Tuesday, November 24, 2009

50 Million Rupees for PPP Training of Officials


The German Government’s Development Bank
KfW and the India PPP Capacity Building Trust (I-Cap), signed an agreement on 23 November 2009 to develop a National Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) Capacity Development Programme. The German Government through KfW will provide a grant of Euro 700,000 (approx. Rs 50 million) to support the programme. The agreement was signed in the Ministry of Finance in the presence of Mr. Govind Mohan, Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance.

Given the huge investments required in upgrading urban infrastructure, the Government of India has made using Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) a vital component of the national strategy for infrastructure development. One of the bottlenecks identified by the Government in using PPPs in infrastructure is the lack of familiarity and detailed know-how of officials at different government levels to properly conceive, develop and implement PPP projects. The National PPP Capacity Development Programme is aimed at overcoming this bottleneck. This programme will improve the knowledge and skills of up to 4,000 officials at different levels of Government on the use of PPPs by setting up a training system for PPP.

The National PPP Capacity Development Programme will be implemented in two phases and is expected to be completed at the end of 2012. The first phase, lasting about 22 months, will create the necessary capacity for carrying out PPP training in a number of institutions through a process of training needs assessment, curriculum design and content development, a training of trainers programme and the roll-out of training programmes. This will be followed by a second phase of about 15 months. The German Government through KfW will provide financial support for Phase I of the programme. I-Cap will be the project executing agency for the programme.

About I-Cap: I-Cap has been set up as an initiative supported by Infrastructure Development Finance Company Ltd. (IDFC) with the objective of providing capacity building and project development services to government departments and undertakings (including urban local bodies) across the country. It has provided project development and advisory services in areas as diverse as water supply, solid waste management, urban transport (including mobility studies), industrial and commercial infrastructure, minor airports and urban renewal. It has also conducted capacity building programmes on PPPs for officials of Government departments and municipal level officials in a number of states and at the centre.

About KfW: German Financial Cooperation is channeled through KfW, which acts as the implementing agency on behalf of the German Government. KfW Development Bank is part of the KfW Bankengruppe, one of the largest banks in Germany.

Germany and KfW are longstanding partners of India. Since the 1950s, more than Euro 8 billion have been sanctioned by KfW, mainly in the fields of energy, financial sector development, health, and sustainable use of the environment and natural resources. The main objective of the German Government is to work together with the Indian Government in facilitating inclusive growth, reducing poverty and meeting the Millennium Development Goals.

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