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this IssueInsideFocus story Achieving Inclusive Growth through Deeper Economic Integration ........................................................................... 2

InternatIonal trade centreWorld Export Development Forum: Accountability, Competitiveness and Innovation Key To Making Trade Sustainable And Inclusive ...................................................... 7

B 20B20 Conference: Ankara, Turkey ........................................... 9

B20 Digital Economy Conference ....................................... 10

August-September 2015, Volume 3, Issue 7

Message from Mr Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII

Indian Industry firmly believes that South Asia has immense potential to be a major source of global growth. It has strong consumer markets with a quarter of the world’s middle-class consumers residing in the region. With consistent GDP growth rates of 5 - 6% over the past couple of decades, it is one of the fastest growing regions of the world consisting of largest working-age population; right culture to foster entrepreneurship; a dynamic industry; and geographical proximity of the member countries and more importantly, the right combination of resources to boost agriculture and investments.

CII also believes that regional integration led by the private sector can realize this immense potential and eliminate some of the developmental challenges that the region is facing for decades. It is with this objective that the South Asia Economic Conclave was initiated.

The South Asia Economic Conclave held from 28-30 September 2015 (in New Delhi) created a structured public private dialogue (PPD). The dialogue led to greater understanding about architecture, dynamics and policies that work in favour of regional integration, how countries deal with these issues, and moreover, how the forces of globalization influence integration outcomes and helped to enhance understanding of the regional integration process.

The August-September issue of the Multilateral Newsletter provides an insight towards the key happening at the South Asia Economic Conclave. In addition to this, the newsletter provides the key highlights to the World Export Development Forum (WEDF), the flagship event of International Trade Centre which aimed to open up new trade and investment opportunities to encourage sustainable growth and also highlights the key happenings at the B20, Asian Development Bank (ADB) and The World Bank (WB).

Chandrajit Banerjee

Multilateral

adBADB to Help Scale Up India-Bangladesh Cross-Border Power Exchanges ....................................................................11

ADB India Sign $123.5 Million Loan to Upgrade Tourism Infrastructure in 3 States ........................................................12

WtoIndian Cities Can Take More Advantage of Urbanization for Economic Growth ...................................................................13

NeWSletter

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The first edition of South Asia Economic Conclave (SAEC) was organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in partnership with the Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India and counterpart business associations of South Asia with support from the World Bank Group from Monday, 28 September to Wednesday, 30 September 2015 in New Delhi, India.

The theme of the Conclave was ‘Achieving Inclusive Growth through Deeper Economic Integration’. The objective of this Conclave was to stimulate informed dialogue between the private sector and government to promote regional trade and investment, which would in turn help catalyze higher growth and new job opportunities and help achieve inclusive growth through deeper economic integration of the South Asia.

Over 300 delegates from all eight South Asian countries participated in the Conclave where Ministers from six South Asian countries have addressed the Conclave as well as experts from diverse fields including industry, think tanks, policymakers, multilateral organizations, and media and entertainment leaders. The Conclave discussed the most crucial issues of regional integration.

Speaking at the Inaugural Session, Mr Suresh Prabhu, Hon’ble Minister of Railways, Government of India, stated that the SAARC member nations would benefit exponentially by deepening regional cooperation in area of agriculture which is the main source of livelihood for the majority of people living in the region.

Mr Prabhu laid emphasis on the need for deep regional cooperation in energy development, especially renewables like hydropower, wind energy, etc. He cited the example of how Bhutan is now exporting hydropower to India in a win-win arrangement. He also urged the governments in South Asia to promote the documentation of traditional knowledge, especially with respect to biodiversity.

Ms Annette Dixon, Vice President – South Asia, The World Bank, said that closer regional cooperation will not only deliver economic benefits to the people but also help the member states to deal with natural disasters more effectively. Ms Dixon further added that the private sector – including SMEs – could play a catalytic role in the region’s economic progress through FDI.

Earlier, Mr Sunil Kant Munjal, Chairman – Steering Committee South Asia Economic Conclave, Past President, CII and Chairman, Hero Corporate Services, suggested that the South Asian countries could consider developing a regional ‘Ease of Doing Business’ ranking index, such that it helps the regional economies in their growth process.

Expanding Intraregional Trade: Drawing Lessons from ASEAN and NAFTA

Dr Arvind Subramanian, Chief Economic Advisor, Ministry of Finance, India, stated how the dissimilarities between the economies involved in NAFTA and ASEAN compared to the South Asian economies point towards limited adoption of the NAFTA model in the South Asian economic scenario.

Dr Ishrat Husain, Dean and Director, Institute of Business Administration (IBA), Pakistan stated the poverty reduction properties of free trade agreement which included generation of employment, elevated growth rate, etc. should be given due attention.

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Achieving Inclusive Growth through Deeper Economic Integration

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Ms Beatriz Leycegui Gardoqui, Former Undersecretary for Foreign Trade, Ministry of Economy, Mexico and Partner, SAI Law & Economics, Mexico, pointed out the changes in the Mexican economy and a significant hike in exports during the post-NAFTA period.

Dr Harsha Vardhana Singh, Former Deputy Director General, WTO, highlighted the importance of influential and directive policy making and increased effort in the business to business engagements.

The session was also addressed by Prof Abdul Wassay Haqiqi, Senior Advisor, Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dr Saman Kalegama, Executive Director, Institute of Policy Studies, Sri Lanka and Dr Jayant Menon, Lead Economist, Asian Development Bank. The session was chaired by Mr T V Narendran, Co-Chairman – Steering Committee, South Asia Economic Conclave and MD, Tata Steel.

The Power of 1.6 billion: A Blueprint for Prosperity

Ms Nirmala Sitharaman, Hon’ble Minister of State for Commerce & Industry, Government of India, said that the re-integration will gain traction as the regional economies do away with the negative lists for bilateral trade. Ms Sitharaman noted that after India extended the Duty Free Quote Free facility to the least developed countries in South Asia region, exports from these countries to India has increased. To accelerate intra-regional trade and regional economic integration, the minister underlined the need for the region to establish free trade areas.

Ms Sitharaman urged the regional governments to prepare a roadmap for establishing a South Asian Development Bank.

Mr Tofail Ahmed, Hon’ble Commerce Minister, Government of People’s Republic of Bangladesh, said that countries of the region should take active measures to bring down tariff and non-tariff barriers that limit the expansion of regional trade.

Mr Sunil Bahadur Thapa, Hon’ble Minister of Commerce and Supplies, Government of Nepal, said in his address that if the European Union could achieve deep economic integration, so can the South Asia.

Mr Lyonpo Norbu Wangchuk, Hon’ble Minister of Economic Affairs, Government of Bhutan, said that the road to regional prosperity lies in facilitating seamless movement of goods, capital and people across the entire region.

Mr Abdulla Jihad, Hon’ble Minister of Finance, Government of Maldives, pointed out that although intra-regional trade has not picked up, duty concessions have been extended by India to some of the regional economies. He urged the SAARC governments to find ways to accelerate regional trade flows.

Dr Sanjay Kathuria, Lead Economist, South Asia Regional Integration, the World Bank, spoke about the steps needed for the region to achieve intra-regional trade target of $100 billion in the next 5 years.

Dr C Raja Mohan, Head – Strategic Studies and Distinguished Fellow, Observer Research Foundation, India, provided a historical perspective as well as a political background to the regional trade scenario.

Mr Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII, spoke about the key role that private sector has assumed in furthering South Asian intra-regional trade and economic integration.

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FoCus storySpecial Plenary Session

Mr Nitin Gadkari, Hon’ble Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Government of India, said that the ministry is working towards establishing a ‘waterport’ – a waterways port – in Sahibganj in the state of Jharkhand that will accelerate import and export of goods between India and Bangladesh.

Mr Gadkari said that the Government has planned for establishing multi-modal hubs in Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, Sahibganj, and Haldia in West Bengal.

Stating that the use of inland waterways will bring down the logistics costs for industry, he said that profits accrued from the Indian ports and Shipping Corporation of India will be channeled for inland waterways development.

Mr Sunil Kant Munjal stated that the roads infrastructure network that connects the South Asian countries has paved the way for a planned car rally that will be conducted across the South Asian region. CII has in the past organized car rallies that went all the way from India to Indonesia.

Mr Chandrajit Banerjee underscored the importance of physical infrastructure development across the South Asian region in promoting people-to-people contacts between the South Asian societies.

Valedictory Session

Addressing the Valedictory Session of the Conclave, Mr Piyush Goyal, Hon’ble Minister of State for Power, Coal and New and Renewable Energy, Government of India, stated that stronger economic cooperation between the South Asian countries will not only help the governments in meeting the inclusivity goals but also bring about sustained peace and security across the region. According to the Minister, the regional economies could leverage the unique strengths of each other to drive growth and development in the region. He said that such a concerted effort will resonate with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of one-ness of South Asia.

Mr Goyal underlined the enormous potential for extensive energy cooperation between the South Asian economies. He made a mention of the strident progress achieved in India’s bilateral energy cooperation with Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal and the ongoing efforts to build similar engagements with Sri Lanka. He said that India has assured maximum support to Sri Lanka in fast-tracking the establishment of a 500MW power plant in Sri Lanka. He added that India has assured Maldives of all support to promote renewable energy development in the island nation.

Later while addressing some of the questions raised by the audience, Mr Goyal said that the SAARC countries could support each other in collectively meeting power-related challenges and to bridge the deficits caused by seasonality factors, etc. He acknowledged the grave concerns expressed over water management and said that all efforts have to be directed to conserve water resources in the region.

While stating that the developed countries should bear a large part of the burden for emissions reduction as per the ‘polluter pays principle’, Mr Goyal said that the South Asian countries should also come together for the reduction of carbon emissions and greenhouse gases.

Mr Onno Ruhl, Country Director, the World Bank, said in his address that regional economic integration is a long-drawn process. It took perhaps 300 years for the EU to take its present shape. He said that World Bank will play an active part in catalysing the South Asian economic integration and could put up monitoring mechanisms for the same.

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FoCus storyDr Naushad Forbes, President Designate, CII and Director, Forbes Marshall Pvt Ltd, said in his opening remarks that greater people-to-people contacts will go a long way toward deepening the regional cooperation. He said that visas to travel across the region should be more easily available to the people of the region. He called for due measures to help businesses to set up their operations in each other’s countries.

Key Recommendations

Doing Business in South Asia

• The imperatives for building an enabling environment for cross-border business are liberal visa arrangements, seamless movement of goods by road and rail, electronic data exchange at all major ports, harmonization of standards pertaining to items of trade, improved customs infrastructure, etc.

• The regional governments should facilitate freer movement of capital across the region, which may be achieved through harmonization trade practices, better trade facilitation and improvements in transit infrastructure.

• South Asia can emerge as the global production hub. For this, focus upon building a digital neighborhood.

Role of Media in Economic Integration

• India should take a lead in promoting the exchange of media professionals across the region

The Power of 1.6 billion people

• The South Asian regional governments should look to prepare a roadmap for establishing a South Asian Development Bank.

• A key part of the Indian outbound FDI should be directed to the South Asian economies. Currently, 95% of India’s outbound FDI goes to markets well beyond South Asia.

• Tourism is another area where the South Asian economies can achieve significant dividends through joint initiatives and cooperation endeavours.

• Key steps are needed for the region to achieve intra-regional trade target of $100 billion in the next 5 years.

Physical infrastructure

• Inland waterways will not only offer economical transportation of passengers and bulk cargo between different parts of India but could also facilitate greater trade flows with the neighbouring countries like Bangladesh.

• An international arm of NHA is being planned to extend expertise to the South Asian countries for the development of roads, highways, expressways, bridges, etc.

Powering South Asia

• South Asian region will require investment of up to $300 billion over the next 10-15 years to build reliable power infrastructure across the region

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FoCus story

• Bilateral energy cooperation models can be developed to build a regional energy cooperation model. Nodal agencies may be developed to drive the regional energy cooperation, to oversee matters like regulatory provisions, commercial arrangements, etc.

• Risks in power need to be appropriately bundled to attract private investments in the power sector.

Agriculture

• SAARC member nations would benefit exponentially by deepening regional cooperation in area of agriculture. The SAARC countries would do well to learn from each other’s strengths in the agriculture sector, as well as adopt cropping patterns that are suited to the agro-climate zones of each of the countries. This would greatly enhance the overall agriculture productivity in the region.

• There is the need for deeper regional cooperation in the area of agriculture research and sharing of expertise in pre- and post-harvest practices for the common good of the region.

Renewables

• Promote deep regional cooperation in energy development, especially renewables like hydropower, wind energy, etc.

SMEs

• The private sector – including SMEs – could play a catalytic role in the region’s economic progress through FDI. Currently, intra-regional FDI is a mere 2% of the overall FDI inflows into the region.

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InternatIonal traDe Centre

Tentative deals worth more than US$ 80 million were made during business-to-business (B2B) meetings at the World Export Development Forum (WEDF) in Doha, Qatar, which was organized by the International Trade Centre (ITC) and hosted by the Ministry of Economy and Commerce of the State of Qatar through the Qatar Development Bank.

Following two days of meetings between companies from across the world, around 90 letters of intent were announced cutting across a variety of sectors.

Pledges were made food and beverage, plastics, services and tourism sectors.

More than 700 people from 92 countries attended the event, including 26 least developed countries. Five trade promotion organizations from Bangladesh, Egypt, Georgia, Nigeria and Viet Nam, signed an agreement to support trade development among each other.

During the two-day event in Doha, speakers addressed the unique challenges and opportunities faced by SMEs in developing countries and economies in transition. They explored how these businesses, which account for the bulk of employment around the world, can be empowered to use international trade and investment to drive growth and job creation.

WEDF consisted of four plenary sessions and four parallel breakout sessions, alongside structured and informal B2B meetings that allowed participating SMEs to meet potential customers, suppliers, and investors.

The first day of the World Export Development Forum (WEDF) 2015, held in Doha, Qatar, heard policymakers and trade practitioners call for a range measures to ensure that trade becomes more sustainable and more inclusive.

World Export Development Forum: Accountability, Competitiveness and Innovation Key to Making Trade Sustainable And Inclusive

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At a session looking at ‘Unlocking the Potential of the Post-2015 Development Agenda’, speakers pointed to the need of reducing trade costs. This, they agreed, could play a key role for developing countries and their small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to reap the benefits of connecting to international trade and investment, they said.

And while Aid for Trade and public-private partnerships (especially at the local level) had an essential role to play in trade inclusion and the new Global Goals more broadly, they said that nothing could replace determined domestic policymaking, implementation and accountability.

SME competitiveness

WEDF’s second plenary session, ‘SME Competitiveness: Why it Matters’, took its cue from the recent launch of ITC’s new flagship publication, the SME Competitiveness Outlook.

During the session, speakers pointed for the need to identify constraints to trade which will allow for small and medium-sized enterprises to flourish. They also agreed that greater e-connectivity and internet access are not only closely connected to innovation and economic growth, but also help reduce conflict.

Innovative funding

For SMEs to thrive, there is a need to think more creatively to on how to improve access to finance and making credit more available. This was the unison message of speakers during the session on ‘Innovative Funding to Internationalize SMEs’, who also said special attention must be placed on making funding available to women-owned businesses.

But it is not just about access to credit, the speakers said: a broader ecosystem of support, such as for financial literacy in subjects like trade finance, and risk sharing, for example in government credit guarantee schemes, is necessary to help SMEs succeed.

Innovation and entrepreneurship

During what was perhaps the liveliest session of WEDF’s first day, ‘Innovation and Entrepreneurs: Trends That Shape the Trade Landscape’, speakers battled it out over issues ranging from e-commerce and digital literacy, and how these can help spur economic growth and innovation.

They also pointed to changing patterns of trade, including a shift from a ‘linear economy’ to the concept of a ‘circular economy’, described as move from a resource extractive model to one based on resource efficiency and closed-loop, restorative ecosystems. Developing a business strategy based on concepts such as “reduce, re-use and recycle” is now a key element to maintaining a competitive position in the market, the audience heard.

Speakers also said that there is a need for SMEs to understand the challenges and opportunities arising from the rise of global value chains and prepare themselves to participate in this new dynamic. International agencies such as ITC, the speakers said, have a key role to play in supporting SMEs in enhancing their competitiveness so they can reach their full potential and maximize the benefits from a more global and interconnected world.

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InternatIonal traDe Centre

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B 20

Since 2010, the B20 has been the business community’s primary platform for recommending policies to G20 leaders on issues that concern the global economic agenda. The six taskforces of the B20 have undertaken remarkable work and, after three meetings since February, have consolidated the recommendations for their policy papers. Also, B20 Turkey has organized nine regional consultation forums in India, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Azerbaijan, Brazil, Italy, Russia, and Mozambique to include businesses from different parts of the world. Without the help of the taskforces, these meetings and consultations would not have been possible, so we continue to thank and acknowledge them.

The Business 20 (B20) forum took place in the Turkish capital and brought together business leaders and CEOs from all across the world for advisory meetings for the G20 group. The conference served as a recommendation-making platform to reflect the views and opinions of the global business community ahead of the G20 meetings in Antalya

Over 21 panel sessions and 123 speakers focused on topics related to global growth, such as fostering inclusiveness, enhancing competition, correcting imbalances, and implementing agreed policies on trade, financial reform, and transparency.

The Conference brought together the B20 community to discuss B20 Turkey’s recommendations, and deliver them to G20 governments. The B20 Turkey Policy Paper, which synthesizes all taskforce policy papers, will also be launched during the conference.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan underlined the principle of inclusiveness, a key priority of Turkey’s G20 Presidency. “The B20 is the most inclusive of all G20 engagement groups. The regional consultations and events organized by B20 Turkey have made the B20 the most important business platform in the world," the Turkish President said, adding that cooperation

The Plenary Sessions of B20 Conference were a success with support of the high level panelists of B20

B20 Turkey has established a new business group called the International Business Advisory Council (IBAC) to support the taskforce’s advocacy efforts and to provide high level advice in steering the process and shaping the B20 recommendations. This high level group, is expected to encourage governments to implement the constructive recommendations made in previous years, moving the economic reform process from dialogue to action.

CII is represented by Indian Industry in this advisory group. CII was represented by Mr Sumit Mazumder President CII and Chairman and Managing Director, TIL Limited.

The B20 has put forward the set of policy recommendations to support the G20 leaders in their ongoing mission to implement structural reforms and to ensure strong, sustainable, and balanced growth. The B20 encouraged the G20 leaders to cooperate effectively for sound macroeconomic policies and implement their respective growth and investment strategies.

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B20 Conference: Ankara, Turkey

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B 20

The B20 Digital Economy Conference - THE THIRD WAVE: DIGITAL ECONOMY AND THE INDUSTRIAL INTERNET, an event organized by B20 Turkey in partnership with B20 Coalition and with the support of Accenture, convened in Istanbul on October 6, 2015.

Opening remarks by Cansen Basaran-Symes, President of TUSIAD, and Member of the B20 Coalition

“As an enabler of growth in every sector, Digital Economy is closely intertwined with the G20 process on infrastructure, trade, growth and employment as well as transparency in financial flows. However, digital technology is disruptive in nature and it is thus important to accelerate its integration with other operations.”

“In this regard, and as a result of the consultation with the B20 Turkey, we understood that Digital Economy was also prioritized by B20 Turkey as a horizontal, cross-cutting issue across the task forces in 2015. The B20 Coalition and B20 Turkey then decided to join forces in order to initiate a substantial Digital Economy policy paper and organize a conference to bring together all the relevant parties in the field of Digital Economy. We are very happy to see that our initial aim has been successfully realized.”

Panels that formed the day-long agenda of the Conference were:

The Digital Trade Revolution: Voice of the G20 Citizens

This session concentrated on how digital economy can transform the real economy, and contribute to growth and job creation. Specifically policy issues relevant to e-commerce and trade facilitation were under focus.

A new Digital Agenda: How Can Governments Lead the Digital Transformation?

This session focused on government’s leading role in digital transformation. Speakers touched upon how governments can lead by providing legal, physical and human resource infrastructure and by using technology.

Perspectives on “Going Digital”

A discussion, based on the results of new research by Accenture, on how companies can adopt strategies to maximize benefits from digital technologies and how governments can enhance the enablers was held; with a specific focus on emerging market economies.

Data Economy: Opportunities and Challenges

This session focused on emerging issues in data economy. Issues in protection of personal data, cross-border data transfers and cybersecurity were discussed. Particularly emphasis was put on role of data and payment systems in advancing e-commerce.

Disrupting Technologies: New Business Models and Challenge to Create New Jobs

Digital economy spans across all sectors, largely reshaping and altering them. New regulatory issues emerge with upcoming technologies. This session focused on disruptive technologies and the regulatory challenges they bring. A particular focus was on the Internet of Things (IoT). Other disruptive technologies such as cloud computing, data marketing, financial services were also discussed.

CII was represented by Mr Santhosh Kumar Madathil, CII and Chief Technologist and General Manager- Wipro Ltd participated as a speaker at The Digital Economy Conference.

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B20 Digital Economy Conference

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aDB

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is to help finance increased transmission capacity of a cross-border electricity link between India and Bangladesh which will allow Bangladesh to better meet sharply rising power demand and support increased power exchanges across South Asia.

ADB’s loan of $120 million to Bangladesh will double the capacity of the existing interconnection system which links the power grid of western Bangladesh at Bheramara and the grid of eastern India at Bharampur. The two networks were first interconnected in 2013, under a previous project financed by ADB. New transmission capacity will rise from 500 megawatts (MW) to 1,000 MW.

“There are power surpluses and shortfalls across the region and this project assistance will help these two countries move forward to better utilize their energy generation capacities and to support the broader goal of South Asian regional energy cooperation,” said Anthony Jude, Director, Energy Division, in ADB’s South Asia Department.

Bangladesh’s fast-growing economy has soaring energy needs but domestic natural gas supplies cannot keep up with demand, resulting in an increasing dependence on oil and diesel-based plants. To meet its goal of providing electricity for all by 2021, the government is working to increase generating capacity and to source additional supply. The initial linking of the two national grids helped India deliver over 2,000 gigawatt hours of electricity across the border in 2014.

For its part, India is rapidly scaling up its power generating capacity, including from renewable sources like solar, and some regions have surplus energy. In addition to Bangladesh, India also has transmission links with Bhutan and Nepal and engages in bilateral electricity trades. Strengthening of regional interconnections is a step forward in the development of a South Asian regional electricity grid and will facilitate energy trade between countries in the region.

Interlinking electricity transmission systems allows countries with surplus power to export it to others in need. Interconnected networks have other benefits too, including increasing the operational efficiency and reliability of existing national grids, and encouraging the development of new renewable power resources such as hydropower in India, Bhutan, and Nepal, which can be traded among the interconnected countries.

The interconnection project is part of efforts under the South Asia Sub regional Economic Cooperation (SASEC) Program to promote regional prosperity and improve economic opportunities through strengthened cross-border links in trade, power, road and rail networks. Its members are Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.

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ADB to Help Scale Up India-Bangladesh Cross-Border Power Exchanges

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The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of India have signed a $123.51 million loan for tranche 3 of the Infrastructure Development Investment Program for Tourism, to continue upgrading tourism infrastructure and services in three states.

The loan will be used for development and conservation of natural and cultural attractions, to improve basic tourism facilities and connectivity to tourist attractions, and to build the capacity of sector agencies and local communities in the states of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Punjab. The third tranche loan is part of the $250 million multitranche financing facility that ADB approved in 2010 that is aimed at developing tourism as a key driver for economic growth in these three states, along with Tamil Nadu.

“The loan will support conservation of important heritage structures, including some century-old structures, in the three states. New facilities including centers for arts and crafts, eco-parks and eco-tourism will also be developed to help the states attract more tourists”, said M. Teresa Kho, Country Director for ADB in India, who signed the loan agreement on behalf of ADB.

“Upgraded tourism infrastructure like provisioning of drinking water, drainage, street lighting, solid waste management and improvements to approach roads at selected tourist destinations will enhance the tourism environment in the three states. Involvement of local communities in the management of natural and cultural heritage sites will create employment for poor and vulnerable households,” said Raj Kumar, Joint Secretary (Multilateral Institutions), Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, who signed the loan agreement for the Government of India.

To improve income opportunities for the local communities, more than 4,000 community members are set to be trained in tourism-related skills such as guiding, crafts, and recreational activities. At least 30 community-based societies will be made operational in the management of natural and cultural heritage sites.

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ADB India Sign $123.5 Million Loan to Upgrade Tourism Infrastructure in 3 States

aDB

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Although they have made progress, India and other South Asian countries can make better utilization of opportunities that urbanization provides them to transform their economies to join the ranks of richer nations, a World Bank report released recently.

Difficulty in dealing with the pressures that increased urban populations put on infrastructure, basic services, land, housing and the environment have fostered what the report calls “messy and hidden” urbanization. This, in turn, has helped to constrain the region’s full realization of the prosperity and livability benefits of urbanization.

Messy urbanization in India is reflected in the nearly 65.5 million Indians who, according to the country’s 2011 Census, live in urban slums, as well as the 13.7 percent of the urban population that lived below the national poverty line in 2011. Messy urbanization is also reflected in the increasing sprawl that afflicts many Indian cities. Hidden urbanization is seen in the large share of India’s population that lives in settlements that possess urban characteristics but do not satisfy the criteria required to be officially classified as urban.

“If managed well urbanization can lead to sustainable growth by increasing productivity, allowing innovation and new ideas to emerge,” said World Bank Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer Sri Mulyani Indrawati.

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Indian Cities Can Take More Advantage of Urbanization for Economic Growth

WorlD Bank

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