New Delhi: The Government of India, the State Government of Chhattisgarh and the World Bank signed here in New Delhi today a $25.2 Million Loan Agreement to support the State’s Reforms in Expenditure Management. This support will cover Expenditure Planning, Investment Management, Budget Execution, Public Procurement and Accountability.
The Chhattisgarh Public Financial Management and Accountability Program, which is the First Bank-Financed State-Level Project in Chhattisgarh in nearly a decade, will also help the State strengthen its Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) and Tax Administration Systems.
The New Project will build capacity of the State’s Human Resources and the Institutions Handling Management of Public Finances. The World Bank will facilitate cross-learning from Public Financial Management Reforms undertaken by it in other Indian States while bringing in global experiences.
Speaking on the occasion, Sameer Kumar Khare, Additional Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance said that the Government of India supports reforms that will contribute toward improving Public Expenditure Management. The Chhattisgarh PFM reflects the priorities identified by the State, and builds, incrementally, on ongoing reforms around Public Financial Management, he added.
The Loan Agreement was signed by Sameer Kumar Khare, Additional Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, on behalf of the Government of India; Kamal Preet Dhillon, Secretary, Finance, on behalf of the Government of Chhattisgarh; and Hisham Abdo, Acting Country Director, World Bank India, on behalf of the World Bank.
Almost 11,000 Village Panchayats and 168 Urban Municipalities in Chhattisgarh are likely to benefit from the program’s emphasis on transparency and accountability. It will also support the State Government’s initiative to put in place systems to automate most of the processing and payment of DBTs to beneficiaries; improve property tax collection through the digitization of property tax rolls; and extending the property surveys to 47 municipalities. Enhanced outreach and improved tax return filing performance are also likely to help the State’s objective of increasing the number of GST Taxpayer Registrations.
The $25.2 Million Loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), has a 5-year grace period, and a final maturity of 10.5 years.
