India, World Bank signed USD 201.50 million Financing Agreement for TEQIP III

India and the World Bank Group (WBG) on 1 February 2017 signed a financing agreement worth of USD 201.50 million for the Third Technical Education Quality Improvement Programme (TEQIP III).

The agreement was signed by Raj Kumar and Junaid Kamal Ahmad.

While Raj Kumar is the Joint Secretary of the Department of Economic Affairs in the Union Ministry of Finance, Junaid Kamal Ahmad is the Country Director of the World Bank (India).

Features of Technical Education Quality Improvement Programme (TEQIP III)

• The objective of the programme is to enhance quality and equity in participating engineering education institutes.

• Primarily, the programme seeks to improve the efficiency of the engineering education system in Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, 8 North Eastern States and Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

• The project has been designed as a disbursement linked one, i.e. the World Bank Group loan will be disbursed on achievement of specific outcomes.

The TEQIP III has two main components - Improving quality and equity in engineering institutes and System-level initiatives to strengthen sector governance and performance.

(I) Improving quality and equity in engineering institutes in focus states

• It will focus on improving engineering education in all government and government-aided colleges, including the ATUs in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, states in the North East of India and hill states.

• It has three sub-components -

(1) Institutional development for participating institutes

(2) Widening impact

(3) Twinning arrangements to build capacity and improve performance of participating institutes

(II) System-level initiatives to strengthen sector governance and performance

• It will support the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) and key apex bodies, including the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and National Board of Accreditation (NBA).

• It will strengthen sector governance, management, accountability mechanisms and performance in the overall system of engineering education.