ADB loans USD 50 mn to improve West Bengal's fiscal management reforms
By TIOL News Service
MANILA, DEC 3, 2020: THE Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Wednesday inked a USD 50 million loan pact with the Indian government to improve West Bengal's digital platforms for financial management procedures and operational efficiencies.
The integration of the state's financial and information systems will help improve delivery of public services and generate fiscal savings that could help the state augment growth-enhancing development financing.
It will also help improve the management of social protection benefits such as pensions and provident funds, tax payments and revenue collection, and information management and service delivery, said the Manila-based funding agency.
ADB said development projects could be better tracked and monitored with the help of a new module within the integrated financial management system (IFMS) leading to improved project management.
A centre for fiscal policy and public finance will also be established to deepen capacity of the state government officials on public finance management while developing a web-based grievance redress system for transport corporations and urban local bodies will provide a credible citizen-government interface.
The loan builds up on past ADB policy-based programmes and is proposed to be supplemented by a USD 350,000 technical assistance grant for capacity building, monitoring of IFMS reforms, and strengthening the integration of social and gender aspects in reform areas.
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