WASHINGTON, DC, MARCH 7, 2019 – The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors today approved a loan of $31.58 million for the Uttarakhand Public Financial Management Strengthening Project that will help improve the state’s ability to manage its financial systems and lead to better utilization of development resources.
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“Uttarakhand has made substantive progress in reducing poverty over the years. This project will help the state deploy relevant technologies to further streamline the management of its finances – leading to a more efficient execution of public projects. This in turn will help the people of Uttarakhand access more and better quality public services,” said Junaid Ahmad, Country Director, World Bank.
The project components will improve capacity in the areas of cash and debt management, planning and budgeting, appraisal and monitoring of high value projects and public audit. It will support measures to improve transparency of budget and procurement information. Using GIS mapping technologies, the project will also strengthen the state’s revenue management systems, including that of urban local bodies.
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“The Uttarakhand Public Financial Management Strengthening Project is part of World Bank's public financial management engagements at the state level, following similar projects in Himachal Pradesh, Assam, Rajasthan, and Chhattisgarh. It will draw on international experiences and those from other states that will help Uttarakhand in designing and implementing effective solutions. The project will help Uttarakhand to improve its revenue base for greater availability of resources for its development needs and strengthen its public financial management systems to enhance accountability of public resources” said Krishnamurthy Sankaranarayanan and Puneet Kapoor, the task team leaders for the project.
The $31.58 million loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), has a 5 years grace period, and a final maturity of 11 years.
