regulations and bureaucratic processes that affect and a worsening global outlook have become more farmers in 101 countries. 20 The World Bank in India • November 2019 21 The study covers eight thematic areas: supplying seed, we are introducing the concept of Learning Poverty, registering fertilizer, securing water, registering machinery, drawing on new data developed in coordination with the sustaining livestock, protecting plant health, trading food UNESCO Institute for Statistics. and accessing finance. The report highlights global best performers and countries that made the most significant regulatory improvements in support of farmers. Annual Report 2019: Ending Poverty. Investing in Opportunity By World Bank Group Secured Transactions, Collateral Registries and Available On-Line Movable Asset-Based Financing: Knowledge Guide Published: September 2019, By World Bank 187 pages Available On-Line English Version, Paperback Published: October 2019 The Annual Report is prepared 118 pages 
 by the Executive Directors English Version, Paperback of the International Bank for Conference Edition Reconstruction and Development Report No.: 142346 (IBRD) and the International The main objective of Development Association (IDA)— this Knowledge Guide is collectively known as the World Bank—in accordance to provide guidance to with the by-laws of the two institutions. the World Bank Group (WBG) staff, donor institutions, The President of the IBRD and IDA and the Chairman government officials and other practitioners on the of the Board of Executive Directors submits the Report, objectives and implementation of secured transactions together with the accompanying administrative budgets reforms, as well as the factors that affect the and audited financial statements, to the Board of implementation. Governors. The Knowledge Guide considers the experiences learned in various secured transactions reform projects implemented not only by the WBG, but also by other World Development Report 2020: Trading for organizations, especially the European Bank for Development in the Age of Global Value Chains Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). By World Bank Group On the legislative side, it references the provisions of Available On-Line the United Nations Commission on International Trade Published: October 2019, Law (UNCITRAL) instruments, especially the 2016 Model 293 pages Law. Significant space has been dedicated to regulatory English Version, Paperback aspects, particularly those relating to prudential ISSN: 0163-5085 regulation and their intersection with security rights in ISBN: 978-1-4648-1457-0 movable assets. Finally, a detailed description of various e-ISBN: 978-1-4648-1495-2 credit products that translate the legal provisions into Global value chains action has been included. (GVCs) powered the surge of international trade after 1990 and now account for almost half of all trade. This shift enabled Ending Learning Poverty : What Will It Take? an unprecedented economic convergence: poor By World Bank countries grew rapidly and began to catch up with Available On-Line richer countries. Since the 2008 global financial crisis, Published: October 2019, however, the growth of trade has been sluggish and 50 pages 
 the expansion of GVCs has stalled. Meanwhile, serious English Version, Paperback threats have emerged to the model of trade-led growth. Conference Edition
Report New technologies could draw production closer No.: 142659 to the consumer and reduce the demand for labor. And conflicts among large countries could lead to a In recent years, it has retrenchment or a segmentation of GVCs. become clear that many children around the world This book examines whether there is still a path to are not learning to read development through GVCs and trade. It concludes proficiently. As a major contributor to human capital that technological change is, at this stage, more a boon deficits, the learning crisis undermines sustainable than a curse. GVCs can continue to boost growth, growth and poverty reduction. To spotlight this crisis, create better jobs, and reduce poverty provided that 12 The World Bank in India • November 2019 21 developing countries implement deeper reforms to The content coverage of this IDS includes: promote GVC participation; industrial countries pursue m a user guide describing the IDS tables and content, open, predictable policies; and all countries revive definitions and rationale for country and income multilateral cooperation. groupings, data notes, and description of the additional resources and comprehensive datasets available to users online, Trade Integration as a Pathway to Development? m a brief overview analyzing global trends in debt By World Bank Group stocks and debt flows to low- and middle-income Available On-Line countries within the framework of aggregate capital Published: October 2019, flows (debt and equity), 187 pages m a feature story on lending by the World Bank in English Version, Paperback recognition of the institution’s 75th anniversary, After a period of rapid m tables and charts detailing debtor and creditor economic growth composition of debt stock and flows, terms volume associated with high and terms of new commitments, maturity structure commodity prices, of future debt service payments and debt burdens, the Latin America and measured in relation to GNI and export earnings for Caribbean region has again entered a phase of each country, and lackluster performance. Overall this slowdown seems m one-page summaries per country, plus global, more self-inflicted than imported, and the outlook for regional and income-group aggregates showing the region is not encouraging either. A tepid export debt stocks and flows, relevant debt indicators and response constrains the prospect of growing through metadata for 5 years (2014-2018). external demand whereas limited fiscal space leaves little room to stimulate domestic demand. The outlook could deteriorate further if the international environment China’s High-Speed Rail Development became less conducive. By Martha Lawrence, This report explores whether inward-looking Richard Bullock, and Ziming development strategies could be one of the reasons for Liu slow growth in Latin America and the Caribbean. Trade Available On-Line barriers are higher than in other developing regions, and Published: October 2019, while numerous preferential trade agreements have been 101 pages signed, many of them are intra-regional. English Version, Paperback ISBN: 978-1-4648-1425-9 The report shows that South-North agreements are associated with increases in economic complexity and Over the past decade, faster economic growth than South-South agreements. China has built 25,000 It illustrates the point by assessing the economic, social, km of dedicated high-speed railway—more than the spatial and environmental impacts of two major: South- rest of the world combined. What can we learn from North agreements signed over the last year. this remarkable experience? China’s High-Speed Rail Development examines the Chinese experience to draw lessons for countries considering investing in high- International Debt Statistics 2020 speed rail. By World Bank Group The report scrutinizes the planning and delivery Available On-Line mechanisms that enabled the rapid construction of the Published: September high-speed rail system. It highlights the role of long-term 2019, 187 pages planning, consistent plan execution, and a joint venture English Version, structure that ensures active participation of provincial Paperback and local governments in project planning and financing. ISBN (paper): 978-1-4648- Traffic on China’s high-speed trains has grown to 1.7 1461-7 billion passengers a year. ISBN (electronic): 978-1- The study examines the characteristics of the markets 4648-1462-4 for which high-speed rail is competitive in China. It International Debt Statistics (IDS) is a longstanding discusses the pricing and service design considerations annual publication of the World Bank featuring external that go into making high-speed rail services competitive debt statistics and analysis for the 122 low- and with other modes and factors such as good urban middle-income countries that report to the World Bank connectivity that make the service attractive to Debt Reporting System (DRS). customers. One of the most remarkable aspects of the 22 The World Bank in India • November 2019 Chinese experience is the rapid pace of high-quality Protecting All: Risk Sharing for a Diverse and construction. Diversifying World of Work The report looks at the role of strong capacity By Truman Packard, Ugo development within and cooperation among China Gentilini, Margaret Grosh, Railway Corporation, rail manufacturers, universities, Philip O’Keefe research institutions, laboratories, and engineering Available On-Line centers that allowed for rapid technological Published: September advancement and localization of technology. It describes 2019, 293 pages the project delivery structures and incentives for English Version, Paperback delivering quality and timely results. ISBN (paper): 978-1-4648- 1427-3 Finally, the report analyzes the financial and economic ISBN (electronic): 978-1- sustainability of the investment in high-speed rail. It 4648-1428-0 finds that a developing country can price high-speed rail services affordably and still achieve financial This white paper focusses on the policy interventions viability, but this requires very high passenger density. made to help people manage risk, uncertainty and Economic viability similarly depends on high passenger the losses from events whose impacts are channeled density. primarily through the labor market. The objectives of the white paper are: m to scrutinize the relevance and effects of prevailing Innovative China: New Drivers of Growth risk-sharing policies in low- and middle-income By World Bank Group and countries; DRC m take account of how global drivers of disruption Available On-Line shape and diversify how people work; Published: September 2019, m propose alternative risk-sharing policies; and 186 pages English Version, Paperback m map a reasonable transition path from the current ISBN (paper): 978-1-4648- to an alternative policy approach that substantially 1335-1 extends protection to a greater portion of working ISBN (electronic): 978-1- people and their families. 4648-1420-4 After more than three decades of average annual Common Core Accounting Syllabus for Universities growth close to 10 percent, China’s economy is transitioning to a ‘new normal’ of slower but more By World Bank Group, balanced and sustainable growth. Its old drivers of Centre for Financial growth – a growing labor force, the migration from Reporting Reform rural areas to cities, high levels of investments, and Available On-Line expanding exports – are waning or having less impact. Published: September China’s policymakers are well aware that the country 2019, 108 pages needs new drivers of growth. English Version, Paperback This report proposes a reform agenda that emphasizes Strengthening Auditing and productivity and innovation to help policymakers Reporting in the Countries promote China’s future growth and achieve their vision of the Eastern Partnership of a modern and innovative China. The reform agenda is (STAREP) is a regional based on the three D’s: program of the Centre for Financial Reporting Reform (CFRR). The program aims to create a transparent m removing Distortions to strengthen market policy environment and effective institutional framework competition and enhance the efficient allocation of for corporate reporting within the countries that make resources in the economy; up the European Union’s Eastern Partnership: Armenia, m accelerating Diffusion of advanced technologies and Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. management practices in China’s economy, taking STAREP’s focus is on the improvement of corporate advantage of the large remaining potential for catch- financial reporting frameworks and their effective up growth; and implementation. As many countries move towards the m fostering Discovery and nurturing China’s competitive adoption of international and regional standards in and innovative capacity as China approaches OECD accounting and auditing, there is a need to ensure high incomes in the decades ahead and extends the quality, relevant education both for those entering the global innovation and technology frontier. profession and for ongoing professional development 12 The World Bank in India • November 2019 23 throughout their career. The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) aims to strengthen infrastructure, trade, and investment links between The World Bank’s Accounting and Auditing Education China and some 70 other countries. Community of Practice (EduCoP) has enabled shared and peer learning, supporting national efforts to develop This study analyzes the economics of this endeavor accounting and auditing education capacity. with a particular focus on connectivity. Its authors assess connectivity gaps in the BRI region, examine economic effects of proposed BRI infrastructure Financing Climate Futures: Rethinking Infrastructure improvements, and identify policy reforms and institutions supporting welfare maximization and risk By OECD, UN Environment mitigation for BRI economies. and World Bank Group Available On-Line Published: October 2019, Better Cities, Better World: A Handbook on Local 136 pages, Governments Self- Assessment English Version, Paperback ISBN 978-92-64-30810-7 By Catherine Farvacque- (print) Vitkovic and Mihaly Kopanyi ISBN 978-92-64-30811-4 Available On-Line (pdf) Published July 2019, ISBN 978-92-64-30910-4 344 pages (epub) English Version, Paperback ISBN: 978-1-4648-1336-8 Infrastructure worldwide has suffered from chronic under-investment for decades and currently makes up In a context of skewed more than 60 of greenhouse gas emissions. A deep financial resources and transformation of existing infrastructure systems is complex urban challenges, needed for both climate and development, one that more cities are searching for more effective and includes systemic conceptual and behavioral changes in innovative ways to deal with new and old problems. the ways in which we manage and govern our societies Better Cities, Better World: A Handbook on Local and economies. Governments Self-Assessments is at the heart of this debate. This report is a joint effort by the OECD, UN Environment and the World Bank Group, supported by It recognizes the complex past, current, and future the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature challenges that cities face, outlining a bottom-line, Conservation and Nuclear Safety. It focuses on how no-nonsense framework for data-based policy dialogue governments can move beyond the current incremental and action; a common language that, for the first approach to climate action and more effectively align time, bridges public investments programming (Urban financial flows with climate and development priorities. Audit/Self-Assessment) and financing (Municipal Finances Self-Assessment). It addresses two key, often The report explores six key transformative areas that overlooked questions: will be critical to align financial flows with low-emission and resilient societies (planning, innovation, public m Are we doing the right things? budgeting, financial systems, development finance, m Are we doing things right? and cities) and looks at how rapid socio-economic and This text offers pragmatic, purposeful tools to central technological developments, such as digitalization, can governments, city leaders and policy makers, municipal open new pathways to low-emission, resilient futures. staff, and cities’ partners. Belt and Road Economics: Opportunities and Risks of Transport Corridors By World Bank Group Available On-Line Published: June 2019, 159 pages English Version, Paperback ISBN (paper): 978-1-4648- 1392-4 ISBN (electronic): 978-1- 4648-1465-5 24 The World Bank in India • November 2019 India Project Documents Assam Agribusiness and Rural Transformation Enhancing Coastal and Ocean Resource Efficiency Project Project Date 19 September 2019 Date 01 October 2019 Project ID P155617 Project ID P167804 Report No. RES38134 (Project Paper) Report No. SFG5607 (Environmental Assessment, 3 Vol.) Assam Inland Water Transport Project Low-Income Housing Finance Project Date 03 October 2019 Date 03 October 2019 Project ID P157929 Project ID P119039 Report No. PIDISDSA23164 (Project Information and Integrated Safeguards Data Sheet) Report No. ICR4655 (Implementation Completion and Results Report) Andhra Pradesh Rural Inclusive Growth Project National Cyclone Risk Mitigation Project Date 13 September 2019 Date 22 August 2019 Project ID P152210 Project ID P092217 Report No. RES37410 (Project Paper) Report No. ICR4745 (Implementation Completion Chhattisgarh Inclusive Rural and Accelerated and Results Report) Agriculture Growth Tamil Nadu Irrigated Agriculture Modernization and Date 30 August 2019 Water-Bodies Restoration and Management Project Project ID P170645 Date 22 August 2019 Report No. PIDC27227 (Project Information Project ID P090768 Document – Concept Stage) Report No. 140642 (Project Performance ESRSC00790 (Environment and Social Assessment Report) Review Summary) Maharashtra Agricultural Competitiveness Project Coal-Fired Generation Rehabilitation Project Date 07 October 2019 Date 07 October 2019 Project ID P120836 Project ID P100101 Report No. ICRR0021765 (Implementation Report No. ICR0004323 (Implementation Completion Report Review) Completion Report Review) MSME Growth Innovation and Inclusive Finance Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project Project Date 30 August 2019 Date 24 September 2019 Project ID P170873 Project ID P151544 Report No. PIDC27520 (Project Information Report No. ICR4943 (Implementation Completion Document – Concept Stage) and Results Report) ESRSC00769 (Environment and Social Review Summary) National Ganga River Basin Project Date 04 October 2019 Efficient Sustainable City Bus Services Project Project ID P119085 Date 30 September 2019 Report No. RES38466, RES33540 Project ID P132418 (Project Paper) Report No. RES38264 (Project Paper) 12 The World Bank in India • November 2019 25 Neeranchal National Watershed Project Report No. PIDISDSA26218 (IntegratedSafeguards Data Sheet – Appraisal Stage) Date 10 August 2019 (Program Information Document) Project ID P132739 Report No. RES32826 (Project Paper) Uttar Pradesh Core Road Network Development Project North East Rural Livelihoods Project Date 10 October 2019 Date 25 September 2019 Project ID P147864 Project ID P102330 Report No. RES38695 (Project Paper) Report No. RES38618 (Project Paper) Uttar Pradesh Health Systems Strengthening Project Odisha Integrated Irrigation Project for Climate Date 30 September 2019 Resilient Agriculture Project ID P100304 Date 06 September 2019 Report No. RES38694 (Project Paper) Project ID P163533 Report No. PAD3166 (Project Appraisal Document) Uttar Pradesh Water Sector Restructuring Project Phase 2 Punjab Urban Governance and Water Supply Date 10 September 2019 Improvement Project Project ID P122770 Date 11 September 2019 Report No. RES38349 (Project Paper) Project ID P170811 Report No. PIDC196629 (Project Information Uttarakhand Water Supply Program for Peri Urban Document – Concept Stage) Areas Date 20 August 2019 Rajasthan Agricultural Competitiveness Project Project ID P158146 Date 26 September 2019 Report No. RES37484 (Project Paper) Project ID P124614 Report No. RES38545 (Project Paper) Vishnugad Pipalkoti Hydro Electric Project Date 20 August 2019 Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project for Low Project ID P096124 Income States Report No. RES37968 (Project Paper) Date 30 September 2019 Project ID P132173 West Bengal Electricity Distribution Grid Report No. ISDSR27755 (Integrated Safeguards Modernization Project Data Sheet) Date 08 August 2019 Project ID P170590 State of Maharashtra’s Agribusiness Rural Transformation Project Report No. ESRSC00736 (Environment and Social Review Summary) Date 30 September 2019 PIDC27066 (Project Information Project ID P168310 Document – Concept Stage) Report No. SFG5755, SFG5747 (Environmental Assessment) West Bengal Transport and Logistics Improvement SFG5767 (Indigenous Peoples Plan) Project Date 09 October 2019 Strengthening Teaching-Learning and Results for Project ID P166020 States Project Report No. PIDISDSA23822 (Project Information Date 14 October 2019 and Integrated Safeguards Data Sheet) Project ID P166868 26 The World Bank in India • November 2019 From the Blogworld South Asia can learn from Indonesia to curb child stunting By Hera Diani A round 40 percent of the world’s stunted age children—meaning they are too short for their age—live in South Asia. The region is also home to Nepal, and Sri Lanka at a knowledge-sharing event in Indonesia. The gathering included discussions with counterparts from Indonesia and the rest of more than half of all children who suffer from wasting. Southeast Asia, as well as field visits. Both conditions stem from undernutrition, which is Read more: https://tinyurl.com/y65czzvr prevalent across South Asia. Affected children suffer from life-long health concerns, and their motor and cognitive skills are weaker, eventually resulting in poor school performance and fewer job prospects or lifetime earnings. Simply put, stunting and wasting represent an enormous cost to individuals and economies. Yet, unlike in other regions such as Southeast Asia, public policy and financing to address this health emergency has been insufficient in South Asia. To learn from best practices, the World Bank brought together government officials from Bhutan, India, India: In rural Bihar, citizens begin to take pride in local government By Farah Zahir P alanpur, a small village in Uttar Pradesh, India, is a fascinating example of rural transformation. Renowned economists Himanshu, Peter Lanjouw, and Nicholas Stern have evocatively told the story of this village in their eminently readable 2018 book – ‘How Lives Change’. The book talks about the important role that institutions, education, human capital and connectivity play in improving the lives of rural people, in a complex web of socio-economic conditions. Read more: https://tinyurl.com/y6brlgw4 Can more control over earnings improve low female labor force participation? By Markus Goldstein I ndia has a particularly low level of female labor force participation, clocking in at 28 percent in 2015. And this was down from 37 percent in 1990. An interesting new paper by Erica Field, Rohini Pande, Natalia Rigol, Simone Schaner and Charity Troyer Moore looks at how women’s control over earnings can increase their participation in the labor market (and move social norms) in the context of one of the largest public works programs in the world: the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). Read more: https://tinyurl.com/y62jyqm9 12 The World Bank in India • November 2019 27 From the Blogworld In South Asia, the case for road safety investment is stronger than ever By Hartwig Schafer and Makhtar Diop T he global road safety crisis has reached epidemic proportions. Every year, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates, some 1.35 million people lose their lives on the road , and millions more sustain serious injuries that often result in permanent disability. Despite growing awareness, the numbers keep creeping up. The situation is particularly alarming in low and middle-income countries, where economic growth has boosted vehicle ownership and road construction, but road safety action hasn’t kept pace. Read more: https://tinyurl.com/yy7n3lff Skilling up Bangladesh’s youth for a changing job market By Mustahsin-ul-Aziz S ix years ago, Kamrul Nahar was struggling. She had lost her father. Making ends meet became a challenge in Netrokona, her rural hometown far away One of her teachers noticed her hardships and introduced her to vocational training. He suggested she learn how to use a computer from Bangladesh’s capital. because IT skills were in demand. She did, and her life changed. Kamrul has big plans now. “My dream is to open a programming firm,” she says. “I can hire girls who have no fathers, so they may stand on their own feet and do something with their lives.” Kamrul’s story is one of many examples of how investing in skills can unlock employment opportunities. Read more: https://tinyurl.com/y3y93agb World Bank Policy Research Working Papers WPS9039 WPS9037 Too Much Energy: The Perverse Effect of Low Fuel Regulatory Arbitrage and Cross-Border Syndicated Prices on Firms Loans By Massimiliano Cali, Nicola Cantore, Leonardo By Asli Demirguc-Kunt, Balint Laszlo Horvath and Harry Iacovone and et.al. P. Huizinga WPS9038 WPS9036 Poverty Convergence in a Time of Stagnation: A Trade Policy to Catalyze Export Diversification: What Municipal-Level Perspective from Mexico (1992-2014) Should Landlocked Fragile Countries Do? The Cases By Luis-Felipe Lopez-Calva, Eduardo Ortiz-Juarez and of Mali, Chad, and Niger Carlos Rodriguez Castelan By Jose R. Lopez Calix and Nihal Pitigala 28 The World Bank in India • November 2019 WPS9035 WPS9024 Is Informality Good for Business? The Impacts of IDP Is 3D Printing a Threat to Global Trade? The Trade Inflows on Formal Firms Effects You Didn’t Hear By Sandra Rozo and Hernan Jorge Winkler By Caroline Freund, Alen Mulabdic and Michele Ruta WPS9034 WPS9023 Taking Power: Women’s Empowerment and Household Expectations Set High: Understanding Reservation Well-Being in Sub-Saharan Africa Wages in North Macedonia By Jeannie Ruth Annan, Aletheia Amalia Donald, Markus By Marjan Petreski, Ana Maria Oviedo Silva and Cesar P. Goldstein and et.al. A. Cancho WPS9033 WPS9022 Domestic Government Spending on Human Capital: A Is Short-Term Debt a Substitute or a Complement to Cross-Country Analysis of Recent Trends Good Governance? By Kathryn Gilman Andrews, Ciro Avitabile and Roberta By Deniz Anginer, Asli Demirguc-Kunt, Mete Tepe and V. Gatti Serif Aziz Simsir WPS9032 WPS9021 Innovations in Tax Compliance: Conceptual Economic and Distributional Impacts of Free Trade Framework Agreements: The Case of Indonesia By Wilson Prichard, Anna Louise Custers, Roel Dom and By Massimiliano Cali, Maryla Maliszewska, Zoryana et.al. Olekseyuk and Israel Osorio-Rodarte WPS9031 WPS9019 Capital Allocation in Developing Countries Conflict, Household Victimization, and Welfare: Does By Joel Michael David, Venky Venkateswaran, Ana Paula the Perpetrator Matter? Cusolito and Tatiana Didier Brandao By Heidi Kristiina Kaila and M Abul Kalam Azad WPS9030 WPS9018 Caregiver Perceptions of Child Development: A Cross- The Moroccan New Keynesian Phillips Curve: A Sectional Study Structural Econometric Analysis By Esther O. Chung, Lia C.H. Fernald, Emanuela By Vincent De Paul Tsoungui Belinga and Mohamed Galasso, Lisy Ratsifandrihamanana and Ann M. Weber Doukali WPS9029 WPS9017 Balancing Control and Flexibility in Public Expenditure Eurobonds: A Quantitative Analysis of Joint-Liability Management: Using Banking Sector Innovations for Debt Improved Expenditure Control and Effective Service By Vasileios Tsiropoulos Delivery By Moritz Piatti-Fünfkirchen, Ali Hashim and Khuram WPS9016 Farooq Broken Promises: Evaluating an Incomplete Cash Transfer Program WPS9028 By Angelika Muller, Utz Johann Pape and Laura R. Multilingual Assessment of Early Child Development: Ralston Analyses from Repeated Observations of Children in Kenya WPS9015 By Heather A. Knauer, Patricia Kariger, Pamela Jakiela, Socioeconomic Resilience in Sri Lanka: Natural Owen Ozier and Lia C.H. Fernald Disaster Poverty and Wellbeing Impact Assessment By Brian James Walsh and Stephane Hallegatte WPS9027 Entry Barriers, Idiosyncratic Distortions, and the Firm- WPS9014 Size Distribution Impact of International Migration on Labor Supply in By Roberto N. Fattal-Jaef Nepal By Lokendra Phadera WPS9026 Firm Compliance and Public Disclosure in Vietnam WPS9013 By Claire Honore Hollweg Targeting Inputs: Experimental Evidence from Tanzania By Xavier Gine, Bernardo Barboza Ribeiro and Ildrim WPS9025 Valley Magnitude and Distribution of Electricity and Water Subsidies for Households in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia WPS9012 By Helena Cardenas and Dale Whittington Moral Hazard vs. Land Scarcity: Flood Management 12 The World Bank in India • November 2019 29 Policies for the Real World Term Results of PROSPERA in Health By Paolo Avner and Stephane Hallegatte By Juan Pablo Gutierrez, Teresa Shamah-Levy, Stefano M. Bertozzi and Juan A. Rivera-Dommarco WPS9011 Can Women’s Self-Help Groups Contribute to WPS9000 Sustainable Development? Evidence of Capability Impacts of PROSPERA on Enrollment, School Changes from Northern India Trajectories, and Learning By Paul Anand, Swati Saxena, Rolando Gonzalez and By Jere R. Behrman, Susan W. Parker and Petra Hai-Anh H. Dang Elizabeth Todd WPS9010 WPS8999 Fiscal Incidence in Moldova: A Commitment to Equity Long-Term Study of PROSPERA on Intergenerational Analysis Occupational Mobility By Alexandru Cojocaru, Mikhail Matytsin and Valeriu By Iliana Yaschine, Delfino Vargas, Curtis Huffman and Prohnitchi et.al. WPS9009 WPS8998 Paying Attention to Profitable Investments: The Entertaining Way to Behavioral Change: Fighting Experimental Evidence from Renewable Energy HIV with MTV Markets By Abhijit Banerjee, Eliana La Ferrara and Victor Hugo By Aidan Coville, Victor Hugo Orozco Olvera and Arndt Orozco Olvera Rudiger Reichert WPS8997 WPS9008 The Large-Firm Wage Premium in Developing On Financial Development and Economic Growth in Economies the Arab Republic of Egypt By Tristan Reed and Trang Thu Tran By Mahmoud Mohieldin, Khaled Hussein, Ahmed Mohamed Tawfick Rostom WPS8996 Management Capabilities and Performance of Firms in WPS9007 the Russian Federation Self-Employment and Migration By Arti Goswami Grover and Ivan Torre By Samuele Giambra and David J. Mckenzie WPS8995 WPS9006 Twenty Years of Wage Inequality in Latin America Requirements to Be a Teacher in Brazil: Effective or By Julian Messina and Joana C. G. Silva Not? 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Zeufack Strategies during the 2015-16 Recession in Belarus By Kateryna Bornukova, Alexandru Cojocaru, Mikhail WPS8991 Matytsin and Gleb Shymanovich Financing Low-Carbon Transitions through Carbon Pricing and Green Bonds WPS9002 By Dirk Heine, Willi Semmler, Mariana Mazzucato and Long-Term Effects of PROSPERA on Welfare et.al. 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Mckenzie By Patricia Jones, Emmanuel Kwasi Koranteng Lartey and Taye Alemu Mengistae WPS8976 Wading Out the Storm: The Role of Poverty in WPS8987 Exposure, Vulnerability and Resilience to Floods in Dar Innovative Learning Environments: The Role of Es Salaam Energy-Efficient Investments in Russian Preschool By Alvina Elisabeth Erman, Mersedeh Tariverdi, Education Facilities (A Case Study of the Khanty- Marguerite Anne Beatrice Obolensky and et.al. Mansyisk Region) By Tigran Shmis, Dmitry Chugunov, Maria Ustinova and WPS8975 Jure Kotnik Can Taxes Help Ensure a Fair Globalization? 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Ranzani WPS8971 WPS8982 Exploring Accessibility to Employment Opportunities Turkey: An Empirical Assessment of the Determinants in African Cities: A First Benchmark of the Current Account Balance By Tatiana Peralta Quiros, Tamara Kerzhner and Paolo By David Stephen Knight, Alberto Portugal-Perez and Avner Milan Nedeljkovic WPS8970 WPS8981 Using Student and Teacher Assessments to Design Gender Differences in Time Use: Allocating Time More Pertinent In-Service Teacher Training: The Case between the Market and the Household of Ecuador By Eliana Carolina Rubiano Matulevich and Mariana By Diego Angel-Urdinola and Sebastian Francisco Viollaz Burgos Davila WPS8980 WPS8969 Industrialization on a Knife’s Edge: Productivity, Labor Lessons from Power Sector Reforms: The Case of Costs and the Rise of Manufacturing in Ethiopia Morocco By Stefano Caria By Zainab Usman and Tayeb Amegroud WPS8979 The Extent of Engagement in Global Value Chains by Firms in Rwanda By Garth Frazer and Johannes Van Biesebroeck 12 The World Bank in India • November 2019 31 The World Bank in India VOL 18 / NO 3 • November 2019 Public Information Center World Bank Depository The Hindustan Times House (Press Block) Libraries in India 18-20, Kasturba Gandhi Marg Annamalai University ◆ New Delhi - 110 001, India Annamalainagar Tel: +91-11- 4294 7000, Ext. 753 Centre for Studies in Social ◆ Contact: Sunita Malhotra Sciences Kolkata Giri Institute of Development ◆ Studies Lucknow ◆ Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics Pune Guru Nanak Dev University ◆ Media Inquiries Amritsar The World Bank Indian Institute of ◆ 70, Lodi Estate Management New Delhi - 110 003 Ahmedabad Contact: Nandita Roy ◆ Indian Institute of Public Email: mediaindia@worldbank.org Administration New Delhi Tel: +91-11-4147 9220 Institute of Development ◆ Studies Jaipur (Change background colour as needed) Institute of Economic ◆ The World Bank Websites Growth New Delhi Main: www.worldbank.org ◆ Institute of Financial India: www.worldbank.org/in Management and Research Chennai Facebook: WorldBankIndia Twitter: @worldbankindia ◆ Institute of Social and Economic Change Bangalore Karnataka University ◆ Dharwad Kerala University Library ◆ Thiruvananthapuram ◆ Centre for Economic and Social Studies Hyderabad Pt. 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