Latest News | ADB Inks $50 Mn Loan Pact with Govt for Improving Fiscal Management in West Bengal
Get latest articles and stories on Latest News at LatestLY. The Asian Development Bank on Wednesday said it has inked a USD 50 million (around Rs 369 crore) loan pact with the Indian government for improving fiscal management in West Bengal.
New Delhi, Dec 2 (PTI) The Asian Development Bank on Wednesday said it has inked a USD 50 million (around Rs 369 crore) loan pact with the Indian government for improving fiscal management in West Bengal.
"The ADB and the Government of India today signed a USD 50 million policy-based loan to improve financial management procedures and operational efficiencies aimed at achieving more fiscal savings, promote informed decision making, and improve service delivery in the state of West Bengal," ADB said in a release.
The signatories to the West Bengal Public Finance Management Investment Program were C S Mohapatra, Additional Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance and Takeo Konishi, Country Director of ADB's India Resident Mission.
West Bengal's financial and information systems through this whole-of-government approach will help improve delivery of public services and generate fiscal savings that could help the state augment growth-enhancing development financing, Mohapatra said.
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Konishi said: "Through support to interoperable e-Government platforms, the programme will ensure streamlining of social protection benefits such as pension and provident fund, facilitate gender-disaggregated data, tax payments, and revenue collection."
ADB said development projects could be better tracked and monitored with the help of a new module within the integrated financial management system (IFMS) leading to improved project management.
A center for fiscal policy and public finance will be established to deepen capacity of the state government officials on public finance management while developing a web-based grievance redressal system for transport corporations and urban local bodies will provide a credible citizen-government interface, it added.
The loan builds on past ADB policy-based programmes in 2012 and 2017, supporting the West Bengal government on sustainable public financial management reforms, said the Manila-headquartered multi-lateral funding agency.
These programmes helped develop and implement an IFMS, established successful e-Governance systems for improved revenue administration, undertook measures for expenditure rationalization, and promoted the private sector's involvement in service delivery, it said
The loan is proposed to be supplemented by a USD 350,000 technical assistance grant for capacity building, monitoring of IFMS reforms, and strengthening the integration of social and gender aspects in reform areas, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said.
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