Project Id: P122160 Technical Assistance Facility for Strengthening Implementation of Rural Livelihood Projects at the National Level (2009-2013) Supported by DFID Trust Fund Implementation Completion Report June 10, 2013 South Asia Rural Development and Livelihoods Sustainable Development The World Bank 89282 Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized
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Project Id: P122160
Technical Assistance Facility for Strengthening Implementation of Rural Livelihood Projects at the National Level (2009-2013) Supported by DFID Trust Fund Implementation Completion Report June 10, 2013 South Asia Rural Development and Livelihoods Sustainable Development The World Bank
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CONTENTS
Executive Summary 8
I) Context And Project Objective 11
II) Knowledge Management & Learning For Programs 14
Approach Papers .................................................................................................................................... 14 A)
Guidance Note on Green Business Opportunities .................................................................... 32 B)
Book titled ‘Banking on Self Help Groups: 20 years on’ ......................................................... 34 C)
Co-Sponsored Two Summits on Access to Finance & Livelihoods .................................... 34 D)
Case Studies On Impact Of Rural Livelihood Programs ......................................................... 35 E)
III) Knowledge Management For Systems Development For Nrlm 36
A) Monitoring, Learning and Evaluation and Social Observatory ........................................... 36
B) Governance and accountability systems ...................................................................................... 37
C) Knowledge management and communications ........................................................................ 38
D) HR framework ......................................................................................................................................... 39
E) NRLM website ......................................................................................................................................... 40
F) Financial Management Framework ............................................................................................... 41
G) Procurement Framework ................................................................................................................... 41
H) Innovations and Partnerships Guidelines ................................................................................... 41
I) Creation of a Knowledge Repository ............................................................................................. 42
J) Business Process Study of NMMU ................................................................................................... 42
IV) Stakeholders Consultations & Partnerships 44
V) Institutional Capacity Enhancement 45
Technical Assistance to MoRD, Government of India ............................................................. 45 A)
B) Technical Assistance to Jeevika and Bihar State Rural Livelihood Mission ................... 47
Technical Support to Bihar Innovation Forum II ..................................................................... 48 C)
Technical Assistance to Tripti, Orissa State Rural Livelihood Mission ............................ 49 D)
VI) Impact 49
Creating A Knowledge Architecture For Nrlm ........................................................................... 50 A)
Bringing Innovation in the project design ................................................................................... 50 B)
Policy Reform .......................................................................................................................................... 51 C)
Institutional and business process reform .................................................................................. 51 D)
Technical Assistance To Low Income States .............................................................................. 51 E)
Creating A Multi Stakeholder Constituency For The Mission .............................................. 52 F)
VII) Lessons Learnt From Nlta Execution 52
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VIII) Suggestions for improvement 53
IX) Future Areas of Work 53
Knowledge and Research on Community Organization Federations, Producer A)Organizations and other Institutions .......................................................................................... 53
Impact of community to community extension and learning approaches .................... 54 B)
Sectoral studies in key livelihood sectors .................................................................................... 54 C)
Impact assessment of rural livelihood programs and various interventions ............... 54 D)
Understanding the continuum of rural –urban transformation in terms of livelihoodsE) ..................................................................................................................................................................... 54
Development of Social Media platform for Knowledge and Learning for Young F)Professionals working in area of Rural Livelihoods .............................................................. 55
Annex 1: Log Frame of project with outputs and impacts 56
Annex 2: Component-wise expenditures of the project 58
Annex 3: List of Outputs Produced under the NLTA 59
Annex 4: Additional Information on Approach Papers 61
Annex 5: Description of case Studies 64
A) Supporting Institutional Platforms for Rural Poor in Andhra Pradesh ........................... 64
Enabling environmentally sound and economically viable agriculture through B)community institutions ..................................................................................................................... 65
Providing jobs for rural youth through Public-Private-People Partnerships in C)Andhra Pradesh, India ....................................................................................................................... 66
Building a pro-poor Dairy Sector in Andhra Pradesh Dairy ................................................ 67 D)
Enhancing Agricultural Livelihoods in Bihar though System of Crop IntensificationE) ..................................................................................................................................................................... 68
Enabling Innovation: A global case-study of ICTs in Financial Inclusion ....................... 70 F)
Case Studies on Rural Livelihoods Interventions ..................................................................... 71 G)
H) Rajasthan Microfinance Sector Report 2011 .............................................................................. 71
Annex 6: Governance and Accountability Framework 72
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FIGURES AND CHARTS IN THE REPORT
Figure 1: Microfinance Penetration Index and Microfinance Poverty Penetration Index ...... 15
Figure 2: Institutional arrangement for enhancing the new economic roles of women.......... 19
Figure 3: Design of Community Institutions in NRLM ........................................................................... 20
Figure 4: Innovations in service delivery of Micro-insurance services in AP ............................... 22
Figure 5: Sequence of investment required for developing livelihoods ......................................... 23
Figure 6: Institutional Arrangement for the improvement of the Dairy sector ........................... 24
Figure 7: Creation of a single-window system for dairy production ............................................... 24
Figure 8: Impact of Convergence on Service Delivery ............................................................................ 25
Figure 9: A Thematic summary of SP and nutrition recommendations ......................................... 26
Figure 10: Proposed IT Infrastructure at the State and Community Level ................................... 27
Figure 11: Participatory Bottom-Up Knowledge Creation ................................................................... 30
Figure 12: Synopsis of processes in SthreeNidhi ..................................................................................... 30
Figure 13: Process followed in m-book-keeping ...................................................................................... 30
Figure 14: Summary of processes in SthreeNidhi .................................................................................... 31
Figure 15: Mobile application menu of m-NDCCs .................................................................................... 32
Figure 16: Why Green Opportunities for Rural Livelihoods? .............................................................. 32
Figure 17: Converting Green Opportunity to Green Jobs ...................................................................... 33
Figure 18: Identify GREEN Opportunities in Energy .............................................................................. 33
Figure 19: Cover of the book on ‘Banking on Self-help groups: 20 years On’............................... 34
Figure 20: Activities of Social Observatory ................................................................................................. 37
Figure 21: Components of performance management systems ......................................................... 39
Figure 22: Snapshot of the NRLM wesbite .................................................................................................. 40
Figure 23: Life-cycle of innovations and partnerships .......................................................................... 41
Figure 24: Screenshot of the Knowledge Repository ............................................................................. 42
Figure 25: Roles and responsibilities recommended by the CRISIL report .................................. 43
Figure 26:: A vision of MoRD conceptualized under the project ....................................................... 46
Figure 27: Roles and responsibilities of the management agency .................................................... 47
Figure 28: Partnership approaches in Bihar Innovation Forum ........................................................ 49
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Acknowledgements
This report has been authored by Parmesh Shah(Lead Rural Development Specialist, World
Bank), Aarti Dayal(Consultant, FAO) and Abhishek Gupta(Consultant, The World Bank).
Authors would like to thank Shobha Shetty(Sector Manager, Rural Development and
Livelihoods, World Bank), Samik Sundar Das(Senior Rural Development Specialist, World
Bank), Biswajit Sen(Senior Rural Development Specialist, World Bank), Sitaramachandra
Machiraju(Senior Rural Development Specialist, World Bank), Shruti Gaur(Consultant, FAO)
and Vinay Kumar Vutukuru(Consultant, The World Bank) for their valuable inputs. The
authors would like to thank the peer reviewers Janmejay Singh, Senior Social Development
Specialist, The World Bank and Meena Munshi, Senior Economist, Agriculture and Rural
Development Department, The World Bank for their comments.
The task team acknowledges the generous financial support from Department for
International Development of the Government of UK and their India office which made the
NLTA possible.
The task team would also like to thank Mr Vijay Kumar(Mission Director, National Rural
Livelihoods Mission and Joint Secretary, Ministry of Rural Development (MORD),
Government of India), the project staff of MORD and National Rural Livelihood Mission
(NRLM) and all other State Rural Livelihood Missions (SRLMs) for their cooperation and
efforts.
6
The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this note are entirely those of the author(s) and should not be attributed in any manner to the World Bank, to its affiliated organizations or to members of its Board of Executive Directors or the countries they represent.
7
ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS BPL Below Poverty Line CAS Country Assistance Strategy CBO Community Based Organization CDD Community Driven Development CRP Community Resources Persons EC Executive Committee eNRLMs Electronic National Rural Livelihoods Management System FMM Financial Management Manual GAAP Governance and Accountability Action Plan GAP Gender Action Plan GB Governing Body GC Governing Council GOI Government of India ICT Information Communications and Technology IDA International Development Association MFI Micro Finance Institution ME&L Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning MGNREGS Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme MIS Management Information System MoRD Ministry of Rural Development MoU Memorandum of Understanding NGO Non Governmental Organization NMMU National Mission Management Unit NFSM National Food Security Mission NRLP National Rural Livelihoods Project NRLM National Rural Livelihoods Mission PDO Project Development Objective PME Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation RD Rural Development RFP Request for Proposal RKVY Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana RSETI Rural Self Employment Training Institute RTI Right to Information Act SAWP State Annual Work Plans SC Scheduled Caste SGSY Swaranjayanti Gram Swarojgar Yojana SHG Self Help Group SIL Specific Investment Loan SPMU State Project Management Unit SPIP State Perspective and Implementation Plan SRI System of Rice Intensification SRLM State Rural Livelihoods Mission SSA Sarvya Siksha Abhiyaan ST Scheduled Tribe TOR Terms of Reference UT Union Territory VRP Village Resource Person UIDAI Unique Identification Authority of India
8
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
India is one of the world’s fastest growing economies in the world. The key challenge is to
ensure that this growth is inclusive and leads to significant rural poverty reduction. Current
poverty estimates put the number of rural people below the official poverty line at 220
million—approximately 44 million households. These are geographically concentrated
primarily in the so-called lagging states. Poverty also disproportionately affects
marginalized groups such as the scheduled castes and tribes, which accounted for 80
percent of the rural poor in 2004–05, considerably more than their share in the rural
population.
Various programs like Swarnajayanti Gram Swarojgar Yojana (SGSY) and Mahatma Gandhi
National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) initiated by the Government of
India (GOI) for poverty reduction have yielded positive results. The State governments take
an active role in implementing these programs but, despite their success, there are a
number of critical gaps and constraints. These include absence of last mile program delivery
systems, lack of organization among the poor, limited access to finance to invest in their
livelihoods opportunities, inadequate expertise in livelihoods development, high
vulnerability of the poor and their limited access to government social services, among
others. Changes in the institutional arrangements, design, approach and sequencing of the
programs targeted at rural livelihoods could vastly improve their impact on the rural
poverty and economic growth.
GOI restructured SGSY as National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) to make it a pivot of all
poverty reduction efforts in the country. The central objective of the Mission is to reduce
rural poverty through promotion of diversified and gainful self-employment and wage
employment opportunities for sustainable increase in income of the poor. By investing in
MoRD/NRLM with a strong multidisciplinary team at the GOI that takes up the role of
providing technical assistance and knowledge and learning services (apart from financial
resources) to the State Governments, particularly in the lagging states ─ the issue of
limitation of capacity can be addressed.
As the GOI launched the national Rural Livelihood Mission, it requested the Bank to invest
in a Knowledge Management, learning and Systems development facility which will enable
development of the new program and create a foundation for design and implementation of
NRLM. The World Bank approached DFID for financial support and prepared a project
paper in consultation with various stakeholders, DFID agreed to finance the facility and the
facility was initiated in 2009.
The Technical Assistance (TA) facility, supported by DFID Trust Fund was created to
provide analytics and knowledge support for designing, strengthening and monitoring the
implementation of rural livelihoods programs with particular focus on the low income
states in India. The objective of the facility was to enhance institutional capacity of MoRD
for effective planning, designing, implementation and monitoring of rural livelihood
9
programs. Furthermore, the NLTA aimed to develop systems for implementation and
monitoring of activities of the National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM). The key tasks
carried out under the NLTA were the preparation of knowledge and learning products to
support rural livelihood projects and project design of NRLM, preparation of approach papers
and studies focusing on various successful national and international livelihood
development initiatives; and technical assistance to states for implementation of NRLM and
establishment of a technical cell with multi-disciplinary teams of professionals. This cell was
formed to support MoRD for rolling out the NRLM and building an ICT based M&E system
and had functional expertise in institutional building, capacity building, microfinance, rural
livelihoods, HR, finance and procurement.
The NLTA facility has had significant impact in various areas, particularly influencing the
content and design of National Rural Livelihood Mission and creating a multi-stakeholder
platform for knowledge management, learning, innovation and implementation. First, a
significant number of stakeholders were able to learn about various approaches from
experts and brainstorm the design of a national program. The knowledge architecture
created for NRLM brought together thematic content and expertise on a digital platform for
access by designers, stakeholders and implementers of NRLM. Eventually, some of those
recommendations have been integrated the design of a national project. Second, various
innovations have been incorporated in the design of NRLM and NRLP facilitated by this
NLTA.
Third, various lessons learnt during the course of this NLTA and materials produced during
this NLTA also catalyzed policy level reforms at the center and state level such as
setting up of an autonomous society for implementing NRLM, replacement of capital
subsidy by a community investment revolving fund and using of participatory identification
of the poor as the targeting methodology. Fourth, a special-purpose vehicle in the
Government was created for delivering technical assistance to various state missions.
Fifth, technical assistance was also provided to state governments such as Bihar and
Orissa, on developing effective implementation architecture of State Missions under the
facility. Lastly, this facility has continued beyond design stage into the first 18 months of
implementation of the NRLM and invested in learning from the first two years of
implementation of NRLM. The study on reform of business process of NRLM was also
initiated during this period. However this activity had limited impact on working of the
MORD due to various other factors. The outputs and consultations have also helped in
creating a more enabling environment and a multi-stakeholder constituency for NRLM
The review of the NLTA shows that more resources and time could have been spent
on converting knowledge products into learning for senior decision makers and
creating partnerships with centers of excellence in the country. In addition, more
efforts were required to develop a community of practice around various thematic
areas in the country.
10
The feedback from Ministry of Rural Development and National Rural Livelihood Mission on
performance and work of the NLTA Facility indicated that the most significant impact was
creating an enabling environment and foundation for establishment of the National Rural
Livelihood Mission. The feedback also shows that content of the program was significantly
shaped by the knowledge management activities carried out. The facility also helped in
providing key inputs for critical system development inputs which were required for
designing the program and the initial implementation. The feedback also shows that more
efforts were required to convert knowledge and systems work into learning modules and
opportunities and provide opportunities for cross learning across states and other
stakeholders.
This report has been organized to reflect the key outputs of the TA. Firstly, it lists out and
gives details of the various knowledge and learning products that were developed for
thematic programmatic support. Various recommendations from these approach papers
were incorporated in the design of NRLP. The report provides several examples of these
incorporated project designs in accompanying boxes in the relevant section. Secondly, the
details of the various knowledge products and technical support activities prepared to
improve systems and organizational efficiency have been included. The following section
illustrates several consultations and partnerships, organized for National Rural Livelihoods
Mission. The subsequent section describes the elements of the support provided for
institutional capacity enhancement of MoRD and technical support provided to various
state missions. Lastly, the impact and lessons learnt from this project are highlighted.
11
I) CONTEXT AND PROJECT OBJECTIVE India is one of the world’s fastest growing economies in the world with high annual GDP
growth in the last four years. The key challenge is to ensure that this growth is inclusive and
leads to significant rural poverty reduction. Current poverty estimates put the number of
rural people below the official poverty line at 220 million—approximately 44 million
households. These are geographically concentrated primarily in the so-called lagging states.
Poverty also disproportionately affects marginalized groups such as the scheduled castes
and tribes, which accounted for 80 percent of the rural poor in 2004–05, considerably more
than their share in the rural population.
Various programs like Swarnajayanti Gram Swarojgar Yojana (SGSY) and Mahatma Gandhi
National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) initiated by the Government of
India (GOI) for poverty reduction have yielded positive results. The State governments take
an active role in implementing these programs but, despite their success, there are a
number of critical gaps and constraints. These include absence of last mile program delivery
systems, lack of organization among the poor, limited access to finance to invest in their
livelihoods opportunities, inadequate expertise in livelihoods development, high
vulnerability of the poor and their limited access to government social services, among
others. Changes in the institutional arrangements, design, approach and sequencing of the
programs targeted at rural livelihoods could vastly improve their impact on the rural
poverty and economic growth.
GOI operates through a variety of agencies with the burden of organization, technical
support, and monitoring placed on District Rural Development Agencies (DRDAs) and State
Governments. These structures are already responsible for many programs, but often lack
the capacity to take on the intensive processes required for implementation. To deliver
these programs efficiently and effectively, GOI and the state governments need to invest in a
support organization and autonomous delivery structure that focuses on the investments of
capacity building, technical assistance, access to finance and markets and delivery public
services. These institutions need to have professional human resources and recruitment
systems so that good quality professional and multidisciplinary support is provided to the
poor.
GOI restructured the SGSY into the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM)to make it a
pivot of all poverty reduction efforts in the country. The central objective of the Mission is to
reduce rural poverty through promotion of diversified and gainful self-employment and wage
employment opportunities for sustainable increase in income of the poor. By investing in
MoRD/NRLM with a strong multidisciplinary team at the GOI that takes up the role of
providing technical assistance and knowledge and learning services (apart from financial
resources) to the State Governments, particularly in the lagging states ─ the issue of
limitation of capacity can be addressed.
12
The Technical Assistance (TA) facility for strengthening the implementation of rural
livelihoods programs was designed in context the Country Strategy (FY2009-2012, CPS) for
India and is also in line with the focus of the current CPS with focus on low incomes states of
India. The CPS focus on inclusive growth, sustainable development and increasing the
effectiveness of public-financed service delivery is in consonance with the TA strategy on
achieving inclusive pro-poor development in the lagging states of India by building the
capacity of institutions to address rural poverty at the national and the state level.
The objective of the NLTA was to enhance institutional capacity of MoRD for effective
planning, designing, implementation and monitoring of rural livelihood programs.
Furthermore, the TA aimed to develop systems for implementation and monitoring of
activities of the National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM). The key tasks carried out under
the project were:
Preparation of knowledge and learning products to support rural livelihood programs
and project design of NRLM.1 and Bank support through IDA resources for National
Rural Livelihood Project (NRLP)
Studies focusing on various successful national and international livelihoods initiatives;
and technical assistance to states for implementation of NRLM
Consultations with various stakeholders to support the project design
Establishment of a technical
cell with multi-disciplinary
teams of professionals. The cell
was formed to support MoRD
for rolling out the NRLM and
had functional expertise in
institutional building, capacity
building, microfinance, rural
livelihoods, HR, finance &
procurement and M&E.
Building a ICT based M&E
system
Figure 1 summarizes the
investment framework and
investment strategy of NRLM
developed under the TA. Figure 2 provides a framework for program intervention of NRLM
developed under this project after various consultations. It also presents the role of key
stakeholders like the World Bank.
1 This will include best practice documentation, training modules, training aides like best practice
films, case studies, etc. and innovations forums.
Figure 1: Framework for investment for NRLM developed under the TA
13
Figure 2: Framework for program interventions
Annex 1 provides a log-frame of project indicators along with achievements. Table below
summarizes the component-wise expenditures of the TA.
Table 1: Summary of component-wise expenditures
Annex 2 contains a more detailed cost table that indicates the main components/activities
under the NLTA and the associated costs. Annex 3 has the complete list of outputs prepared
under the project. Annex 4 has additional information of the various approach papers that
have been discussed in the first section. Annex 5 has the details of various case studies that
have been prepared. Annex 6 has the detailed Governance and Accountability framework
prepared for NRLM under the TA.
Component wise expenditures Expenditures (in $)
Component A: Strengthening Institutional Capacities 668862
Component B: Knowledge Management and Learning Systems 200216
Component C: Information Technology based M&E System 0
Component D: Others 118621
Total 988,241
II) KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT & LEARNING FOR
PROGRAMS The objective of this activity was to develop the knowledge base for design of National Rural
Livelihood Project (NRLP) and strengthen the institutional mechanisms for knowledge
management. The knowledge products were used to develop quality training and learning
systems for rural livelihood programs. The following tasks were carried out:
Various approach papers and strategy notes were commissioned to support the
design of NRLPi
Various best practice thematic and sectoral case-studies were prepared and
disseminated
Expert consultants were hired to give various recommendations for design and
implementation of NRLP
6 approach papers prepared 8 learning notes and impact notes prepared
4 major studies and reports 2 workshops sponsored
Technical support provided to Bihar Innovation forum
The following section summarizes the key findings from various knowledge products and
recommendations for design and implementation of rural livelihood programs in the NRLM.
Several recommendations from the approach papers have been incorporated in the design
of NRLP and NRLM. The accompanying boxes provide examples of the changes that have
been incorporated. For further information see the Project Appraisal document of NRLP2 or
Project Implementation plan of NRLM3.
APPROACH PAPERS A)
1) FINANCIAL INCLUSION Self Help Groups(SHGs) induced bank linkages and Microfinance Institutions(MFIs)
are emerging as the primary source of credit for the rural poor, particularly for small
and marginal farmers. Per capita credit accessed by SHG and MFI clients is Rs.9652 and Rs
6928 respectively, equivalent to about 67 percent and 48 percent of the average
expenditure of small and marginal farmers (Rs.14300)4. However, more than 60% of the
population in the high poverty states does not have access to microfinance services, neither
2 NRLP PAD can be found here: http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2011/06/14368884/india-
national-rural-livelihoods-project
3 NRLM PIP can be found here: http://www.aajeevika.gov.in/nrlm/PIP-NRLM.pdf%E2%80%8E
4National Sample Survey Organization Report No. 497 (1999)
15
from the MFIsnor the SHGs (bank linkage)5. The penetration of microfinance ranges from
less than 20–30 percent in States like Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, which
incidentally also have the highest rates of malnutrition and poverty, to nearly 84% in
Andhra Pradesh.
There are also huge regional disparities both in the case of SHG Bank linkage as well
as MFI operations. Southern states, which have made significant investment in the
institutional architecture(see Figure 1 ), outperform every other state in reducing the credit
deficit. The rural poor have to depend on informal sources to bridge this gap; particularly
money lenders who charge usury rates (e.g., in excess of 5 percent per month). However,
the high demand for savings amongst SHGs has been an encouraging sign for financial
inclusion efforts. The savings of SHGs as deposits in the banks is estimated to be about
US$1.35 billion, as on March 20106,7. The average savings per head, in SHGs, works out to
less than Rs. 990 (or US$21) which is about 3-4% of BPL household income level. Successful
cases demonstrate that rural livelihood projects have created new clients for the financial
institutions. This close linkage between financial inclusion and livelihoods promotion
makes access to finance credit critical to livelihoods promotion.
Figure 1: Microfinance Penetration Index and Microfinance Poverty Penetration Index8
Based on past experiences and best national and international practices, the following
financial inclusion strategy was prepared for NRLM. A short summary is given in Box A.
5 Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Northeastern State (Assam) 6State of Microfinance in India (2009), Frances Sinha 7 Microfinance India, State of the Sector Report 2010
8 Microfinance India: State of the Sector Report 2010
16
Box A: NRLM: Key Features of Financial inclusion strategy of NRLM
Goal: Poverty elimination in rural areas through building and nurturing institutions of poor, with a focus on women SHGs and their federations Target: Reaching 70 million rural poor households in the next 10 years. Core assumption: It takes 6 – 8 years for a poor household to come out of income poverty provided they are organized, supported and nurtured by their own institutions, and are enabled to access at least Rs.100,000 from external sources (banks) through repeat loans. With this kind of long term nurturing, annual household incomes of Rs.50,000 per annum from 2 – 3 livelihoods can be ensured Coverage: Phased coverage of villages in the country over a period of 10 years. Comprehensive livelihoods promotion - Overcoming shocks - Food security credit, health risk fund, usurious debt swapping fund, etc. - Strengthening existing livelihoods - Agriculture, livestock, NTFP, fishery, weaving, etc. - Skilling and placing youth from rural poor households - Micro-enterprise development: EDP trainings, skilling, apprenticeship and handholding - Risk management: Life, health, assets and livelihoods risks Required investment: During the intensive phase (first 6 years), an investment of Rs.9000 per household is required. Subsequently, during the maintenance phase (4 years), an investment of Rs.3000 per household is needed. Financial inclusion: Full range of financial services made available to the poor. SHG-bank linkage as main source of institutional finance. Leveraging credit 1:8 times the scheme investment per household Anticipated Outcomes in Intensive Blocks over 5 years - 80% poor households mobilized into SHGs - 80% of SHGs rated as good quality - 80% of SHGs are credit linked - 70% of villages have nested federations of SHGs - 70% poor households have food security - Jobs for 10 million youth from poor households
Following recommendations of the approach paper have been incorporated in NRLM’s
design:
(a) Demand-Side Mechanisms
The project supports financial literacy and business education programs for all
clients.
The project has developed robust financial management and accounting systems at
the SHG/federation level
It focuses on promoting savings as against credit.
SHGs engage in a range of livelihood support activities and last mile service delivery
of public service for poor households.
17
(b) Supply-Side Mechanism The NRLM fosters partnerships with WB-supported projects and other related programs, to
work on the supply-side of financial inclusion.
SHG Federations are engaged as intermediaries in these partnerships.
The project has developed alternate banking models and provides support where
possible through banking correspondents/ banking facilitators/ customer service
points.
The project has invested in piloting financial products in partnership with
mainstream financial institutions, which could be an alternate to the livelihood
grants provided to SHGs (see Box A for some of the risk management and financial
solutions that are currently in the design of NRLM).
The NRLP has invested in GIS overlay on SMS based client feedback mechanisms
along-side effective and transparent third party verification process which can then
be used as Customer Relationship Mechanisms by various institutions.
Box B: Risk Management and Financial Innovations solutions provided under NRLM
Climatic risks, economic fluctuations, and a large number of individual-specific shocks like death of the bread winner, food shock, and health risks, etc. leave poor households vulnerable to severe hardship. The result is that risk is an important constraint on broad-based growth in living standards in many developing countries. NRLM therefore works with insurance companies to ensure universal coverage of micro-insurance services, particularly to cover life, health and asset risks of the poor households. NRLM collaborates with mainstream financial institutions to coordinate supply side response in the form of product innovations, technology led channel innovations and alternate business solutions. Innovative Risk Solutions
Micro Insurance
Safety Nets and Micro Pensions Product innovations enhancing human development outcomes
Heath Savings and Heath Risk Fund
Food Security Fund Nutrition Credit
In addition, innovative financial pilots have been identified for scale-up in the region
and other parts of India. See Box C for an example from Bihar
Financial Innovations
Financial literacy and debt counseling services
Electronic Bookkeeping Innovations in last mile delivery of financial services
SHG federations as banking correspondents/CSPs
Bank Mitra
18
2) INSTITUTION BUILDING AND CAPACITY BUILDING (IBCB)
The poor are vulnerable and not organized, diminishing their ability to become a strong
demand system for better response from the mainstream financial institutions and
government. Lack of employment, assets, and access to financial and social services,
entitlements and markets keeps the poor in perpetual poverty. The purpose of National
Rural Livelihoods Mission is to build and sustain the organizations of poor, especially
women(see Figure 2 for more details) for collective action to address poverty and
development. The poor thus lead the process of development and the interventions that
are locally relevant and suit the specific needs. Overall development of poor is possible only
when they are organized and empowered socially in addition to economic development.
These institutions focus on ensuring timely and sustainable access to financial services,
arrest the leakages of incomes, smoothen the cash flows and support the existing and new
livelihood activities in addition to building their skills for increasing employment and
incomes. These institutions of the poor create a new gender-centric ecosystem for changing
the role of women in the economy. See Figure 5 for a description.
Box C: Bank Kiosks in Bihar
With growing emphasis being placed on financial inclusion, the ability of the poor in India to access financial services is increasing rapidly. However, the country’s banking network does not have the capacity to cater to this increase in demand. An alternate banking model was piloted in village Phillki in Nalanda district of Bihar by Jeevika. The State Bank of India (SBI) has established a Kiosk in this village with the help of SAVE, a business correspondent. Aimed at providing financial access, financial literacy and counseling to SHG members, the kiosk model has been a huge success in this village. It resembles the brick and mortar model of banks. All kiosks are operated by local trustworthy individual entrepreneurs called Customer Service Points (CSP) on behalf of banks with the help of business correspondents. A kiosk thus acts like a one-stop-shop for basic banking services. As a result of this pilot, all SHG members in Philki Gram Panchayat have been trained on financial literacy by the 18 trained VithMitras. Social security pensions are now directly paid to individual accounts of the pensioners.
19
Figure 2: Institutional arrangement for enhancing the new economic roles of women
The approach paper on institution building concluded that the guiding principle of
institution building should be as follows:
The benefits of development need to reach all the poor more specifically the poorest and vulnerable on an urgent basis.
The SHGs and their federations shall be built on the principles of self-help and mutual cooperation.
Primacy would be to build the ownership and control by the members. The focus needs to be on building the capacities of the community members and leaders and creating social capital through handholding support and guidance.
The community would set the direction through active involvement in governance but supported by a cadre of community staff with defined roles and functions to sustain the institutions.
In order to sustain the SHGs, there is a need to build federations at different levels over a period of time. However each institution would have its own identity, purpose, functionality and life cycle.
Substantial financial resources and development support is required to help the poor to come out of poverty.
Based on various successful community institutions model, NRLM has adopted the
following design of Community institutions.(See Figure 3 for the summary)
20
Self Help Group is the primary building block and should be promoted based on homogeneity and affinity of members. There needs to be a strong feeling of “affinity” which connects and binds every member of the SHGs together.
The SHGs would be
encouraged to
promote federations
at different levels
based on functions and/or
levels to build and sustain
SHGs and promote collective action at higher levels. The primary and secondary
federations would involve in nurturing and sustaining primary groups through ensuring
the quality, facilitate learning, manage revolving funds of different genres, and mobilize
access to public services and entitlements.
Second Generation Collectives for promotion of business or selected livelihoods
can be facilitated with selected members of SHGs involved in a particular activity such
as dairy, agriculture or any other income generation with a specific focus on collective
production/ processing or marketing or any other activity which would increase their
income.
Several recommendations of the approach paper have been incorporated into the project design. Some of these recommendations were:
The expansion in a state needs to be phased out. During the initial phase, few blocks
or locations can be selected for intensive demonstration of the NRLM interventions.
This would also help in building a cadre of experienced project staff, community staff
and community service providers who would play a key role in expanding to other
blocks/locations.
Use community members who have experienced the process of coming out of
poverty in their own lives as a result of similar interventions.
Social mobilization should be organic and should evolve over a period of time. The
sequence of key activities and processes would define the evolution and growth of
community institutions. More specifically, strategies for various aspects of social
mobilizations were developed. Box D below has an example of CRP strategy in social
mobilization.
Figure 3: Design of Community Institutions in NRLM
21
Box D: Recommendations for the role of COMMUNITY RESOURCE PERSONS (CRP) in social mobilization
The World Bank supported SERP project in Andhra Pradesh has developed and practiced the Community Resource Person strategy wherein experienced community members undertake social mobilization, capacity building and scaling up of various processes within the project. There are two types of CRPs - Internal and External CRPs. Internal CRPs are the community persons from within the block, while external are from outside the block/district or state. A systematic process of identification and orientation is given for the CRPs before their services are utilized. CRPs are paid a fee for their services as well as travel and food costs by the project. They are expected to deliver a defined set of outputs in a given time frame. CRPs are used primarily as an interim strategy to trigger the process and support the project staff and work on a campaign mode to address specific tasks especially on a scale in a given period of time.
3) LAST MILE SERVICE DELIVERY Making markets work for the poor and making public services work for the poor are
two integral elements of the rural livelihood projects in India. The business model for
both these elements are centered on leveraging investments made in – a) institutions of the
poor namely SHGs and Federation of SHGs at the Village, Mandal/Block and District level for
aggregating demand; b) human social capital i.e., cadre of grassroots workers and resource
persons such as health activists, community nutrition specialist, quality controllers,
insurance agents and claims management specialists among others; and c) IT infrastructure
including call centers. All these combine to provide effective last mile service delivery
architecture for the rural poor. Over the last 10-years:
More than 1.5 million SHGs have been formed and about 4-5 million individual bank
accounts have been opened (which are still active), and over US$6 billion of credit
accessed from commercial banks
More than 11million SHG members and their families have life & disability and health
insurance coverage and over US$100 million in terms of claims have been settled
Over 4.5 million SHG members have individual co-contributory pension accounts, and
more than 400,000 SHG members are receiving pensions
On the health front, over 1,000,000 million SHG members have a separate health
savings account and more than 2500 – 3000 villages have dedicated health risk funds to
mitigate health emergency funding needs
Based on several best practice innovations, the NLTA recommended several convergence
initiatives as well as use of ICT innovations in last mile service delivery. For example, use of
technology in Micro-insurance services(see Box E) and other safety-nets(see Box A2) such
as pension was recommended And incorporated into the design of NRLM and NRLP.
22
4) LIVELIHOODS PROMOTION The livelihoods strategy of NRLM follows a three pronged framework – livelihoods
security, livelihoods protection and livelihoods promotion. Livelihoods security aims to
increase accessibility and affordability of basic services through safety nets, food security,
health security, literacy and life skills and shelter. Livelihoods protection aims to reduce
vulnerability and enhancing reliability of coping mechanisms by improving access to
entitlements, debt restructuring, insurance and pensions, skills transferability and
managing climate risks. Livelihoods promotion aims to increase incomes, assets and well
being through market access, support services, improvement in productivity, cost efficiency
and transfer of technology and skills. See Table 2 for more details on the livelihoods
framework of NRLM.
Box E: Use of ICT in the service delivery of Micro-insurance services
On the insurance front, livelihood projects have invested in building a cadre of resource persons or BimaMitras who are trained on various aspects of insurance products and services including member enrollment, claims documentation and claims processing. In addition, livelihood projects have invested in putting in place insurance call centers and developed web-portal for all insurance transaction processing. This has ensured providing a better last mile service delivery model and in ensuring seamless claims processing wherein the turn-around-time in insurance claims settlement has been brought down from an average of 4-6 months to 3-4 weeks.
Figure 4: Innovations in service delivery of Micro-insurance services in AP
23
Table 2: Livelihoods framework under NRLM
Livelihood Security Livelihood Protection Livelihood Promotion
Objective Increasing accessibility
and affordability of basic
services
Reducing vulnerability and
enhancing reliability of
coping mechanisms
Increasing incomes,
assets and well being
Livelihood
Strategies
Safety nets
Food security
Health security
Literacy & life skills
Shelter
Access to entitlements
Debt restructuring
Insurance & pensions
Skills transferability
Managing climate risks
Market access
Support services
Productivity
Cost efficiency
Technology & skills
More specifically,
NRLM and NRLP will
provide livelihood
grants to the
institutions of the
poor to enable them to
undertake productive
livelihood enhancing
initiatives. The SHGs
will receive livelihood
investment support
when they reach a
certain level of
maturity, as measured
by pre-defined milestones. Figure 5 illustrates the sequence of investments required for
developing livelihoods for the households.
The livelihood grants are envisaged to be incentives and investment to the
SHGs/federations for the purposes of undertaking productive livelihood activities (as
specified in their livelihood plans), coupled with the funds they collect from their own
saving and proceeds from the inter-loaning within the group using market-based interest
rates. The specific use (i.e. agriculture, dairy production, sewing machine, etc.) of this
livelihood grant, and the groups’ savings, will be demand driven by its members. The
livelihood grants and their savings will also enable SHGs to leverage funds from the banking
system and/or other government sources to scale-up the different livelihood activities that
each member is undertaking. Furthermore, the project will support linkages with service
providers and market institutions in key pro-poor value chains. Box G illustrates the
interventions required for developing dairy based livelihoods.
Figure 5: Sequence of investment required for developing livelihoods
24
Box G: Strategies for Dairy Development in India, an example from the Livelihoods Approach Paper
The dairy sector faces the following constraints: 1) Low price realized for milk; 2) Poor per animal productivity of milk; 3) Decreasing cattle head due to migration of poor HH; 4) Seasonal fluctuation in the production of milk and market demand; 5) Capture by local private milk collectors by extending loans for purchase of cattle; 6) Ease of adultering milk; and 7) lack of significant capital investments in the dairy infrastructure such as cold chain. A 360-degree intervention strategy with the creation of a single-window system is required to increase the productivity of the dairy sector. One of the strategies suggested by the paper is summarized in Figure 10. The paper also suggests that the following nodes of institutional arrangement need to be looked at to enhance the productivity of the dairy sector.
Individual cattle owner should get remunerative price of milk to encourage them to invest in increasing cattle stock.
Village procurement centreshould be established for aggregation of produce at a close location.
Bulk milk coolers (BMC)should be set up for milk cooling and to take care of operational expenses, depreciation, etc.
Paravets(community animal health workers) should be trained and
compensated such that they continue to contribute their services. A suggested institutional arrangement has also been explained in adjacent Figure 11.
Figure 6: Institutional Arrangement for the improvement of the Dairy sector
Figure 7: Creation of a single-window system for dairy production
25
5) SOCIAL PROTECTION AND NUTRITION Over the last ten years, livelihood projects in India have implemented a range of SP and
nutrition interventions with a focus on convergence with existing government
programs. Figure 8 below has a brief summary of how convergence can improve service
delivery of social protection and nutrition initiatives. On ground research indicates that
these pilots and innovations have worked well, delivered tangible and much-needed
benefits to members, and are highly compatible with the projects’ philosophy of creating
sustainable institutions of the poor. Moreover, not only do the SP pilots address critical
vulnerabilities of the target group, they also foster social transformation with evidence of
increased confidence; changes in gender and caste relationships; and aspirations for dignity,
voice, and political representation in project communities.
A menu-based approach to SP and nutrition is recommended whereby States choose
different
combinations
of
interventions
depending on
their needs and
opportunities.
The Food
Security Fund
(FSF) and basic
convergence
with universal
safety net
programs such
as pensions and
RSBY would be
part of the core
model
everywhere. On health and nutrition, the paper recommends establishing an institutional
platform in the form of VO-led Health sub-committees that would engage service providers
and address the entire range of nutrition and health inputs in a bottom-up approach.
Continued piloting of the Health Risk Fund (HRF) is also recommended. Insurance
approaches emphasizing life and cattle insurance, and possibly index-based weather crop
insurance would form part of an expanded model in states with high capacity. The SP
agenda would be overseen by state social development project managers and district
counterparts. Finally, food security could be elevated to a PDO-level indicator and the MIS
systems should account for food security and convergence. Key recommendations are
summarized thematically in Figure 9.
Figure 8: Impact of Convergence on Service Delivery
26
Figure 9: A Thematic summary of SP and nutrition recommendations
6) INFORMATION, COMMUNICATIONS AND TECHNOLOGY (ICT)
(i) Approach Paper Rural livelihoods programs have been extensively using ICT and other technology in various
aspects of program implementation. Under the TA, a detailed study of all the technologies
used by various projects was consolidated. Table A1 in Annex 3 illustrates the technologies
that are used in various livelihoods projects in India.
The following section illustrates the proposed framework for computerized data
management architecture, ICT applications envisaged under NRLM and various cases
illustrating the use of ICT innovations.
(a) National Level Data Centre
A National Level Data Centre to house a central system, which gathers specific data
from the field and state level systems for monitoring and evaluation
State level data should be available for menu driven drill down through gateway
Reports should be shared with state/district/sub district functionaries, concerned
central ministries, other stake holders
Knowledge modules should indicate need for intervention based on targets and
thresholds set
(b) State Level Data Centre
• Food Security Fund / Rice Credit Line
• Grain bank (to start groups for very poorest and only where free grains are available)
Food security(core model)
• Awareness of rights and enrolment procedures
• Enrolment in social pensions, RSBY• Ensureingall members get UID
Basic SSN Convergence(core model)
• Health Risk Fund
• Health & hygiene promotion
Basic Health(perhaps core model)
• State-specific range of service promotion, social accountability & service delivery
• PDS, NREGS, housing, Water & Sanitation programsExpanded Convergence
• Life (life/accident/disability) and cattle
• Index-based crop insurance (to pilot)• Health insurance and convergence with gvt health insurance
Insurance products(expanded model)
• Set up VO Health sub-committees
• Stimulate demand for nutrition, outreach, promote behavior change, hold service providers accountable
Nutrition(expanded model)
27
All data should be captured at source where it is generated for maximum
transparency & accuracy
Data should be processed to produce timely and relevant information for
stakeholders.
State level Data Centre should house database server and application servers
It should be accessible over the web for external consumption
All intelligence, knowledge modules, analytical tools and decision support tools
should reside in this backend
Database to be suitably partitioned for level specific access, reporting and
intervention
System to capture data on social, financial, economic inclusion and consumption
The state level reports and database should be accessible at the national level for
tracking and monitoring
Figure 10: Proposed IT Infrastructure at the State and Community Level
28
(c) Community Level
A platform should be created to deliver field level functionality/service for social,
financial and economic inclusion and facilitate disbursement of entitlements and
social development services
System to act as a gateway to all external institutions e.g. banks, government
departments, healthcare institutions etc.
All intelligence, applications, work flows and related tools to reside in back end
Field level devices to function both online (web based) and offline (application
agent & screens) for synch up
Access to the system to be secure using smart cards and biometric authentication
System to be virtual front end to external organizations to facilitate agent use and
intervention
(ii) ICT-based M&E
System The approach paper
recommends that the project also
support efforts to institutionalize
results-oriented M&E processes
in rural livelihood programs. The
activities under this component
included developing a framework
for ICT-based ‘results monitoring
systems’ and MIS-based ‘decision
support systems’, thematic
studies and policy notes. These
activities were initiated by in-
house M&E and IT experts
recruited by NRLM. An
appropriate external agency was also hired to work on systems development for ICT and for
linking it to MIS based decision support systems. Essentially, ICT is envisaged to be used as
an organizing, enabling and empowering tool.
(iii) Establishment of eNRLMS Technical assistance from the project also facilitated an e-Governance platform for NRLM
(called e-NRLM) to use state of the art ICT platform for hosting and delivering a variety of
project services like Management information System (MIS), Financial Management System
(FMS), Decision support systems (DSS), etc. This system has connected villages to the
national level and is Aadhar (UIDAI)/ National Population Registry (NPR) compliant. It will
also be leveraged to deliver ICT based services to rural poor households in the last mile.
Box F: ICT-based applications used for digital empowerment
Digital empowerment through use of
Computers, IPADs, hand-helds, mobiles
Use of electronic equipment like moisture meters, milk-testers
Build an e-governance platform using the following:
UID enabled architecture linking villages, blocks, districts, state and national institutions and actors
Information and transactions through biometrics, GPS mobiles, portals, BPOs, call centers, payment gateways
Virtual communities of practice and knowledge through the following strategies:
Face-2-Face (Digital Green)
Peer-to-Peer (3G Mobiles, Skype, Google)
Social Media (Facebook, Twitter)
Internet (Solution Exchange)
29
(iv) Case studies on ICT innovations in Rural Livelihoods Several learning notes and studies were prepared to document and analyze the impact of
various ICT innovations in Livelihoods project in South Asia. These are currently
undergoing review and will be published soon. Summary of some of the key notes is given
below:
(a) Bottoms-up digital library for the small and marginal farmers Community-driven programs in South Asia have traditionally used local facilitators to
disseminate information and external best-practices. However, the massive scale of these
programs has made this strategy both a time-consuming and an expensive exercise. This
note focused on an innovative ICT based Rural Digital Libraries project in
collaboration with Digital Green. Digital Green trains members of local communities
about group facilitation, videography and basic video production. These videographers
create digital content locally, highlighting both internal and external best practices. The
videos are stored at the village level (and also uploaded on YouTube) creating a local and
online digital library and are disseminated widely through a network of village resource
people using low-cost pico-projectors. These libraries are a decentralized, localized solution
that combines the institutional platform with a digital knowledge platform to create
multiple nodes of communication and learning in rural communities across the country.
Initial results have shown that this approach can triple the adoption rate compared to
traditional extension systems at one-fifth the cost. With more than 150,000small and
marginal farmers in India participating at village-level video screenings, rural digital
libraries offer a promising solution for faster and more accessible livelihood knowledge
sharing and extension in geographically dispersed communities. Leveraging a video
production and screening platform, community organizations have started to develop a
localized, scalable model for agricultural extension, financial literacy, health and nutritional
awareness and technology and livelihood training.
30
Figure 11: Participatory Bottom-Up Knowledge Creation
(b) Building an ICT based data collection and MIS system This note focused on the MIS system built
by Society for Elimination of Rural
Poverty (SERP) for building up-to-date
information on the ground realities in the
poorest of the poor communities. The
PoP strategy at SERP collected and used
the information collected through mobile
apps to target Ultra-poor households to
help them escape the poverty trap
through affordable credit and sustainable
livelihood support. Digitized baseline
information on poor households,
regularly updated through mobile
phones was built and used for targeting
and counseling households,
monitoring and supporting staff, and
measuring impact. This MIS system has Figure 12: Synopsis of processes in SthreeNidhi
31
improved the project officials’ ability to administer programs and evaluate the effectiveness
of interventions.
(c) SthreeNidhi This note focused on SthreeNidhi (or
women’s bank), which is a cooperative bank
that enables community organizations to
manage their own risk through a powerful
collective credit record incentive at the group,
village, and block levels. The community-
based organizations in Andhra Pradesh have
contributed INR 900 million to the share
capital of the bank. It has been innovative in
two major ways: community organizations
completely manage the operations of the
organization; and it heavily uses technology
to improve efficiency and to ensure timely
approvals and disbursement. These
innovations have significantly reduced the
operational cost of SthreeNidhi and the
organization has been able to provide
affordable low-interest loans for the poor in a
timely manner. SthreeNidhi has also tied up with several banks to improve its network and
can now reach 90 percent of villages in Andhra Pradesh. Since September 2011, SthreeNidhi
has disbursed INR 4.96 billion to 255,555 households in 918 Mandals.
(d) m-Nutrition Day Care Center mNDCC is an initiative to capture and track attendance, health outcomes, and sustainability
at the village-level nutrition centers called Nutrition and Day Care Centers (NDCC). Using
mobile phones to track activities and outcomes of NDCCs has enabled coordinators at the
block and state-level to be more aware of ground realities and facilitated a direct line of
communication with field staff. This case study focused on the deployment of a customized
mobile application, its design, development, implementation, and initial results from data
collected.
Figure 14: Summary of processes in SthreeNidhi
32
Figure 15: Mobile application menu of m-NDCCs
GUIDANCE NOTE ON GREEN BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES B)Green Opportunities are sets of activities that constitute new or alternative approaches to
do things that lead to
social and economic
development while
at the same time
having beneficial or
lesser negative
impact on the
environment /
ecosystem. The note
discussed various
green opportunities
and why they are
important and
necessary in a
livelihoods project. It
also described some
approaches for
finding such
opportunities and
provides a menu of
such opportunities. is
a synopsis of why using opportunities in the green jobs sector is crucial for rural
livelihoods.
Figure below gives a synopsis of how various opportunities in green economy sector can be
converted to green jobs.
Farmer uses locally produced organic inputs in CMSA (Green Opportunity)
Cost of production is reduced and thereby economic risk that may be caused due to market or crop failures is reduced
Fertility of soil and its water-holding capacity is improved and thereby overall productivity and ability to tide over water stress is enhanced. Environmetal risk is reduced
Overall risk of the farmer is reduced. Thus, Green Opportunity in the form of locally produced organic inputs coupled with a CMSA reduces risk and makes the livelihood more robust and sustainable.
Figure 16: Why Green Opportunities for Rural Livelihoods?
33
Figure below has an example of how green opportunities can be identified in the energy
sector. Based on this work a separate grant proposal for Climate Adaptation and
Livelihoods ( $ 8 million) has been prepared and being submitted to Global Environment
Facility (GEF) for financing. This will focus on drought and flood prone regions in
India.
Figure 18: Identify GREEN Opportunities in Energy
GREEN OPPORTUNITY
•Usage of organic inputs such as Jeevamruth, Pot Manure from locally available material instead of using chemical fertilizers and pesticides
GREEN BUSINESS
•Organizing and motivating individuals/SHGs to produce and market these locally produced organic inputs to other farmers who may not have the time or the access to resources to produce these
GREEN JOBS
•Employment created in production and marketing of these inputs
Figure 17: Converting Green Opportunity to Green Jobs
34
BOOK TITLED ‘BANKING ON SELF HELP GROUPS: 20 YEARS ON’ C)A study was done on the two decades of SHG-bank linkage
program by ACCESS Development Services. Based on the
study, a book called -Banking on Self Help Groups - 20 years on
- was also published. This was co-financed through the NLTA.
The study provides both a substantive historical examination
of the SHGs in financial intermediation in India and abroad as
well a comprehensive discussion of ongoing issues and more
recent concerns related to their microfinance operations. The
study addresses three core issues related to cost-
effectiveness, impact and sustainability; an informed review
of findings of major impact assessment studies of SHGs
undertaken over the years in terms of their poverty targeting,
livelihood and income generation effects and social
empowerment, particularly the gender dimension; and a
critical examination of the models of sustainable functioning of
SHGs, and community institutions fostered by them, in the
provision of financial and non-financial services to their
members.
(i) Roundtable on the SHG Programme Based on the above study, a day-long roundtable was organized, also by ACCESS
Development Services, on the next phase of the SHG programme. The roundtable looked at
the two decades of SHG programs from a review angle, discussed stakeholder perspective
on the evolution of the SHG model and future direction of growth, deliberated on the
potential of SHG federations as financial intermediaries and finally discussed the strategy
and design of the next phase of SHG programs. The roundtable was attended by key officials
of the MoRD, the World Bank, ACCESS Development Services, Banks and other CSOs. The
report of the conference is available on:
http://www.microfinanceindia.org/download_reports/shg_round_table_report_05_12_11.p
df.
CO-SPONSORED TWO SUMMITS ON ACCESS TO FINANCE & LIVELIHOODS D)The World Bank was one of the key sponsors for two annual Conferences – the Microfinance
India Summit and the Livelihoods India Conference – to generate discourse on two issues–
identifying and testing alternate banking models; and encouraging social enterprises to
enhance rural livelihoods. Through these national knowledge events, the World Bank
sought to bring perspectives of policy makers, practitioners, civil society,
multilateral/bilateral institutions, etc. to impact NRLM's agenda of fostering financial and
livelihoods innovations. The World Bank structured and participated a session each at two
of the conferences.
Figure 19: Cover of the book on ‘Banking on Self-help groups: 20 years On’
35
(i) Microfinance India Summit, 2012 This conference was attended by over 1,000 people and the World Bank structured a
session focusing on alternatebankingmodels.The session put in perspective the need for
alternate banking models customized to the needs of different communities and geographical
areas, discussed existing models operating in the country and the need to scale them up, and
deliberated on areas in which innovations are needed.
Conference website: www.microfinanceindia.org
(ii) Livelihoods India Conference, 2012 This conference was attended by around 400 people and the World Bank structured a
session called– Scaling up Rural Livelihoods: Role of social enterprises. The session discussed
the role played by social enterprises/ entrepreneurs in livelihoods promotion of the rural
poor and ways to identify such innovators. With views from entrepreneurs from across the
board and representation from a successful innovation forum, the session also deliberated
on the role of NRLM as an incubator of livelihoods innovations.
Conference website: www.livelihoods-india.org
CASE STUDIES ON IMPACT OF RURAL LIVELIHOOD PROGRAMS E)Following case studies, best practice cases and high-quality training modules were
prepared through this TA. Following is a listing of some of the key studies and notes
prepared.
A) Supporting institutional platforms for rural poor in Andhra Pradesh
B) Enabling environmentally sound and economically viable agriculture through
community institutions
C) Providing jobs for rural youth through public-private-people partnerships in
Andhra Pradesh, India
D) building a pro-poor dairy sector in Andhra Pradesh
E) Enhancing agricultural livelihoods in Bihar though system of crop intensification
F) Enabling innovation: a global case-study of ICT in financial inclusion
G) Case studies on rural livelihoods interventions
H) Rajasthan microfinance sector report 2011
Annexure 4 has the detailed description of various case studies produced under the TA.
Various studies mentioned in this section are at different stages of finalization. A few of
them have been published. Several blogs and feature stories have been written to
disseminate knowledge products as well reach as wide an audience as possible. Following
are some of the blog entries and feature stories that have been already published on the
World Bank external site:
36
Creating an Ecosystem for Sustainable Financial Inclusion through Community
Institutions: http://blogs.worldbank.org/endpovertyinsouthasia/creating-ecosystem-
sustainable-financial-inclusion-through-community-institutions
Building an Ecosystem for Social Entrepreneurship in Rural Livelihoods:
http://blogs.worldbank.org/endpovertyinsouthasia/building-ecosystem-social-
entrepreneurship-rural-livelihoods
Banks and Community Institutions Partner to Create an Ecosystem for Sustainable
Financial Inclusion in Bihar, India:
http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2013/03/27/banks-community-
institutions-partner-create-sustainable-financial-inclusion-bihar-india
III) KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT FOR SYSTEMS
DEVELOPMENT FOR NRLM
A) MONITORING, LEARNING AND EVALUATION AND SOCIAL OBSERVATORY Given the geographic scale and magnitude of the resources and activities to be supported by
the NRLM, a comprehensive and robust monitoring and evaluation system is needed to not
only track implementation progress but also to provide meaningful reports on household
level impacts and implementation experiences. This approach paper details the strategies to
be adopted to establish such a system so as to enable MoRD and state governments to take
corrective actions, if necessary.
37
B) GOVERNANCE AND ACCOUNTABILITY SYSTEMS Looking at the size and scale of the NRLP, a comprehensive, though simple, result oriented
and standardized, governance and accountability (GAC) system is extremely critical for
program success. The GAC system is meant to be risk informed and results oriented so that
it can serve as a management tool, rather than seen as a ‘compliance’ or ‘checklist’ type
activity. Given the federated implementation structure of the NRLP, the GAC system has
involved development of an overall ‘GAC framework’ and then separate GAC Action Plans
(GAAPs) have been established at the national level and participating states developing their
state plans.9 The GAC Framework is set up to respond to the key GAC risks and
9 This is similar to the approach used in safeguards where an environmental and social management framework (ESMF) is
prepared when actual investments are unknown. Environmental/social action plans for specific investments are developed
Box G: Design of the Social Observatory in NRLP Based on the Approach Paper
The Monitoring, Learning and Evaluation System under NRLP will serve more as a social observatory, incorporating various monitoring and evaluation tools to measure change (both economic and non economic), assess the effectiveness of the project, and pinpoint design and implementation challenges concurrently. It will be driven by the following principles:
1. Real time learning from monitoring 2. Long term learning from periodic quantitative and qualitative evaluations 3. Special studies to understand key issues for project implementation and design
The National Social Observatory has been housed in the National Project Implementation Unit of the National Rural Livelihood Mission. The State Social Observatories will be similarly housed in the state level project implementation units.
Figure 20: Activities of Social Observatory
38
vulnerabilities faced at the three levels of implementation structure i.e. national, state and
community institution level. The different GAC mechanisms would focus on three aspects;
(a) prevention (e.g. business processes, disclosure mechanisms, HR systems, and capacity
building/participatory processes), (b) detection (e.g. monitoring, grievance redress), and (c)
response (e.g. sanctions policies and performance based incentives). Four distinct set of
actors – NRLM national team, SRLM teams, community organizations, and civil society
actors will be engaged in different types of GAC instruments. A detailed GAAC framework
can be found in Annexure 4. It has been organized according the following clusters:
Business Processes, Guidelines, and Project Principles(BP) such as Sevottam
standards, and service standards for key processes.
Financial Management and Procurement (Fiduciary) Controls(FM), e.g. pilot e-
procurement and e-bookkeeping program, random checks of books of FM records etc.
Transparency and Disclosure mechanisms(TD), e.g. disclosure guidelines at the
national level, project website and notice boards, community and project information
centers with FM and procurement records, community and project information centers
etc.
Sanction Policy(SP) e.g. sanction policy for fraud and corruption issues
Human Resource Policy and Codes of Conduct (HR) such as recruitment audit and
HR review.
Performance (GAC) Based Incentives(PB), e.g. annual GAC awards,
performance/output based contract disbursement, milestone based disbursement
system to SHGs and federations, milestone based disbursement system to SHGs and
federations etc.
Capacity Building and Participatory Processes (CB), e.g. participatory governance
norms for SHGs and federations, financial literacy programs for federations,
establishment of grievance sub-committee at village and federation level etc.
Complaints Handling and Grievance Redress Mechanism(CH) such as telephone
hotlines and web complaints mechanisms.
Project Monitoring Mechanism(PM) e.g. annual user citizen report card, GAC
barometer survey, solid MIS system which tracks performance and governance, regular
performance monitoring of TA providers, institutionalized social audit process, asset
verification and utilization certificate monitoring etc.
C) KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT AND COMMUNICATIONS It is crucial to incorporate lessons from experience and communicate consistently at both a
policy and operational level. In this regard, technical assistance was provided for building a
knowledge and communications (KMC) architecture. The primary role of KMC team was to
build a knowledge driven community of practice in NRLM. The following recommendations
based on the ESMF. Similarly, the GAC framework would provide the overall ‘menu’ and approach to identify risks and GAC
mechanisms to deploy in different states, while the individual state GAAPs would lay out the actual GAC measures being
deployed and the actions, timelines, and responsibilities for their implementation.
39
have been incorporated in the project design of NRLM:1) website and user targeted
program briefing and guidance material as the basic hub for program information;2)
community radio programs, TV programs in vernacular channels, films and other material
for engaging community audiences; 3) An investment in proactive dissemination and
feedback mechanisms on information and knowledge products internally; and 4)a web-
based solution exchange program; regular awareness survey to be conducted; films on
NRLM to be prepared and aired in TV channels. This is being implemented by a knowledge
management and communication unit at the national level, which will also assist States in
linking and setting up similar units.
D) HR FRAMEWORK For the first time, professional management systems were introduced to the functioning of
government departments. A professional agency10was hired to develop the HR policy of
NRLM. The framework included national level organization structure and job descriptions,
compensation structure at national level, national NRLM HR policy with results framework,
TA to states, recruiting HR person at national level. The objective of HR development of
NRLM was to create a large pool of good quality professionals that is available for
implementation of NRLM in all states in the country. Following are some of its key
recommendations that have been incorporated into NRLM’s design:
Development of partnerships with well-established training and research institutions in
the field of rural development and livelihoods promotion throughout India which can
deliver focused training programs for successful implementation of the NRLM.
Introduction of performance based HR systems in the functioning of state missions (See
Figure 21 for its various components)
Figure 21: Components of performance management systems
10- SRIJAN Infrastructure and Development Services Pvt. Ltd
40
Systematic building of capacities and managerial skills of the NRLM staff through
accredited training programs developed and rolled-out in partnership with national and
regional institutes. For this a repertoire of case studies and innovation briefs will be
developed covering various livelihood initiatives across the country.
A National Center for Rural Livelihoods feasibility study will be conducted
The framework proposed a salary structure that has been adopted by MoRD as the basis
for benchmarking of the salary and benefits for the NMMU.
(i) Reference Book on Human Resource Management A compilation of various resource materials on human resource management from existing
rural livelihoods projects was put together as a reference handbook. This included samples
on advertisement for staff recruitment, recruitment and selection processes, terms of
references, job description, and comparative salary structure, along with learning material
on performance management system and young professional recruitment and induction.
There were also guidance notes that were included for helping the States to use the
reference book effectively.
E) NRLM WEBSITE A comprehensive website for NRLM – www.aajeevika.in – was developed to give the project
a presence on the web. The website details out the key features of the project, the various
sub-themes under the programme, the national team working on it as well as latest news
and events. The website also contains several project documents and success stories from
across the country. In addition, an intranet was also developed for NMMU’s internal
knowledge sharing and management.
Figure 22: Snapshot of the NRLM wesbite
41
F) FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK The framework details out FM procedures applicable at all levels in the project and aims to
bring in uniformity in FM arrangements, such as accounting, financial reporting, audit etc.
G) PROCUREMENT FRAMEWORK This framework sets forth the NRLM procurement policies and procedures for the guidance
of all personnel involved with procurement responsibilities, with the aim of ensuring that
programme resources are properly managed and safeguarded. It aims to achieve economy,
efficiency and transparency in the implementation of the project, including the procurement
of the goods, works and services involved; and ensuring that all eligible bidders are
provided the same information and equal opportunity to compete in provision of same.
H) INNOVATIONS AND PARTNERSHIPS GUIDELINES A framework for innovation and partnership guidelines was developed. The key principle
behind this arrangement is to create an ‘enabling environment’ to increase the supply of
high quality TA providers and facilitate mutual support and learning exchange between
NRLM, SRLMs and other implementing agencies. Furthermore, the implementation capacity
of SRLMs and other implementing partners of NRLM was also strengthened by arranging
technical assistance and implementation support of resource organizations.
Figure 23: Life-cycle of innovations and partnerships
42
I) CREATION OF A KNOWLEDGE REPOSITORY A repository of
documents
relevant to NRLM
was created within
the World Bank so
as to enable easy
access of data.
Following are the
main component of
the repository:
Annual Action
Plans of SRLMs
NRLM
approach
papers
Community
Operational
Manuals
General Guidance Notes on preparation of field notes, innovation notes, etc.
Guidelines and Implementation Frameworks
National and State HR Manuals
Learning Notes
National and State Project Appraisal Documents
National and State Project Implementation Plans
State Perspective and Implementation Plans
Sample ToRs
Studies
Other relevant documents
J) BUSINESS PROCESS STUDY OF NMMU Based on the assessment by the government officials as well as the task team of NRLM, it
was concluded that the business process efficiency of NMMU was low. CRISIL, a
management agency, was hired for a study of MORD and its business process. The agency
studied various aspects including the scheme level governance mechanisms, organization
structure and staffing, business processes including those related to program management,
procurement and financial management and service standards for critical activities. The
problem diagnosis included the findings about the current transaction times for various
consultancies e.g., 479 days are taken to complete procurement of management agency, 322
Figure 24: Screenshot of the Knowledge Repository
43
days taken to finalize a proposal and a ToR of Young Professionals. In its study, CRISIL
developed the following list of recommendations:
Create a robust system w.r.t annual planning and budgeting: There is a need to define
and implement business processes for procurement and preparation of the annual work
plan by NMMU. This will improve predictability, as a detailed annual work plan will outline
the activities to be undertaken and completed during the year.
Figure 25: Roles and responsibilities recommended by the CRISIL report
Streamline decision making process for approval of procurement: The Empowered
Committee of NRLM to approve annual plan and procurement plan of NMMU. This will be
possible by pooling of procurement proposals for approval by Empowered Committee
leading to fast track implementation and defining of the evaluation system, procedure for
evaluation of proposals, etc., in advance.
Have standardized norms and formats: There is a need to prepare business policies and
define norms for workshops, travel allowance, resource persons. This will facilitate
procedural simplification, improve efficiency, and provide operational flexibility to carry
out various activities as needed.
Implementation of functional division structure envisaged in Organogram: The
standards for the completion of procurement activities and the annul work plan need to be
well defined, including timelines and roles and responsibilities of each stakeholder. To start
with, the standards should be monitored on a monthly basis.
Develop and Implement Enterprise Resource Planning System: NMMU’s efficiency is
hampered by inadequate process flow management due to lack of decision-tracking,
multiple file movements between functionaries, and inadequate data management systems.
In this context, a comprehensive IT infrastructure that facilitates online decision-making,
44
data repository, collaborative workflow process, and performance tracking is needed at
NMMU.
IV) STAKEHOLDERS CONSULTATIONS & PARTNERSHIPS To provide a comprehensive outlook to NRLM, various stakeholders such as NGOs, CBOs,
academicians, thematic experts, etc. were consulted with. This also created a multi-
stakeholder constituency for NRLM. Based on these consultations, approach papers,
guidelines and frameworks were developed to facilitate the roll out and implementation of
NRLM. More than 1,000 people have participated in the following consultations:
i. Brainstorming Workshop on NRLM strategies (August, 2010)
ii. Workshop on Approach Papers (November, 2010)
iii. Consultation on the role of Panchayats in NRLM (December, 2010)
iv. Workshop on Building National Programme Strategies (January, 2011)
v. National Workshop on Preparation of SPIP (January, 2011): This workshop was
organized for States to understand the SPIP framework and was attended by the then
NRLM nodal officers from different states. The first section of the workshop was for
NRLP states. In second section, the remaining states were invited. The Initial Action
Plan for the states was also discussed in the workshop. Social, Environmental,
Financial and Procurement Framework of NRLM (February, 2011): A one day
workshop, was organized to discuss issues such as social management framework,
environmental management framework, procurement framework and financial
framework. The participants were NGOs, thematic national level consultants,
representatives from State governments, World Bank officials and Ministry of Rural
Development officials. The participants worked in groups and came up with
recommendations and suggestions which were subsequently incorporated in the
related framework of NRLM.
vi. Workshop for Action Planning NMMU-MoRD (February, 2011): The two day
workshop was held in February, 2011. Topics of discussion included detailing,
prioritization, sequencing and allocation of activities to be undertaken by NMMU,
SMMU and MoRD, deliberation on the procurement plan, costing and fund flow and
discussion on the role of NRLP and NRLM and their synergy at the national and state
level. As outcomes of the workshop, an Annual Action Plan of NMMU was prepared,
clarity on the relationship between NRLP and NRLM, including phasing strategy was
achieved and the nature of technical assistance of NMMU at national and state levels
was charted. The workshop was attended by NMMU, World Bank, MoRD and NRMC
officials.
vii. National NGO’s Consultation Workshop (April, 2011): The two day workshop
discussed issues such as household targeting in NRLM, exclusion of the poor in the
BPL list, subsidy administration under NRLM, norms for partnerships with
CSOs/NGOs (selection, outcomes, monitoring, role of State Govt.), SPV formation in
the context of promoting NGO partnerships and knowledge management and
45
capacity building. The workshop was chaired by Dr. Mihir Shah, Member, Planning
Commission, and was attended by representatives of NGOs/ CSOs from across the
country, bankers as well as RD commissioners of several states in addition to NMMU
and WB officials. Quite a few issues raised at the workshop were subsequently
incorporated in the recommendations of the working group constituted by the
Planning Commission on NRLM.
viii. Workshop on HR practices of SRLMs (June, 2011): The three day workshop,
focused on the need to adopt sound HR practices and establish dedicated support
systems as well as the importance of cross learning among the different states. The
HR strategy of the Bihar Rural Livelihoods Project (BRLP) was taken as an example
to discuss the various contours of a successful HR policy. The role and functioning of
staff at different levels (state, district and block) was also discussed.
ix. Workshop on Team Effectiveness of NMMU (September, 2012): A one day
workshop was organized in New Delhi for enhancing the effectiveness of working of
NMMU. The workshop was facilitated by Nira Anand, Human Resource Manager,
World Bank, New Delhi Office and focused on conflict resolution, effective
communication and listening skills and feedback process within a team.
x. Training on Competency Based Interview (September, 2012): As a skill
development exercise for CEO and HR Managers of SRLMs a training program on how
conduct interviews focusing on analyzing competency was conducted.
xi. Consultancy on Content Management System: Meetings were held with content
service providers such as SAP and EMC to explore the possibility of instituting a
content management system for NRLM which would be separate from the MIS. Such
a content management system would help in organizing data and documents for
NRLM, create a digital library for internal use by the team and would also help in
general e-office file administration. Based on discussions, EMC’s Documentum, a
comprehensive content management system, was thought to be ideal for NRLM’s
requirement, and further discussions were held with the EMC team. However,
eventually, it was decided that the need for such a system would be taken care of by
the e-NRLMS, and some finer points that came out of the discourse with content
service providers were used to enrich the ToR for e-NRLMS.
V) INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITY ENHANCEMENT
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO MORD, GOVERNMENT OF INDIA A)This component was aimed at incubating a technical cell with a multi-disciplinary team at
MoRD and building its capacity through exposure and immersions in best-practice
locations. The vision was to make MoRD eventually a technical service provider or a
Ministry of Rural Economy (See Figure 26).
46
Figure 26:: A vision of MoRD conceptualized under the project
This component was used to hire a team of expert consultants, which eventually became the
founding team for NRLM. In addition to providing technical and knowledge support the
team organized stakeholder workshops, national consultations and policy seminars to
develop approaches for improving the quality of rural livelihood programs and develop
convergence strategies with social security, food security and income security schemes like
MGREGS. This team also helped in creating institutional capacities of MoRD and assisted in
the setting up of NRLM and was eventually handed over to the Ministry of Rural
Development, Government of India, for implementation of NRLM.A management agency11
was hired to carry out these tasks and its key roles and functions of the agency (see Figure
27) were as follows:
Implementation support provided to State governments for launching NRLM activities:
Comprehensive work programs was prepared to provide technical guidance and
handholding support to State governments in developing ‘poverty diagnostics’;
preparing poverty reduction action plans; formulating social mobilization strategies;
and setting up effective program management systems, particularly for human
resources. Annual Action Plans of SRLMs
Putting in place a multi-disciplinary team of professionals: Hiring and placement of core
team members, consultants and resource persons who would be a part of the NRLM-
MU. Before the HR policy for NMMU was made, the core staff members, consultants and
the resource persons were hired by the agency. It established a process for hiring of
consultants in agreement with the World Bank and MoRD. It then identified potential
11 NR Management Consultants was hired for this role
47
candidates in accordance with the Terms of Reference and eventually hired them. It also
prepared a roster of consultants and resource persons to support NRLM-MU.
Procurement of equipment: As the MA, NRMC was responsible for purchase of the
required equipment (as agreed with MoRD) and make it available for use by the NRLM-
MU.
Travel and logistics: Since the core team hired for NRLM-MU undertakes a considerable
amount of official travel outside their base station (New Delhi), the coordination for
travel bookings and other logistics support for the core staff was also the responsibility
of the MA.
Finance and Accounts Systems: For the initial period, and only for the NRLM Core Team,
financial management and procurement, payroll accounting and other administrative
support was provided by the MA.
Office set-up and maintenance: The agency was also responsible for identifying office
space for NRLM-MU.
Figure 27: Roles and responsibilities of the management agency
B) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO JEEVIKA AND BIHAR STATE RURAL LIVELIHOOD
MISSION Bihar Rural Livelihoods Project, popularly called “Jeevika” is the designated component of
National Rural Livelihoods Project (NRLP) in Bihar. It started implementation in October
2007 and is currently present in 21 districts and 167 blocks that accounts for nearly 30 % of
Bihar. A consultant with deep technical expertise in development studies and rural
livelihood programs was hired as a “resident representative” to provide overall technical
assistance and day to-day operational support to BRLPS and NRLP. The technical assistance
included:
48
1) Support in designing and scaling up new livelihood and entitlements
interventions: Assisted with development of concept notes of pilots, piloted
interventions and visited the pilot areas to capture the learning’s from the pilot.
Furthermore, consultant helped with developing guidelines, operational manuals and
scaling up of the intervention. See Box H for an example.
2) Diagnostics to tackle implementation issues: Analysis of the MIS data backed by
evidence gathered from the field visits was used to identify constraints being faced in
the implementation. The consultants later worked with the CEO and thematic heads to
tackle implementation constrains and developed appropriate design changes to the
interventions.
3) Support in undertaking quick assessments of implementation effectiveness: The
respective thematic heads were provided support in designing and rolling out short
assessments (carried out by the field teams of the project itself) that provided key
inputs on the effectiveness of the implementation and necessary mid-course corrections
were made.
4) Documentation of implementation experience: Learning notes based on the
implementation experience were developed for documentation of the lessons from
implementation and for wider sharing with other livelihood projects/other NRLP states.
5) Enabling an authorizing environment for the project in the state: The consultant
undertook periodic and regular formal/informal interactions with senior government
officials, members of the executive committee of the project and other stakeholders like
leading development economists in the state to build an authorizing environment for
the project in Bihar.
Box H :Scaling up Food Security Intervention across 2500 villages
The consultant worked with the social development team to prepare a guideline on implementing the food security intervention through village organizations (federation of self-help groups). Based on the draft guidelines, the intervention was piloted across 60 villages. Over the next 6 months, intensive visits to village organizations and the concerned households who were part of the piloting were undertaken to identify implementation issues. A short assessment on the efficiency of key business processes followed in the intervention was also carried out during this stage. Based on the inputs from the field diagnostics and the business process analysis, appropriate changes were made to the policy guidelines and an operational manual including the MIS to be put in place for scaling up this intervention was developed. Over the next 2 years the intervention has been scaled up to nearly 2500 villages across the project. A learning note on the process followed and impacts achieved through the intervention have also been developed for wider dissemination.
TECHNICAL SUPPORT TO BIHAR INNOVATION FORUM II C)A consultant specializing in fundraising and social entrepreneurship was hired to provide
technical assistance to the Bihar government for a unique initiative called Bihar Innovation
Forum II. The consultant helped formulate the complete architecture of the Bihar
Innovation forum and assisted the Bihar government partner with more than 20 agencies
working in the social entrepreneurship sector. The consultant also provided the
49
government with support in hiring professional agencies to reach out to as wide an
audience as possible. The innovation forum will be held in July 2013.
For more details about the forum visit: www.biharinnovationforum.in
Figure 28: Partnership approaches in Bihar Innovation Forum
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO TRIPTI, ORISSA STATE RURAL LIVELIHOOD MISSION D)A consultant with deep expertise in rural development was stationed in Orissa as a resident
representative to provide overall technical assistance and day to-day operational support to
Tripti.
VI) IMPACT The NLTA facility had significant impact in some areas, particularly influencing the content
and design of National Rural Livelihood Mission and creating a multistakeholder platform
for knowledge management , learning, innovation and implementation. This was the first
instance when significant number of experts and stakeholders were able to learn about
various approaches and brainstorm about design of a national program. Although NLTA
created a good professional base for the National Program and incubated a design team
within the Government , it had limited impact on the business process reform within
Government of India. During implementation of the program, NLTA facility commissioned a
50
rapid study on business process reform and collected many comparator cases on examples
of reform within Government. However it had limited impact on the actual business process
at the central level. Similarly, technical assistance was provided to States of Bihar and
Orissa on developing effective implementation architecture of State Missions under the
facility. However this could not be extended to other states due to lack of an enabling
environment at the state level. Due to the time lag in implementation of World Bank
supported National Rural Livelihood Project (NRLP), the project has been restructured and
total support reduced and rationalized. However, Government has recently approved many
policy level reforms including setting up of an autonomous society for implementing NRLM,
replacement of capital subsidy by a community investment revolving fund and using of
participatory identification of the poor as the targeting methodology. Many of these reforms
are based on various lessons learnt during course of this NLTA and material produced
during this NLTA. The outputs and consultations have helped in creating a more enabling
environment for the NRLM to be implemented. The key impacts are summarized as follows:
CREATING A KNOWLEDGE ARCHITECTURE FOR NRLM A)The project was able to create knowledge architecture for NRLM and brought together all
the technical expertise and knowledge on a single platform for design of a National Program
like NRLM. Many national and international experts were commissioned to write approach
and practice papers . These formed the basis for decisions about content and design of the
various strategies and investments proposed under NRLM. These were disseminated to
various stakeholders at National and State level and have helped in creating a knowledge
based design. Many of these experts have continued to be engaged in providing strategic
and operational advice during implementation. The key challenge is to make a knowledge
management and learning a concurrent and ongoing activity for the mission. However an
organizational culture which puts emphasis on knowledge collection and learning has been
initiated which is helping the mission to learn on a continuous basis. A digital library and a
accessible web site has been created which is being accessed by state mission staff and
other stakeholders. However , continuous investment is required in this area
BRINGING INNOVATION IN THE PROJECT DESIGN B)NLTA facility was instrumental in introducing various innovative aspects like Social
Observatory for concurrent monitoring and evaluation, use of ICT as a cross cutting
investment , organization of state level innovation forums for developing public people and
private partnership and last mile service delivery components in the design of a national
project. Many significant HR Innovations like introduction of Young Professionals Program
recruited through campuses of reputed management and development institutions in the
country have helped in rapid professionalization of the sector. These have been now
accepted at the State level but still require continuous TA which is being provided by the
Bank team and a network of external providers.
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POLICY REFORM C)Several state level and national policy changes were catalyzed due to the NLTA Facility and
states have realigned their focus from an entitlement-based system to a planning and
performance based system for the states under NRLM. Development of Five Year State
Perspective and Implementation Plans including Poverty Diagnostics, Poverty Mapping,
Assessment of Financial, Social and Economic Inclusion and various sectoral livelihood
analytics was initiated , which has lead to better planning and targeting and a medium term
view of implementation and results. , SGSY merger with NRLM was also facilitated by the
technical support provided under this project. The other key reforms which were initiated
included replacement of capital subsidies by a revolving community investment fund and
adoption of Participatory Identification of the Poor (PIP) as a targeting methodology. These
were based on various approach papers prepared during the NLTA. The Government of
India used material produced during the NLTA as a significant input towards policy papers
presented to the Cabinet.
INSTITUTIONAL AND BUSINESS PROCESS REFORM D)NLTA incubated a Special Purpose Vehicle in the Government and helped bring
professionalization and HR systems into implementation of a National Progrm. The NMMU
was housed within the MoRD for delivering technical assistance through professionals hired
from the market to work within the government system. This model has helped shift from
project to program mode and provide a new role for the central government – that of a TA
provider and not just that of a financial management and disbursement agency. The
management agency approach, facilitated by the TA, is an innovative institutional
arrangement being emulated by several other projects.
However the second part of this agenda did not work well. Internal business process of the
MORD continued to be managed through departmental procedures thus delaying critical
procurement actions resulting in reduced efficiency and time lag in implementation and lag
in states receiving technical assistance from the Centre. Although NLTA facility
commissioned a reputed management consultancy to suggest options for business process
reform, these could not be implemented due to the prevailing environment at the Centre.
However many other innovations like Setting up of a High Power Empowered Committee
for approvals of Five Year State Plans and Annual Plans have resulted in streamlined
procedures for appraisal and disbursement of funds to States. Other innovations have
included recognition of leading states with track record as technical assistance providers to
states implementing these reforms and programs. The recent approval of Cabinet for setting
up an autonomous Society for implementation of NRLM will also help in improving
institutional and business process efficiency and effectiveness
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO LOW INCOME STATES E)NLTA provided a Just in Time 24 by 7 model for technical assistance to State Missions in
Bihar and Orissa. These included a full time professional recruited by the Bank team based
in Patna and Bhubaneshwar who was accessible to the State Mission Director and senior
52
staff for advisory and operational advice on demand driven basis. This staff was backed by
the Bank Task team through constant back-stopping. frequent missions . This has resulted
in much better performance of the State missions and better development performance. It
would have been better to spend more resources on this approach in other states.
However, it could not be implemented in other states due to lack of an enabling
environment. However this approach has been accepted by NRLM and resident
representatives of NRLM are being appointed in many states to increase the responsive and
just in time support.
CREATING A MULTI STAKEHOLDER CONSTITUENCY FOR THE MISSION F)Various consultations with stakeholders to bring in a broad based understanding of the
context has created a multi-stakeholder constituency for NRLM in the country. These
include commercial banks, research and academic institutions, civil society organizations,
social entrepreneurs, private sector organizations and have created a good ecosystem for
partnership in implementation and monitoring of the mission. These will be further
strengthened through organization of State Level Innovation Forums in various states.
VII) LESSONS LEARNT FROM NLTA EXECUTION At the design stage, Bank wanted the NLTA to be executed through the recipient, Ministry of
Rural Development (MORD), Government of India but MORD suggested that it will be better
if Bank executed the NLTA as they had no experience or protocol to handle such activities.
At the initial stage, Bank thought that managing many small contracts would be very
difficult for the Bank. However subsequently, Bank hired a management agency to hire
consultants and process transactions and ensure that outputs are delivered efficiently. Also,
the Bank team was also able to commission very good quality papers by academics,
practitioners and researchers on various topics in a very nimble and flexible manner. These
were a combination of national and international consultants. Variety of topics was
explored based on the client demand and the opportunity. These included the International
stocktaking of experiences of ICT and Financial Inclusion and development of e-NRLMS
system. MORD feedback shows that Bank execution and flexibility in process helped
in improving the quality of content and incorporation of current practice in design of
National Rural Livelihood Mission. The subsequent experience in business process of
MORD has vindicated the decision on Bank execution.
While Knowledge Management and Learning happened better through the NLTA Facility,
the support given through NLTA did not work for system and business process reform. On
hindsight the business process reform study should have been launched earlier as the time
required for structure and process reform in Government and MORD was grossly
underestimated. While HR Reform, Social Observatory and MIS introduction were accepted
due to detailed work done under NLTA, these were still difficult to implement due to lack of
consensus within MORD. These changes and studies should have been pursued earlier in
NLTA and accompanied by more direct work on change management within MORD.
53
VIII) SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT The NLTA facility created a variety of products at different points of time and they were
disseminated through workshops and presentations to various stakeholders. These
were also disseminated through publication of papers, learning notes, web sites and
occasional blogs. Significant part of this material has been included in various project
documents and knowledge products which have been disseminated on the Aajeevika
(NRLM) web site. The knowledge products should have been accompanied by
development of a web based knowledge dissemination platform.
Significant number of these outputs has been converted into usable power-point
presentations. Preparation of simple guidance notes, based on the knowledge products,
which can become ready reference material for program managers, around different
themes and sectors, would have helped more in program implementation Greater
emphasis on audio-visual knowledge products including short films on you tube
platform as compared to papers would make the knowledge products more user
friendly for government functionaries and other stakeholders.
A significant part of this material was converted into learning material by Bank and the
NRLM Team. However more portion of resources could have been spent on converting
knowledge into learning modules and products concurrently to reduce the time lag
between knowledge and learning. Given the fact that the lagging states have low
implementation capacity, greater focus on developing partnerships with training
institutions and developing content for training programs that can be adopted would
have led to more impact. Currently MORD and World Bank are working with key
academic institutions to develop good quality learning material.
Efforts were also made to create a national level community of practice around the key
themes around discussion of the knowledge products but more resources were required
to have a dedicated human resource within the Bank team to lead this effort.
Although NLTA facility supported many cross visits to various projects, more resources
should have been spent on cross learning of senior functionaries on the cases which
were documented as part of knowledge management efforts. This is now being
attempted in the current National Rural Livelihood Project (NRLP) supported by the
Bank.
IX) FUTURE AREAS OF WORK
KNOWLEDGE AND RESEARCH ON COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION FEDERATIONS, A)
PRODUCER ORGANIZATIONS AND OTHER INSTITUTIONS There has been significant investment in higher level federated community institutions
through bank supported programs, other large cooperative sector efforts and a number
of large civil society organizations. However there is less research and knowledge about
the effectiveness and impact of these efforts on development outcomes and
54
sustainability. This would be an important area of research, knowledge management
and learning in future.
IMPACT OF COMMUNITY TO COMMUNITY EXTENSION AND LEARNING APPROACHES B)National Rural Livelihood Mission is making significant investments in community to
community extension and peer learning approaches, popularly known as community
resource person (CRP) strategy as opposed to staff intensive approaches for program
expansion and extension. About 20000 such community professionals are involved in
providing key services to community organizations. A systematic study of the approach
on costs, quality and outcomes is required.
SECTORAL STUDIES IN KEY LIVELIHOOD SECTORS C)Most investments being done under NRLM are focused on agriculture, livestock, non-
farm and jobs sub sectors of the livelihood economy. Although, some work in these
areas was started in the current NLTA, there is a need for work on productivity,
technology and value chains in each of these areas to develop more concrete and
specific assessment of various strategies being tried out in programs including seed
production, replacement, system of crop intensification, small ruminant productivity,
technologies for value addition, entrepreneurship and labor markets.
IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF RURAL LIVELIHOOD PROGRAMS AND VARIOUS D)
INTERVENTIONS As a number of impact assessments have been carried out by various other agencies like
DFID, IFAD and are being carried out in World Bank supported rural livelihood
programs. These need to be bought together in form of an Annual Impact event to
enable cross learning and initiate a dialogue with Planning Commission, decision
makers,, implementers and evaluators.
UNDERSTANDING THE CONTINUUM OF RURAL –URBAN TRANSFORMATION IN E)
TERMS OF LIVELIHOODS India is going through a significant transformation with urbanization and migration
from rural areas. Many households are linked with the urbanization process but are
often working at the bottom end of the urbanization process thus resulting in urban
poverty. There is a need to develop understanding of how this is unfolding by tracking
communities and households who are transiting and migrating and strategies’ being
adopted by them both in context of rural livelihood programs under NRLM and World
Bank supported programs and other urban livelihood programs run by Social
Entrepreneurs and large civil society organizations. This is also critical in context of the
proposed National Urban Livelihood Mission proposed by Ministry of Urban
Development.
55
DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM FOR KNOWLEDGE AND LEARNING F)
FOR YOUNG PROFESSIONALS WORKING IN AREA OF RURAL LIVELIHOODS Most professionals working on rural livelihoods in NRLM , States, Social Enterprises ,
Private Sector and Civil Society organizations are young and are linked with Social
Media and acquire learning through social media and related tools. An interesting pilot
in terms of a Facebook Page for Young Professionals was tried in Bihar and has shown
interesting results. Future area of learning would be to develop a Social Media Learning
Platform for NRLM and the rural livelihood professional community.
ANNEX 1: LOG FRAME OF PROJECT WITH OUTPUTS AND IMPACTS
Project Development
Objectives
Output/Outcome Indicators Key Outputs Outcomes/Impacts
To enhance institutional
capacity of MoRD for
effective planning,
designing, implementation
and monitoring of rural
livelihood programs.
a. Setting up of technical cells at
MoRD and select high priority
states to manage rural livelihood
programs
b. Institutionalizing systems and
procedures for NRLM
c. Training materials and aids
developed and validated in the
field
Several state level and national policy
changes were catalyzed due to the project and
states have realigned their focus from an
entitlement-based system to a planning and
performance based system for the states under
NRLM. Various reports and studies were used
for various changes in policy. For instance,
SGSY merger with NRLM was facilitated by
the technical support provided under this
project. The learning from other state projects
convinced the government to form NRLM as
a society, it also replaced capital subsidy with
community investment fund. Furthermore, the
BPL method of targeting was replaced with
participatory identification planning. Lastly,
the government also agreed to a phased
implementation of 6-7 years in the program.
Component: A: Institutional
Capacity Enhancement at
MoRD
a. Multi-disciplinary technical
cell set-up at MoRD as prelude to
NRLM
b. Implementation support
provided to State governments
for launching NRLM activities
1) Incubation of NMMU
2) Technical Assistance to Jeevika and Bihar State Rural
Livelihood Mission
3) Technical Support to Bihar Innovation Forum II
4) Technical Assistance to Tripti, Orissa State Rural
Livelihood Mission
5) Monitoring, Learning and Evaluation and Social
Observatory
6) Governance and accountability systems
7) Knowledge management and communications
8) HR framework
9) Reference Book on Human Resource Management
10) NRLM website
11) Financial Management Framework
12) Procurement Framework
13) Innovations and Partnerships Guidelines
14) Creation of a Knowledge Repository
15) Business Process Study of NMMU
16) Stakeholders Consultations & Partnerships
Incubated a Special-purpose vehicle in
the government:The NMMU was housed
within the MoRD for delivering technical
assistance through professionals hired from
the market to work within the government
system. This model has helped shift from
project to programme mode and provide a
new role for the central government – that
of a TA provider and not just that of a
financial management and disbursement
agency. The management agency approach,
facilitated by the TA, is an innovative
institutional arrangement being emulated
by several other projects.
Bringing innovation in the project
design: For the first time, the project was
able to bring various innovative elements
like Social Observatory, ICT and last mile
service delivery components in the design
of a national project.
Component: B: Knowledge
Management and Learning
a. Best practice case studies
developed and disseminated
1) Approach Papers:
a) Financial Inclusion Creating a knowledge architecture: The
project was able to create a knowledge
57
Systems c. Training modules developed
and field tested
d. National level Innovation
Forum organized
b) Institution Building and Capacity Building (IBCB)
c) Last mile service delivery
d) Livelihoods Promotion
e) Social protection and nutrition
f) Information, Communications and Technology
(ICT)
2) Enabling Innovation: A global case-study of ICTs in
Financial Inclusion
3) Case-Studies on IMPACT of Rural Livelihood
PROGRAMS
4) Supporting Institutional Platforms for Rural Poor in
Andhra Pradesh
5) Providing jobs for rural youth through Public-Private-
People Partnerships in Andhra Pradesh, India.
6) Building a pro-poor Dairy Sector in Andhra Pradesh
Dairy
7) Enhancing Agricultural Livelihoods in Bihar though
System of Crop Intensification
8) Guidance Note on Green Business Opportunities
9) Case Studies on Rural Livelihoods Interventions
10) Book titled ‘Banking on Self Help Groups: 20 years
on’
11) Roundtable on the SHG Programme
12) Rajasthan Microfinance Sector Report 2011
13) Co-Sponsored Two Summits on Access to Finance &
Livelihoods
14) Microfinance India Summit, 2012
15) Livelihoods India Conference, 2012
16) Enabling environmentally sound and economically
viable agriculture through community institutions
architecture for NRLM and brought
together all the technical expertise and
knowledge on a single platform. Earlier,
big Indian government programs were not
prepared based on knowledge inputs. In
this case, new ideas were incorporated and
point-of-views of various stakeholders
were incorporated through the various
consultations. In addition, various national
and international thematic best practices
were introduced in the NRLM design.
Created a multi-stakeholder
constituency: Various consultations with
stakeholders to bring in a broad based
understanding of the context has created a
multi-stakeholder constituency for NRLM
in the country.
Component: C: Information
Communication and
Technology based M&E
System
a. Support facilities and business
processes have been established
to support the project
management function
1) Learning systems and technical support for
Information, Communications and Technology (ICT)
2) Establishment of eNRLMS
The project was able to incorporate various
ICT based innovations and technologies in
the project design
58
ANNEX 2: COMPONENT-WISE EXPENDITURES OF THE PROJECT
Component wise expenditures Allocated amount Expenditures
Component A: Strengthening Institutional Capacities 778000 668862
SRIJAN 24260
CRISIL Risk and Infrastructure 27763
Consultants 117950
NR Management Consultants 452064
Sutra Consulting 46825
Component B: Knowledge Management and Learning Systems 122000 200216
Training, Workshops 857
Contract Printing 2210
Centre for micro-Finance 9350
Access Development Services 10626
Knowledge Management production - INTV 13975
The Livelihood School 28559
Press Conference/Meetings 41461
Consultant 93718
Component C: Information Technology based M&E System 0 0
Component D: Others 100000 118621
Advertising for Management Agency 49275
Operational Expenses 69347
Total 988,241
ANNEX 3: LIST OF OUTPUTS PRODUCED UNDER THE NLTA
Approach Papers
a) Financial Inclusion
b) Institution Building and Capacity Building (IBCB)
c) Last mile service delivery
d) Livelihoods Promotion
e) Social protection and nutrition
f) Information, Communications and Technology (ICT)
g) Establishment of eNRLMS
Case Studies on Impact of Rural Livelihood Programs
a) Supporting Institutional Platforms for Rural Poor in Andhra Pradesh
b) Enabling environmentally sound and economically viable agriculture through community institutions
c) Providing jobs for rural youth through Public-Private-People Partnerships in Andhra Pradesh
d) Building a pro-poor Dairy Sector in Andhra Pradesh Dairy
e) Enhancing Agricultural Livelihoods in Bihar though SCI
Guidance Note on Green Business Opportunities
Enabling Innovation: A global case-study of ICTs in Financial Inclusion
Case Studies on Rural Livelihoods Interventions
Book titled ‘Banking on Self Help Groups: 20 years on’
a) Roundtable on the SHG Programme
Rajasthan Microfinance Sector Report 2011
Co-Sponsored Two Summits on Access to Finance & Livelihoods
a) Microfinance India Summit, 2012
b) Livelihoods India Conference, 2012
Knowledge Management for Systems Development for NRLM
a) Monitoring, Learning and Evaluation and Social Observatory
b) Governance and accountability framework
c) Knowledge management and communications systems
HR framework
a) Reference Book on Human Resource Management
NRLM website
Financial Management Framework
Procurement Framework
Innovations and Partnerships Guidelines
Creation of a Knowledge Repository
60
Business Process Study of NMMU
Stakeholders consultations & partnerships
Institutional capacity enhancement
a) Technical Assistance to Jeevika and Bihar State Rural Livelihood Mission
b) Technical Support to Bihar Innovation Forum II
c) Technical Assistance to Tripti, Orissa State Rural Livelihood Mission
61
ANNEX 4: ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON APPROACH PAPERS
Box A1: Improving service delivery of Health Services
The approach paper recommends improving the health service delivery by building capacity and improving accountability across the health value chain. It is suggested that a cadre of community resource persons (CRPs) and health activists (HA) (or ASHAs) should be developed.
Figure A1: Suggestions for Improving Health Service Delivery
62
Table A1: USE OF ICT AND OTHER TECHNOLOGIES IN LIVELIHOOD PROJECTS
Sector Technologies
Agriculture
Sustainable and good agriculture practices Low cost agriculture equipment (transplanters, weeders, bio-sprayers) Low cost micro irrigation systems Ethno-veterinary SMS Alerts on weather information and pest attacks (AP) SMS Alerts on commodity prices (AP, TN)
Agro-processing and value addition
Digital moisture meters Threshing and dehusking machines Crushing and milling of oilseeds and pulses Solar driers for fruits, vegetables, etc. Mini cold storages Milking machines and milk-o-testers Decentralized bulk milk cooling and chilling centers
Arts and crafts Mechanized lathes
Information Systems
Information dissemination (voice SMS) Decision making tools, alerts and queries Imaging services (enrollments, documentations, etc.) Disaster alerts
Development Financial performance of the community institutions
Box A2: Innovations in Service Delivery of Social Safety-Nets
GOI provides several social safety net products targeted towards the poor such as life and accidental disability insurance cover, pension for various socially excluded categories, public distribution system (PDS), the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) etc. However, the service delivery has beenimproved by building capacity at the last mile level by developing a cadre of para-professionals and community resource persons and ICT/IT architecture to facilitate access and distribute payments (i.e., social payouts).
Figure 8: Pension Disbursement by Smart Card based on the AP model
63
Tracking Systems
Traceability of agriculture operations Tracking educational performance Tracking health seeking behavior
Transaction Mechanisms
Banking, Insurance and Remittances Aggregation, logistics and Market Transactions G2C, B2C, C2C transactions
Banking and Insurance
Electronic Benefit Transfers (NREGA payments, Old Age and Disability Pensions) using smart card-mobile interface
SMS based information exchange with commercial banks Insurance claim processing Remittances
Green energy
Improved cook stoves and fuel briquettes Biogas plants (verified emission reductions units) Lighting a Billion Lives (LaBL) – Solar energy Rice husk based distributed power generation Mini hydel power stations
Housing, water and environmental sanitation
Green housing Bio-sand, ceramic based water filter Solar disinfection and oxidation of water Solar oxidation and coagulation-flocculation for arsenic/fluoride Treadle pumps Low cost toilets and flushing systems
Affordable education
Tablet PCs Alternate learning systems E-learning and self paced learnings
Health and nutrition
Diagnostics kits Immunization kits Mobile and tele-medicine Affordable generic drugs Traditional healing practices
ANNEX 5: DESCRIPTION OF CASE STUDIES
A) SUPPORTING INSTITUTIONAL PLATFORMS FOR RURAL POOR IN ANDHRA
PRADESH In the last ten years US$ 477 million were invested in creating scaled up institutional
architecture to address rural poverty in Andhra Pradesh. This investment facilitated a social
mobilization of 11.1 million people; mobilized total credit of US$7.86 billion, augmented the
resource base of poor to US$1.1 billion, and increased the household turnover to US$12.9
billion. The investments were highly cost-efficient: per employee turnover was over US$1
million; and the management cost to investment ratio was only 0.7%. These programs have
also enhanced agricultural productivity and created a ‘diverse pro-poor livelihood economy’
where poor have grabbed a much higher market share than earlier leading to a systemic
impact. The community-based institutions have also created a single-window system, which
has been utilized by both public and private sector to increase transactions with the poor.
Furthermore, the project facilitated convergence and partnership with other stakeholders
forcing the public sector to become more responsive to the needs of the poor and reduced
the rent-seeking behavior of public sector employees. Eventually, the last mile-service
delivery became more effective and several pro-poor policies were formulated. Lastly,
several social and human development interventions promoted by the program have
improved several key indicators.
Figure below summarizes the major economic impacts of APRPRP.
65
Figure A2: Summary of major economic impacts in APRPRP
ENABLING ENVIRONMENTALLY SOUND AND ECONOMICALLY VIABLE B)
AGRICULTURE THROUGH COMMUNITY INSTITUTIONS Small and Marginal farmers in Andhra Pradesh, a state in Southern India, have lower
agricultural productivity as well as higher cost of cultivation compared to rest of India.
These farmers face several constraints such as high cost of inputs, poor access to credit, and
inability to use government extension services. These factors have contributed to
agriculture being perceived as an unviable and unattractive livelihood activity across the
state. An agriculture intervention Community Managed Sustainable Agriculture,
popularly called CMSA, has shown to make a difference and this note focused on its
impacts. CMSA has been implemented by Indira Kranthi Patham (IKP), a program jointly
supported by the Government of Andhra Pradesh and the World Bank. IKP has been
working with communities since 2000 and it has facilitated the creation of an institutional
platform and several livelihood interventions have been piloted, customized and scaled-up
through this institutional platform. The institutional platform has enabled the creation of a
single-window system for small and marginal farmers. They can now demand better
services from the public sector, reduce their dependence on informal sources of credit, and
experiment and customize various technologies such as CMSA, to enhance their livelihoods.
A number of innovative aspects account for the success of CMSA in the state. Foremost
among these is the fact that it was implemented through community-driven institutions,
which created a single-window system within a few kilometers of their village.
Figure A3: Key investments of IKP in CMSA from the Impact note
This system lowered the transaction cost of adopting the technology and farmers sourced
their own solutions by tapping into an ‘open-source platform’ of technology offered through
CMSA. Its execution through community-managed institutions also helped it acquire
characteristics similar to a “social movement”. CMSA has helped farmers save money by
66
replacing inorganic pesticides with organic inputs, resulting in total savings of ₹6.64 billion
since 2005. The participant farmers have also witnessed yield improvements ranging from
8-25 percent. Eventually, an additional income of ₹23.14 billion has been generated due to
various sustainable agricultural interventions. CMSA has also improved food security,
reduced pesticide related health problems for participant farmers and triggered several
policy changes at the state level. Figure below has a summary of various services provided
under CMSA.
Figure A4: CMSA: End-to-end solution across agri-value chain
PROVIDING JOBS FOR RURAL YOUTH THROUGH PUBLIC-PRIVATE-PEOPLE C)
PARTNERSHIPS IN ANDHRA PRADESH, INDIA India has one of the highest proportions of workers in the informal sector in the world.
Rural youth face several constraints, which has limited their ability to transition to the
formal sector. Indira Kranthi Patham, a program jointly supported by the World Bank and
Government of Andhra Pradesh, has facilitated the creation of an institutional platform.
Several livelihood interventions have been piloted, customized and scaled-up through this
institutional platform. This note focused on Employment Generation Marketing
Mission(EGMM), which has successfully provided end-to-end jobs and placement
solutions for rural youth.
67
Figure A5: Implementation of EGMM through CBOs from the impact note
A number of innovative aspects account for the success of EGMM in the state. Foremost
among these is the fact that these were implemented through community-driven and
community-managed institutions. EGMM’s various partnerships with the public and private
sector has made it the largest jobs mission for the rural poor in India. It has trained 582,295
youth and placed 449,205 youth till Nov 2012. Cumulatively it has generated income of INR
33 billion and an additional income of INR 11.9 billion. All of this was achieved at a very
small cost of INR 2.84 billion.
BUILDING A PRO-POOR DAIRY SECTOR IN ANDHRA PRADESH DAIRY D)Small dairy producers in rural Andhra Pradesh face several constraints: exploitation by
middlemen; inability to access urban markets; huge fodder deficit; and inadequate
government provided animal health and breeding services. Indira Kranthi Patham (IKP), a
program jointly supported by the Government of Andhra Pradesh and the World Bank, has
been working with communities since 2000. The social mobilization has facilitated the
creation of an institutional platform and several livelihood interventions have been piloted,
customized and scaled-up through this institutional platform. A number of innovative
aspects account for the success of these livelihoods programs in the state. Foremost among
these is the fact that these were implemented through community-driven and community-
managed institutions. The institutional platform has also enabled the creation of a single-
window system for small dairy producers and end-to-end dairy solutions have been
provided through this system.
68
Figure A6: Key investments of IKP and implementation strategy of dairy interventions from the impact note
Small producers can now demand better services and invest in productive livestock assets.
The project has also enabled higher livestock productivity and facilitated market linkages.
Since 2004, 202 chilling centers have been established. These centers have aggregated milk
produce from 4,215 village level collection centers, which cover 1,52,000 producers. On an
average the turnover of the milk procured at these centers is over 250,000 liters per day. In
addition, the various productivity enhancement interventions have resulted in higher
income for participant groups and increased the ownership of livestock assets.
ENHANCING AGRICULTURAL LIVELIHOODS IN BIHAR THOUGH SYSTEM OF CROP E)
INTENSIFICATION Bihar’s agriculture sector employs more than eighty percent of the labor force and more
than four fifths of these farmers are small and marginal. They have one of the lowest
agricultural productivity in India that has not increased due to several constraints. Jeevika, a
project jointly supported by the World Bank and the Government of Bihar, has piloted,
customized and eventually scaled-up several innovative livelihood interventions to improve
the well-being of poor households in Bihar. A number of innovative aspects account for the
success of these livelihoods programs in the state. Foremost among these is the fact that it
was implemented through community-driven and community-owned institutions. The
institutional platform that was facilitated by the project has enabled the creation of a single-
window system at the doorstep of small and marginal farmers.
69
Figure A7: Key investments by Jeevika and the implementation strategy of SCI in Bihar from the learning note
Farmers can now demand better services from the public sector, access credit from
commercial banks, and experiment and customize various technologies. This note focused
on System of Crop Intensification’ (SCI), which has evolved from a well-known farming
methodology called System of Rice Intensification. It has been customized and adopted for
wheat, green gram, oil seeds and vegetables in Bihar. The participant farmers have
witnessed 86% increase in rice productivity and 72% increase in wheat productivity. The
profitability of rice cultivation has increased 2.5 times and has almost doubled for oil-seeds.
Since 2008, implementation of SCI has contributed to an additional income increase of
around US$10.7 million. Following figure has an example of an innovative ICT based
technology being used by the program.
Figure A8: Innovative ICT based Extension technologies
70
ENABLING INNOVATION: A GLOBAL CASE-STUDY OF ICTS IN FINANCIAL F)
INCLUSION A detailed study to evaluate lessons from the most successful and prominent branchless
banking initiatives was conducted. The study had three major takeaways for community-
driven development projects in India. First, extending banking through alternative channels
to bridge the last mile can be highly effective in expanding access to financial services to
rural areas. Second, banks are integral to expanding financial access, in order to provide
liquidity to correspondents, help adhere to regulation, and provide greater avenues to
credit, savings, and insurance products. Third, demand orientation is key to achieve both
customer adoption and financial sustainability, as a cut and paste approach of financial
products and service models from urban to rural areas is likely to fail. The box below has a
short case-study on the major concepts behind branchless banking.
Box A3: Branchless Banking: The Idea and the Players
The promise of branchless banking lies in the fact that mobile and card-based technologies are now gaining rapid rates of adoption, allowing them to serve a number of functions currently served by brick-and mortar operations that were designed for exclusive access, rather than inclusive. These new technologies include: (i) a bank card that identifies the user and his/her account, (ii) a Point-of-Sale (POS) terminal to facilitate transactions, (iii) a human ATM with access to cash stored in savings, and (iv) an internet banking terminal with account information and ability to make transfers, among others. See figure below for the number of ways that a deposit can be approximated.
Figure A9: Various ways to initiate a deposit process
The following major case-studies were covered in the report:
71
Easypaisa, Telenor and Tameer Bank Initiative in Pakistan
Branchless Banking in Brazil
The Kenyan Experience with M-PESA
Competing Mobile Money Models in the Philippines
CASE STUDIES ON RURAL LIVELIHOODS INTERVENTIONS G)A consultancy assignment was given to The Livelihood School for developing case studies on
rural livelihood interventions for training livelihood professionals. Four case studies were
developed as case materials for training aspiring livelihood professionals and capacity
building of serving livelihood professionals both at the State and the national level. This was
done by researching the World Bank supported rural livelihood projects in Bihar, Orissa,
Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh. The case studies give an overall understanding of the
livelihood interventions giving a background of their context, core problem(s) being
addressed, role of various stakeholders and systems and processes adopted for the
intervention. The cases also try to capture management challenges faced in areas such as
choices in institutional forms, community organization, institutional linkages, project
management, people management, etc.
H) RAJASTHAN MICROFINANCE SECTOR REPORT 2011 Another research was commissioned on livelihoods in different regions of Rajasthan to
identify issues concerning regional livelihood systems in the context of financial inclusion
initiatives. Center for Microfinance conducted the study, based on which the Rajasthan
Microfinance Sector Report 2011 was published. This report was released at an event
‘Annual Colloquium on Microfinance and Livelihoods’. The study provides immediate
actionable inputs for implementation of the Rajasthan Rural Livelihoods Project and the
NRLM. Report is available online on: http://www.cmfraj.org/MicrofinanceReport2012.pdf
ANNEX 6: GOVERNANCE AND ACCOUNTABILITY FRAMEWORK12
Level/ Cluster
Key GAC Vulnerabilities/Risks
GAC Mechanisms and Tools Actors Responsible
Use of Information Prevention Detection Response
National
Problems with overall quality control, coordination, and knowledge sharing
• (BP) Sevottam standards • (BP) GAC/Social Accountability
Booklets (e.g. in TN) • (BP) Agreed governance
principles for project (e.g. Pancha Sutra, etc….)
• (BP) Guidelines in COM, PIM, FMM, Procurement Manual
• (HR) Code of conduct for staff • (HR) Transparent, merit-based
recruitment of staff • (TD) Disclosure guidelines
• (PM) Annual user citizen report card/ GAC barometer survey
• (PM) Annual GAC review • (PM) Solid MISsystem
which tracks performance and governance
• (PM) Disclosure policy monitoring – e.g. Orissa
• (HR) Annual staff survey/focus groups
• (PB) Annual GAC Awards
• (PB) GAC innovations window
• (SP) Sanction policies • (CH) Response and
follow-up procedures and timelines for grievances
• (HR) Meritocratic staff performance appraisal system
- National Mission Management Unit (NMMU) GAC team
- State GAC teams
- CSO partner for annual report card
- GAC TA provider
Annual GAC review will be basis for updating and improving existing GAC systems.
Challenge of managing multiple TA agencies
• (HR) Clear roles and responsibilities for staff to manage TA agencies
• (PM) Regular performance monitoring of TA providers
• (HR) Annual staff survey/focus groups
• (PB) Performance /output based contract disbursement
• (PB) Knowledge and exchange on GAC across States
- NMMU program managers
- SRLM Project Directors
TA provider performance reviews will form the basis of whether contract extensions will be provided
Overall monitoring and fiduciary challenge
• (CB) Training on procedures, systems, good governance for all project staff
• (BP) Service standards for key processes (incl. FM/disb.)
• (FM) Standardized guidelines in FMM and Proc. Manual
• (FM) Standard bidding criteria and technical specifications
• (FM) Pilot e-procurement and e-bookkeeping program
• (TD) Disclosure Policy (following RTI guidelines)
• (PM) Institutionalized social audit process
• (PM) Asset verification and utilization certificate monitoring
• (CH) complaints hotline and online system
• (FM) Regular financial reporting
• (FM) Regular VCs and exchanges for FM staff
• (FM) Random checks of books of FM records
• (PB) Milestone based disbursement system to SHGs and federations
• (SP) Sanction policy for fraud and corruption issues
- NMMU FM Manager
- NMMU FM team
- SRLM FM teams
- GAC TA provider
- Social audit committees
FM information will be regularly used for assessing progress and resolving fiduciary issues on an ongoing basis
12 This GAC framework maps out the entire menu of GAC mechanisms (including prevention, detection, and response measures) to be used to address different GAC vulnerabilities, at
different levels in the NRLP. It also specifies the actors to be involved in these and describes how the information and feedback received from these mechanisms will be compiled and used.
The GAC framework will be used by both the national NRLP team and the state societies to develop their individual Governance and Accountability Action Plans (GAAPs) that will provide
specific actions, actors responsible, and timelines/deadlines for GAC measures in a particular year. The national and state GAAPs will be regularly monitored and updated annually.
73
Level/ Cluster
Key GAC Vulnerabilities/Risks
GAC Mechanisms and Tools Actors Responsible
Use of Information Prevention Detection Response
• (TD) Project Website, notice boards
• (FM) Federation level portfolio monitoring
• (FM) Statutory audits • (TD) Photo
documentation of procured assets
State Project Machinery
Financial management and procurement irregularities
• (CB) Training on procedures, systems, good governance for all project staff
• (BP) Service standards for key processes (incl. FM/disb.)
• (FM) Standardized guidelines in FMM and Proc. Manual
• (FM) Standard bidding criteria and technical specifications
• (FM) Funds flow direct to communities
• (FM) Pilot e-procurement and e-bookkeeping program
• (TD) Disclosure Policy (following RTI guidelines)
• (TD) Community and project information centers with FM and procurement records
• (TD) Notice boards and websites with FM/proc info
• (PM) Institutionalized social audit process
• (PM) Asset verification and utilization certificate monitoring
• (CH) complaints hotline and online system
• (FM) Regular financial reporting
• (FM) Regular VCs and exchanges for FM staff
• (FM) Random checks of books of FM records
• (TD) Photo documentation of procured assets
• (PB) Encouragement of output based contracts
• (SP) Sanction policy for fraud and corruption issues
- SRLM FM units
- Community social audit committee
- GAC TA provider
FM information will be regularly used for assessing progress and resolving fiduciary issues on an ongoing basis
Lack of capacity and problems of implementation in conflict/fragile areas
• (CB) Specialized training program for conflict/fragile areas
• (TD) Regular IEC campaigns • (TD) Community and project
information centers
• (PM) Regular meetings and VCs with FM and other staff
• (CH) Regular de-briefing of community resource persons
• (PB) Special consideration during performance appraisal for staff in these areas
- NMMU - SRLM units - GAC TA provider
Special needs of conflict/fragile areas will be reviewed to devise special programs
Challenges in staff recruitment, retention, and capacity
• (HR) Transparent and merit-based recruitment process
• (HR) Established/ known codes of conduct
• (HR) Career development and capacity building strategy for staff
• (HR) Recruitment audit and HRreview
• (HR) Annual staff survey/focus groups
• (PB) Staff performance based compensation bonuses
• (PB) Annual GAC Awards
• (HR) Performance appraisal systems
- NMMU - SRLM - HR Agency
The annual staff survey will form the basis for addressing any concerns of staff
Corruption and financial leakages in state project set-up
• (CB) Training on procedures, systems, good governance for all project staff
• (BP) Service standards for key
• (PM) Annual GAC Barometer/User report card survey
• (PM) Institutionalized
• (PB) Milestone based disbursement system to SHGs and federations
• (SP) Sanction policy for
- NMMU FM team
- SRLM FM teams
Annual user report card survey and social audit results will be basis for assessing
74
Level/ Cluster
Key GAC Vulnerabilities/Risks
GAC Mechanisms and Tools Actors Responsible
Use of Information Prevention Detection Response processes (incl. FM/disb.)
• (FM) Standardized guidelines in FMM and Proc. Manual
• (FM) Standard bidding criteria and technical specifications
• (FM) Pilot e-procurement and e-bookkeeping program
• (TD) Disclosure Policy (following RTI guidelines)
• (TD) Project Website, notice boards with fiduciary records
social audit process • (PM) Asset verification
and utilization certificate monitoring
• (CH) complaints hotline and online system
• (FM) Regular financial reporting
• (FM) Regular VCs and exchanges for FM staff
• (FM) Random checks of books of FM records
• (FM) Federation level portfolio monitoring
• (FM) Statutory audits • (TD) Photo
documentation of procured assets
fraud and corruption issues
- CSO partner for report card
- Social audit committees
- Grievance committees
level of fiduciary risks across states and districts. Complaints receipt will also be analyzed by geography and type. State teams will use information to target random checks and additional capacity building.
Community Institutions
Elite capture of community institutions (SHGs, federations, etc.)
• (BP) Participatory identification of the poor process for social mobilization
• (CB) Participatory governance norms for SHGs and Federations (e.g. quotas for EPVGs); leadership rotation guidance
• (CB) Encouraging consensus based decision-making
• (CH) Establishment of grievance sub-committees at village and federation level
• (PM) MIS will record leadership details
• (PM) Institutionalized social audit
• (CH) Pilot media tools • (CH) Telephone hotline • (CH) Web/online
complaints mechanism • (CH) Regular de-briefing
of community resource persons
• (PB) Annual GAC Awards
• (PB) Disbursement based on grading/rating of SHGs and federations
- SRLM Block teams
- Grievance sub- committees
Issues of elite capture will be addressed through enhanced facilitation for groups and federations and greater targeting. GAC awardees will be used for peer to peer training and study tours.
Exclusion/Mis-targeting of poor and vulnerable households
• (BP) Participatory identification of the poor process for social mobilization
• (CB) Participatory governance norms for SHGs and Federations
• (TD) Annual communication (IEC) campaigns
• (CH) Establishment of grievance sub-committees at village and federation level
• (PM) MIS will pick up beneficiary information
• (PM) Institutionalized social audits
• (CH) Pilot media tools • (CH) Telephone hotline • (CH) Web/online
complaints mechanism • (CH) Regular de-briefing
of community resource persons
• (PB) Disbursement based on grading/rating of SHGs and federations
- SRLM Block teams
- Grievance sub- committees
Regular reviews of targeting of poor and vulnerable groups in MIS will form basis for future targeting efforts. Monitoring data will be used to guide social mobilization strategy.
Political interference in • (CB) Participatory governance • (PM) Annual user report • (PB) Disbursement - SRLM Block SRLMs will monitor
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Level/ Cluster
Key GAC Vulnerabilities/Risks
GAC Mechanisms and Tools Actors Responsible
Use of Information Prevention Detection Response
management of community institutions
norms for SHGs and Federations
• (TD) Regular IEC campaigns • (CH) Establishment of grievance
sub-committees at village and federation level
card • (PM) Institutionalized
social audits • (CH) Pilot media tools • (CH) Telephone hotline • (CH) Web/online
complaints mechanism • (CH) Regular de-briefing
of community resource persons
based on standard grading/rating of SHGs and federations
teams - CSO partner for report card
- Grievance sub- committees
grievance information and reports of CRPs to monitor if there is evidence of political interference.
Corruption/poor financial management in SHGs and federations
• (BP) Micro-planning at HH and group levels
• (CB) Financial literacy program for SHGs and federations
• (TD) Notice boards and awareness materials
• (TD) Community information centers with key documents
• (BP) Micro planning systems for HH and group levels
• (FM) Pilot e-bookkeeping program
• (PM) Annual user report card
• (PM) SHG, Federation, and Village grading systems
• (PM) Portfolio monitoring of federations
• (PM) Institutionalized social audits
• (PM) Asset verification and utilization certificate monitoring
• (PM) Random checks
• (PB) Performance indexed disbursement to all groups
• (PB) Annual GAC Awards
- SRLM Block teams
- CSO partner for report card
- Social audit committees
Regular monitoring of SHGs and federations will be a core part of the project management and supervision and the basis for testing degree of institutional strengthening. All disbursements and support will be indexed on this.
Coordination/approach towards existing/failed SHGs
• (BP) Saturation strategy and participatory identification of the poor in social mobilization
• (CB) Participatory governance norms for SHGs and Federations
• (CB) Training on procedures, systems, good governance
• (CB) Financial literacy program for SHGs and federations
• (TD) Regular IEC campaigns (CH) Establishment of grievance sub-committees at village and federation level
• (PM) SHG, Federation, and Village grading systems
• (PM) Portfolio monitoring of federations
• (PM) Institutionalized social audits
• (PM) Asset verification and utilization certificate monitoring
• (PM) Random checks • (CH) Regular debriefing
with community resource persons
• (PB) Performance indexed disbursement to all groups
• (PB) Annual GAC Awards
• (CB) Study tours and exchange visits
- SRLM Block teams
- Social audit committees
The project will adopt a phased approach towards reaching out to existing SHGs, working on the power of demonstration effects. MIS data on group performance will guide social mobilization and targeting strategies.
Safeguards issues • (BP) Clear safeguards frameworks included in PIP and OM
• (CB) Training on required safeguards guidelines and procedures
• (TD) IEC campaign to include
• (PM) Safeguards Audit • (CH) Regular debriefing
with community resource persons
• (CB) Specialized safeguards follow-up training as needed
- SRLM Safeguards focal points
Routine environmental and social safeguards monitoring will determine whether enhanced outreach and supervision is
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Level/ Cluster
Key GAC Vulnerabilities/Risks
GAC Mechanisms and Tools Actors Responsible
Use of Information Prevention Detection Response safeguard guidelines
required. Guidelines may also be adjusted based on needs.
Sustainability of community institutions
• (CB) Regular training and institution strengthening
• (CB) Participatory governance norms for SHGs and Federations
• (CB) Financial literacy program for community institutions
• (PM) MIS to track financial and commercial linkage achieved
• (PM) Portfolio monitoring of federations
• (CH) Regular de-briefs of community resource persons
• (PB) Performance based disbursement
• (PB) Annual Innovations Fairs
- NNMU - SRLM
MIS data on financial and commercial linkages as well as portfolio monitoring will be used to adjust sustainability strategy.
Codes for GAC mechanism clusters:
BP = Business Processes, Guidelines, and Project Principles
FM = Financial Management and Procurement (Fiduciary) Controls
TD = Transparency and Disclosure mechanisms
SP = Sanction Policy
HR = Human Resource Policy and Codes of Conduct
PB = Performance (GAC) Based Incentives
CB = Capacity Building and Participatory Processes
CH = Complaints Handling and Grievance Redress Mechanism
PM = Project Monitoring Mechanism
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