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THE WorldBank IN INDIA Public Disclosure Authorized VOL 4 / NO 2 SEPTEMBER 2005 Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized I N S I D E Bank President visits India 1-5 India has lessons in development Transport development in India and China: A for the world, says Wolfowitz comparison 6-8 Events 9 Implementation Completion he President of the World Bank, Paul D. Wolfowitz, was in India Reports: An Update 10-12 Tover 17-20 August 2005 on his first visit to the country after taking New Additions to the over as head of the development institution. “India is rapidly emerging Public Information Center 13 as a country of global importance and we are seeing its footprint across Public Disclosure Authorized Contact Information 24 the world now in new and exciting ways. I am here to learn from your model of development and reform in a democratic environment,” said Mr. Wolfowitz on his arrival at Hyderabad. About the Photograph: Mr. Wolfowitz began by traveling through two villages of Mahbubnagar World Bank President Paul D. Wolfowitz with district, Andhra Pradesh (AP), where he interacted with members of schoolgirls in Kosigi village women’s self-help groups (see box) being supported under the Bank’s in Andhra Pradesh’s Mahbubnagar district. AP District Poverty Initiatives Project and the AP Rural Poverty Reduction Photos: Sondeep Shankar Project. While in Andhra Pradesh, Mr. Wolfowitz also the rural areas. Infrastructure constraints are met parents and children of a school an impediment to growth. The government supported by India’s Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, has rightly made provision of rural to which the Bank is a contributor. He also infrastructure and investments in hard met beneficiaries of the Bank-assisted AP infrastructure a priority. The World Bank feels Community Forestry Project, as well as a privileged to support these efforts.” community that had benefited from the The government also sought Bank support government’s Swajaldhara rural drinking in encouraging public-private partnerships in water scheme. infrastructure projects. India needs to invest In New Delhi, Mr. Wolfowitz met with the Prime Minster, Finance Minister, and the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission. He also called on the President of India, and was able to meet several chief Right: ministers and parliamentarians in informal The Bank settings. Outside of the official meetings, he President met specialists in gender issues, private addresses a press conference industry, and representatives of South Asian in New Delhi youth. about US$ 100 billion in the next seven years in areas like highways, power, airports, ports and railways but it is difficult to attract the private sector as infrastructure projects are not always high-return. The government discussed with Mr. Wolfowitz the possibility of setting up a ‘viability gap financing fund’ - which private investors could access on a competitive basis – and agreed to explore this idea further. While in New Delhi, Mr. Wolfowitz, joined India’s Minister of Finance P. Chidambaram in witnessing the signing of the US$ 325 million loan agreement for the Maharashtra Above: The official meetings had a common focus: Water Sector Improvement Project. Mr. Wolfowitz Rural infrastructure and physical Speaking at the event, Mr. Wolfowitz, said: with India’s infrastructure. The government briefed Mr. “I hope this Project – which is aimed at Finance making every drop of water count in Minister, P. Wolfowitz on its Bharat Nirman initiative, Chidambaram which is a highly ambitious program of Maharashtra – can be an excellent example investment in six rural sectors – irrigation, of development work making a real drinking water and sanitation, roads, telecom difference for people battling to improve connectivity, electrification and housing. their lives.” The Bank is already active in the first three sectors and the government sought expanded Bank involvement in them. The President agreed to target at least US$ 3 Right: billion in new lending in these sectors over Mr. Wolfowitz the next three years out of the existing CAS and the lending targets for India. Country Director “Although India is making rapid strides, for India it has an unfinished agenda,” said Mr. Michael Carter in the Bank’s Wolfowitz. It is still home to a quarter of the New Delhi office world’s poor people, most of whom reside in 122 The World Bank in India • September 2005 Right: Mr. Wolfowitz spent a considerable part of his field visit in rural Andhra Pradesh meeting women from self-help groups At his own request, Mr. Wolfowitz sought a the government share its lessons with other briefing from the government on India’s affected countries. “India’s response to the tsunami experience. Representatives of the tsunami, both immediately after the disaster Centre, the Planning Commission, and the struck and now in the reconstruction phase, governments of Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry has been remarkable. The World Bank is and Andaman and Nicobar Islands proud to support this effort and looks described the steps they had taken forward to carrying the learnings from India immediately after the disaster and their to the other affected countries,” he said. approach to the reconstruction process. The Prime Minister and Finance Minister They were appreciative of the Bank’s quick gave Mr. Wolfowitz a clear message that response to their funding needs and the they deeply valued India’s partnership with advice the Bank team had been providing. the World Bank, appreciated the work its The President was very impressed with staff were doing, and saw the relationship India’s performance and recommended that expanding in the years ahead. Rural Infrastructure Projects signed in FY 2003-05 Projects Approval Date Closing Date Commitment Amount (US$) Million FY 2004-05 Madhya Pradesh Water Sector Improvement Project 7 Sept 2004 31 March 2011 394.0 Rural Roads Project 23 Sept 2004 31 March 2010 399.5 Assam Agricultural Competitiveness Project (Irrigation and rural infrastructure components) 14 Dec 2004 31 March 2010 142.85 Maharashtra Water Sector Improvement Project 23 June 2005 31 March 2012 325.0 FY 2003-04 Uttaranchal Watershed Development Project 20 May 2004 31 March 2012 69.6 Maharashtra Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project 26 August 2003 30 Sept 2009 181.0 Total Lending for Rural Infrastructure FY 2003-05 1511.95 The World Bank in India • September 2005 123 You are the real leaders, Bank President tells AP village women lunging into rural India on the first full The women clamoured to narrate their stories Pday of his visit to the country, the President with an infectious energy and enthusiasm of the World Bank, Paul D. Wolfowitz visited which was hard to leave behind. One woman, Mushrifa and Kosigi villages in Andhra Pradesh’s Anjilamma described how she had once Mahbubnagar district, to meet women from poor depended on daily wage labor, but thanks to rural villages. careful use of borrowings from her self-help group, had gradually been able to buy cattle and The women described how the creation of self- land. She was now putting her son and daughter help groups under two Bank-assisted projects– through college. the AP District Poverty Initiatives Project and the AP Rural Poverty Reduction Project – had helped “It used to be a hand-to-mouth existence,” them not only improve their livelihoods, educate explained another woman, Deramma. “ But now their children, buy assets, but also campaign we are self-reliant, and can educate our children. against oppressive social practices, and become We now have the confidence that we can come a force for development in their villages. He first out of poverty.” met members of a single group in Mushrifa village, Ramulamma, the 28-year-old president of the then representatives at the block (mandal) district federation of self-help groups, explained federation level in Kosigi, and finally, in Hyderabad how the confidence the women had gained SHG leaders from all districts of the state. enabled them to successfully campaign in some villages against age-old practices like jogini (handing over daughters to become temple courtesans) and the barring of certain castes from entering temples. Top next page: Mr. Wolfowitz being welcomed to Mushrifa village Below: Mr. Wolfowitz talking to Kiran, 11, a student of Class 5 in Mushrifa village 124 The World Bank in India • September 2005 In returning to Hyderabad in the evening, poverty is something pre-determined and life-long. Mr. Wolfowitz, in the company of state chief Ever since I joined this group, I have realized that minister Y. Rajasekhara Reddy, met more than a poverty is something one can put behind.” hundred self-help group representatives from Mr. Wolfowitz was impressed by the sheer scale other districts of the state. It was a noisy of what was happening in the state. “We are not gathering and spontaneous as each woman, talking of one or two pilot projects or model unfazed by the dignitaries and huge battery of villages, but a state-wide phenomenon. There are media, insisted on making her point. lessons here for the rest of India and the world,” he said. To the women, the World Bank President had a clear message: “You have demonstrated that you can repay your loans and manage your money. You can sustain this movement because commercial banks will now not hesitate to lend to you. What impressed me most was not just that you are earning more and giving your children a brighter future, but how you were able to come together for a common purpose. A leader is one who is convinced of her beliefs and can convince Above: others. You have become real leaders and are a Mr. Wolfowitz with the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, treasure for your communities and country.” Y.

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