Question: In order to Strengthening Public Financial Management in Rajasthan Project, the Government of Rajasthan and the World Bank signed a loan agreement of how much million US dollar?
(a) 20.8 million US $
(b) 21.7 million US $
(c) 23.5 million US $
(d) 25.6 million US $
Answer: (b)
Related Facts:
- On May 29, 2018, the Government of India, the Government of Rajasthan and the World Bank signed a $21.7 million loan agreement for the Strengthening Public Financial Management in Rajasthan Project.
- With higher devolution of central funds to the states, the Project will help the state government put in place systems for better planning and budget management, enhance transparency, accountability, and efficiency in public spending, and strengthen the capacity of the revenue systems across key departments.
- These departments include Finance, Excise and Commercial Taxes Planning, and the Department of Information Technology, among others.
- The agreement for the Project was signed by Sameer Kumar Khare, Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, on behalf of the Government of India; Manju Rajpal, Secretary Finance (Budget), on behalf of the Government of Rajasthan; and Hisham Abdo, Acting Country Director, World Bank India, on behalf of the World Bank.
- Rajasthan recognizes the need to strengthen both its expenditure and revenue sides, to address the rising requirements for higher development and social expenditure.
- The Project will help the departments put in place architecture to strengthen Public Financial Management (PFM) rules, regulations & practices through modernized procurement arrangements; robust audit functions; better commitment management processes; leverage IT infrastructure to enhance use of latest technologies such as big data; and a more efficient tax assessment and audit procedure.
- The state government is acutely aware of the need for higher efficiency in public expenditure and has already made progress in fiscal consolidation since the adoption of the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act (FRBM Act).
- The Integrated Financial Management System (IFMS) – a complete web-based solution for capturing government’s financial transactions including budget planning, preparation, allocation and distribution, fund management, treasury operations, and accounting is already functional.
- The state has also enacted the Rajasthan Transparency in Public Procurement (RTPP) Act to regulate and strengthen procurement regulations.
- Another major initiative of the government was the introduction of the ‘Bhamashah’ scheme for efficient service delivery by enrolling women as the head of family.
- The $21.70 million loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), has a 6-year grace period, and a maturity of 14 years.
Reference:
http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2018/05/29/project-signing-rajasthan-strengthen-fiscal-performance-under-new-world-bank-project
http://www.newsworldindia.in/business/world-bank-to-lend-217-million-dollars-for-rajasthan-public-financial-management-/298646/