Business Environment

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• State of Maharashtra's Agribusiness and Rural Transformation Project

• Technology Center Systems Project (TCSP)

  The objective of the Technology Center Systems Program Project for India is to enhance the productivity of Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprise, or MSMEs by improving their access to technology and business advisory services as well as skilled workers through systems of financially sustainable Technology Centers (TCs). There are three components to the project, the first component being technical assistance to the existing and new technology centers. The TCs and their private sector clients will benefit, for the duration of the program, from the technical assistance of world class firms that will provide superior technology related inputs with respect to the technological and business needs. These two streams of technical assistance will run in parallel and inform each other under the guidance of industry specific joint working groups comprising the main industry leaders and representatives. The second component is the investments to develop new and upgrade existing technology centers. Finally, the third component is the technical assistance to the MSME Ministry for Program implementation and Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E). The M&E system will include, in particular, independent surveys of customers and stakeholders (including potential private competitors to the TCs) to assess the transformative impact of the program, as well as to ensure there is no significant crowding-out of the private sector. Such surveys will be designed and launched during the first year of program implementation.

• Uttar Pradesh Pro-Poor Tourism Development Project

  The development objective of the Uttar Pradesh Pro-Poor Tourism Development Project for India is to increase tourism-related benefits for local communities in targeted destinations. The project comprises of four components. The first component, destination planning and governance aims to test new approaches and establish the institutional structures, policies, and coordination mechanisms necessary for bringing together the public and private sectors and local communities for effective destination-level tourism planning and governance. The second component, tourist products development and management aims to enhance the tourist experience while simultaneously contributing to improving local living conditions and livelihood opportunities by transforming existing tourist attractions into tourist products that incorporate local communities both physically and economically. The third component, support to local economic development aims to improve the linkages of those involved in the productive and creative economies with the tourism value chain in the project target areas by providing advisory, technical assistance, and financing. The fourth component, project management aims to provide the necessary technical, advisory, and financial support for the adequate implementation, management, and coordination of the project using country system.

• Assam Agribusiness and Rural Transformation Project

  The objective of the Assam Agribusiness and Rural Transformation Project for India is to ‘add value and improve resilience of selected agriculture value chains, focusing on smallholder farmers and agro-entrepreneurs in targeted districts of Assam’. There are four components to the project, the first component being enabling agri-enterprise development. The objective of this component is to enable investments in agri-enterprises, improve investment environment and promote investment, reduce business and transaction costs, facilitate access to finance for agribusiness MSMEs, and, where appropriate, facilitate process and regulatory changes. The second component is the facilitating agro cluster development. The objective of this component is to enhance competitiveness of agri-enterprises in specific geographic clusters, and upgrade infrastructure for agricultural trade, in these clusters to enable producers and other value chain participants to access new markets. This will be achieved by: mobilizing proximate agri-enterprises, in identified geographic clusters, into Industry Associations (IAs), and building their capacity to undertake joint actions; supporting development of and financing for Agro Industrial Development Plans (AIDPs) laying out joint actions that can be undertaken by IAs to enhance competitiveness; providing a range of Business Development Services to scale up agri-enterprises in the selected clusters; and upgrading and modernizing warehouses, agricultural wholesale markets and rural periodic markets in the cluster, including link roads. The third component is the fostering market-led production and resilience enhancement. The objective of this component is to enable producers of the priority value chains, in the targeted clusters, to take advantage of the rapidly changing market demand, and enhance resilience of agriculture production systems for incre

• Innovate in India for Inclusiveness

  The development objective of Innovate in India for Inclusiveness is to facilitate innovation in biopharmaceutical products and medical devices that address public health priorities in India. This project has three components. 1) The first component, Strengthening the pilot-to-market innovation ecosystem, aims to provide grant funding to support the creation of centers of excellence for validation, early stage bio-manufacturing, clinical development, training, and technology transfer. It has the following five subcomponents: (i) Shared facilities; (ii) Scientific research; (iii) Clinical trial network; (iv) Training; and (v) Technology transfer. 2) The second component, Accelerating the pilot-to-market process for specific products, aims to provide grant funding to consortia of private, public, and academic institutions, led by cutting-edge institutions in their respective field, to accelerate the development of low-cost, select vaccines, biopharmaceuticals, diagnostics, and medical devices that address public health priorities in India. It has the following three subcomponents: (i) Vaccines; (ii) Biosimilars; and (iii) Medical devices (instruments and diagnostics). 3) The third component, Project management and monitoring and evaluation, aims to cover the operating costs incurred by Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) in the implementation of the project.

• Tamil Nadu Rural Transformation Project (TNRTP)

  The development objective of Tamil Nadu Rural Transformation Project for India is to promote rural enterprises, access to finance, and employment opportunities in selected blocks of Tamil Nadu. This project has four components. 1) The first component, Rural Enterprise Ecosystem Development, seeks to create an enabling environment for promoting and strengthening enterprises and jobs in the target areas through identifying market and value-chain strengthening opportunities, supporting the development of favorable business conditions, and informing pathways to effective and efficient business enterprise development. It has the following three subcomponents: (i) Inclusive Strategic Investment Analytics and Planning; (ii) Enterprise Development Support Services; and (iiii) Enterprise Promotion, Value Chain Strengthening and Partnerships. 2) The second component, Enterprise Business Plans Financing, aims to promote economic activities of PCs and enterprises linked to value-chain opportunities. It has the following two subcomponents: (i) Facilitating Business Plan Financing; and (ii) Innovation Promotion. 3) The third component, Skills and Job Opportunities, aims to (a) sustainable wage and self-employment opportunities; (b) promote relevant skills for higher value agriculture and allied activities; and nonfarm activities; and (c) enable entrepreneurship through market responsive skills and entrepreneurship development. It has the following three subcomponents: (i) Pre and Post Training Services to Enhance Employment Outcomes; (ii) Community Based Training and Skilling Provision; and (iii) Entrepreneurship Development. 4) The fourth component, Project Management, Results Monitoring, and Implementation Support Systems, aims to provide support services, develop management and monitoring systems, create delivery processes, and enhance staff capacity for effective and efficie

• Rajasthan playing to its strengths : a strategy for sustained and inclusive growth

  India’s largest state by area, Rajasthan also stands out in economic performance and achieved a greater reduction in poverty than any other low income state. This strong performance reflects broad-based efforts towards policy reform across sectors that resulted in a more productive and diversified agriculture sector, higher investments in manufacturing, and substantial improvements in public service delivery. These achievements notwithstanding, Rajasthan still lags behind many other states in India. The state is also among the lower performers in womens’ and girls’ education and gender gaps have shown little improvement over the years. Rajasthan is now at a crossroads and faces serious challenges for sustaining rapid and inclusive growth. In recent years, growth has slowed down and the crucial tourism sector has lost market share. A worsening water crisis is making traditional agricultural practices increasingly unsustainable, while growing fiscal pressures, due partly to deficiencies in the electricity sector, are narrowing the fiscal space available to implement comprehensive policy actions. The purpose of this report is to help develop a possible growth strategy as part of the ongoing dialogue with the state. In particular, the report is expected to serve as important input to the Bank’s lending strategy for the state going forward by proposing an overall strategic framework for the development of the state.