Social Protection

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• India: Bihar Integrated Social Protection Strengthening Project

  The development objective of the Bihar Integrated Social Protection Strengthening Project for India is to strengthen institutional capacity of the Department of Social Welfare and the Rural Development Department to deliver social protection programs and services and expand outreach of social care services for poor and vulnerable households, persons with disabilities, older persons, and widows in the state of Bihar. The project has two components: the first component, strengthening social protection systems and capacity will strengthen core systems and capacity of the Bihar Rural Development Society (BRDS) and the State Society for Ultra-Poor and Social Welfare (SSUPSW), which are the program implementation arms of the Rural Development Department and the Department of Social Welfare respectively, at the state, district, and block levels. This component has two sub-components: (i) strengthening systems and capacity for safety net delivery; and (ii) strengthening systems and capacity for social pension and social care service delivery. The second component is establish and strengthen social care services. This component will support establishing social care services across the state through social care service centers (referred to as Buniyad centers) that will provide high quality care, support, and rehabilitation services for older persons, widows, and persons with disabilities. It has following three sub-components: (i) establish and strengthen social care services; (ii) pilot models in social protection delivery; and (iii) innovation window.

• Tejaswini: Socioeconomic Empowerment of Adolescent Girls & Young Women

  The development objective of Tejaswini, for Socioeconomic Empowerment of Adolescent Girls and Young Women (AGYW) Project in India is to improve completion of market-driven skills training and secondary education for adolescent girls and young women in select districts of Jharkhand. This projects consists of three components: 1) The firs component, Expanding Social, Educational, and Economic Opportunities, aims to support adolescent girls and young women of fifteen districts in Jharkhand to achieve greater social, educational, and economic empowerment. It has two sub components as follows: (i) Community-level Socioeconomic Empowerment of Adolescent Girls and Young Women; and (ii) Institution-level Interventions for Completion of Vocational Skills Training and Education. 2) The second component, Intensive Service Delivery, will pilot and evaluate more intensive community-level service delivery models in two districts focused on increasing adolescent girls and young women’s access to educational interventions, training, and employment opportunities. It has two subcomponents as follows: (i) Enhanced Last Mile Service Delivery; and (ii) Enhanced Outreach to Hard-to-reach Populations. 3) The third component, State Capacity Building and Implementation Support, aims to support strengthening of institutional capacity and outreach of the Department of Women and Child Development and Social Security (DWCDSS) and the Jharkhand Women Development Society (JWDS) to enable effective and efficient delivery of services for AGYW in the state. It has two sub components as folows: (i) Strengthening Systems and Convergence; and (ii) Project Implementation Support.

• India - Strengthening Urban Safety Nets in India Project : Summary Note

  A social protection system that responds to a more middle income, more urban, diverse and more decentralized India is needed. India has experienced sustained growth and poverty reduction in recent years, however poverty and vulnerability remain high (World Bank 2016). At present, most programs remain focused on rural and static populations. For chronic poor households very near the poverty line, a safety net can provide protection by transferring a basic level of assistance. But for those households who have made substantial progress, social protection programs need to provide insurance through instruments that minimize the impact of shocks to ensure households consolidate their welfare gains. The needs of the growing number of vulnerable and urban poor remain inadequately addressed, and the urban SP system is largely unprepared to address the needs of mobile populations - a group that is likely to continue to grow as economic reforms deepen. A greater emphasis should be placed on prevention strategies, helping people manage risks before they cause deprivation. This includes expanding coverage of social insurance and formal sector pension programs. Protection for huge informal sector assumes priority. Expanded coverage of social pensions, access to health coverage under health insurance programs, and opening of pension programs such as Atal Pension Yojana for the informal sector can accelerate inclusion by helping protect households against risks, together with enhancing portable coverage for the large number of migrant workers. The analytic outputs generated through the RSR supported Strengthening Urban Safety Nets task have aimed to improve design and delivery of urban social protection interventions with focus on pensions and social insurance. The current note summarizes key activities and lessons. Following the introduction, the second section sets out the context for support to urban social protection in India. The third section outlines core tasks and deliverables. The final section provides summary diagnostics and lessons.