Latest news with #PBCs
Business Recorder
8 hours ago
- Business
- Business Recorder
Pakistan govt urges World Bank to restructure $393.73m HEDP project
ISLAMABAD: The government has requested the World Bank for restructuring of Higher Education Development in Pakistan (HEDP) project worth $393.73 million for the fourth time to allow for the completion of critical IT and IT-related activities at the universities whose impact will be seen beyond the project period. The project is in its sixth year of implementation, and its project development objective (PDO) is to support research excellence in strategic sectors of the economy, improve teaching and learning and strengthen governance, in the higher education sector. The Economic Affairs Division has requested a four-month extension through a letter as the project requires restructuring to complete five remaining packages under IT and IT-related services, which are at an advanced stage of contract implementation. The additional time is sought following several disruptions and procedural delays, which delayed the delivery of IT hardware to ports and, subsequently, of deployment of related software and services packages. An extension of the closing date is needed to enable the project to complete the establishment of critical IT activities at the universities whose impact will be seen beyond the project period. The overall project implementation progress is rated moderately satisfactory. Key results achieved by the project: (i) thirty one research grants awarded in Year 2 achieved 80 per cent of their outcome and 28 research grants awarded in Year 3 achieved 60 per cent of their outcome target, and nine RTTG awarded in Year 5 have achieved 50 per cent of their outcome targets; (ii) the NAHE conducted training for 1,113 faculty and 903 higher education managers, (iii) 50 QECACs completed SARs, (iv) twenty Affiliating Universities or ACs implement the career and internship framework; (v) 300 higher education institutions connected to PERN; and (vi) HEC developed, approved and rolled critical policies including the Undergraduate Education Policy and the Open Distance Learning Policy. Nine out of 11 intermediate results indicators have been met and two others will be met by June 30, 2025. The disbursement as of June 10, 2025, from IDA Credit is $375.70 million, including $319 million against PBCs and $56.70 million for the IPF component. The final disbursement of $12.3 million against the PBCs has been approved and is being processed. The balance of the IPF component will be disbursed in fiscal year 2026. This restructuring will only involve the extension of the project closing date by four months to October 31, 2025. The work plan will be adjusted with the proposed closing date. There will be no changes in PDO, PDO indicators, any activities or any components of the project as a result of this restructuring. No revision of implementation arrangement and M&E mechanism will take place. There will be no modification or scale-up of any activity of the project. The extension of the project's closing date does not involve any modifications to the current Financial Management (FM), procurement, and environmental and social safeguards arrangements, which have been deemed adequate and will continue to effectively support the project's operations. The existing FM systems, including budgeting, disbursement, accounting, and financial reporting, including the reporting frequency, will remain unchanged and will operate according to the established procedures. The project has been restructured thrice. The first restructuring was approved on June 14, 2021, to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic impacts and involved: (a) introduction of Component 6 to support continued learning for all in case of unpredicted crises and university lockdowns and provision of special funds to universities to increase their financial autonomy, (b) reallocation of funds between Components to better address ongoing needs, and (c) revision of the Results Framework to reflect the changes in activities. The second restructuring was approved on June 15, 2023, to repurpose the unutilised funds from lapsed targets under Performance Based Condition (PBC) 1 and PBC 2 toward: (a) a new round of Rapid Technology Transfer Grants (RTTGs) focused on emergency response, climate change, extreme weather event preparedness and import replacement research (PBC 1, Component 1); (b) a new target to track RTTG outcomes (PBC 2, Component 1); and (c) an increased target for universities participating in the framework for improvement in financial autonomy (PBC 10, Component 6). The third restructuring was completed on April 1, 2024 to: (a) extend the project closing date by 12-months to June 30, 2025; (b) adjust four PBC targets to align with implementation of activities; (c) drop two PBCs associated with activities no longer relevant and reallocate the associated $4 million to support funding required for Information Technology (IT) and IT-related activities and conduct a tracer study to inform labour market outcomes of higher education graduates; and (d) refine the Results Framework to reflect the activity changes, set more ambitious targets given the 12-month extension, and add a corporate scorecard indicator. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Business Recorder
11 hours ago
- Business
- Business Recorder
Govt urges WB to restructure $393.73m HEDP project
ISLAMABAD: The government has requested the World Bank for restructuring of Higher Education Development in Pakistan (HEDP) project worth $393.73 million for the fourth time to allow for the completion of critical IT and IT-related activities at the universities whose impact will be seen beyond the project period. The project is in its sixth year of implementation, and its project development objective (PDO) is to support research excellence in strategic sectors of the economy, improve teaching and learning and strengthen governance, in the higher education sector. The Economic Affairs Division has requested a four-month extension through a letter as the project requires restructuring to complete five remaining packages under IT and IT-related services, which are at an advanced stage of contract implementation. The additional time is sought following several disruptions and procedural delays, which delayed the delivery of IT hardware to ports and, subsequently, of deployment of related software and services packages. An extension of the closing date is needed to enable the project to complete the establishment of critical IT activities at the universities whose impact will be seen beyond the project period. The overall project implementation progress is rated moderately satisfactory. Key results achieved by the project: (i) thirty one research grants awarded in Year 2 achieved 80 per cent of their outcome and 28 research grants awarded in Year 3 achieved 60 per cent of their outcome target, and nine RTTG awarded in Year 5 have achieved 50 per cent of their outcome targets; (ii) the NAHE conducted training for 1,113 faculty and 903 higher education managers, (iii) 50 QECACs completed SARs, (iv) twenty Affiliating Universities or ACs implement the career and internship framework; (v) 300 higher education institutions connected to PERN; and (vi) HEC developed, approved and rolled critical policies including the Undergraduate Education Policy and the Open Distance Learning Policy. Nine out of 11 intermediate results indicators have been met and two others will be met by June 30, 2025. The disbursement as of June 10, 2025, from IDA Credit is $375.70 million, including $319 million against PBCs and $56.70 million for the IPF component. The final disbursement of $12.3 million against the PBCs has been approved and is being processed. The balance of the IPF component will be disbursed in fiscal year 2026. This restructuring will only involve the extension of the project closing date by four months to October 31, 2025. The work plan will be adjusted with the proposed closing date. There will be no changes in PDO, PDO indicators, any activities or any components of the project as a result of this restructuring. No revision of implementation arrangement and M&E mechanism will take place. There will be no modification or scale-up of any activity of the project. The extension of the project's closing date does not involve any modifications to the current Financial Management (FM), procurement, and environmental and social safeguards arrangements, which have been deemed adequate and will continue to effectively support the project's operations. The existing FM systems, including budgeting, disbursement, accounting, and financial reporting, including the reporting frequency, will remain unchanged and will operate according to the established procedures. The project has been restructured thrice. The first restructuring was approved on June 14, 2021, to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic impacts and involved: (a) introduction of Component 6 to support continued learning for all in case of unpredicted crises and university lockdowns and provision of special funds to universities to increase their financial autonomy, (b) reallocation of funds between Components to better address ongoing needs, and (c) revision of the Results Framework to reflect the changes in activities. The second restructuring was approved on June 15, 2023, to repurpose the unutilised funds from lapsed targets under Performance Based Condition (PBC) 1 and PBC 2 toward: (a) a new round of Rapid Technology Transfer Grants (RTTGs) focused on emergency response, climate change, extreme weather event preparedness and import replacement research (PBC 1, Component 1); (b) a new target to track RTTG outcomes (PBC 2, Component 1); and (c) an increased target for universities participating in the framework for improvement in financial autonomy (PBC 10, Component 6). The third restructuring was completed on April 1, 2024 to: (a) extend the project closing date by 12-months to June 30, 2025; (b) adjust four PBC targets to align with implementation of activities; (c) drop two PBCs associated with activities no longer relevant and reallocate the associated $4 million to support funding required for Information Technology (IT) and IT-related activities and conduct a tracer study to inform labour market outcomes of higher education graduates; and (d) refine the Results Framework to reflect the activity changes, set more ambitious targets given the 12-month extension, and add a corporate scorecard indicator. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Business Recorder
a day ago
- Business
- Business Recorder
Pakistan seeks fourth restructuring of $393.73mn WB-funded higher education project
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan government has requested the World Bank (WB) for restructuring of the Higher Education Development in Pakistan (HEDP) project worth $393.73 million for the fourth time to allow for completion of critical information technology (IT) and IT-related activities at the universities whose impact will be seen beyond the project period. The project is in its sixth year of implementation, and its project development objective (PDO) is to support research excellence in strategic sectors of the economy, improve teaching and learning, and strengthen governance in the higher education sector. World Bank likely to approve additional IDA credit to PRR The Economic Affairs Division has requested a four-month extension through a letter as the project requires restructuring to complete five remaining packages under IT and IT-related services, which are at an advanced stage of contract implementation. The additional time is sought following several disruptions and procedural delays, which delayed the delivery of IT hardware to ports and, subsequently, of deployment of related software and services packages. An extension of the closing date is needed to enable the project to complete the establishment of critical IT activities at the universities whose impact will be seen beyond the project period. The overall project implementation progress is rated moderately satisfactory. Key results achieved by the project: (i) Thirty one research grants awarded in Year 2 achieved 80% of their outcome and 28 research grants awarded in Year 3 achieved 60% of their outcome target, and nine RTTG awarded in Year 5 have achieved 50% of their outcome targets. (ii) The National Academy of Higher Education (NAHE) conducted training for 1,113 faculty and 903 higher education managers. (iii) 50 Quality Enhancement Cell in Affiliated Colleges (QECACs) completed SARs. (iv) Twenty affiliating universities or ACs implement the career and internship framework. (v) 300 higher education institutions connected to the Pakistan Education and Research Network (PERN). (vi) HEC developed, approved and rolled critical policies including the Undergraduate Education Policy and the Open Distance Learning Policy. Nine out of 11 intermediate results indicators have been met and two others will be met by June 30, 2025. (vii) The disbursement as of June 10, 2025, from International Development Association (IDA) Credit is $375.70 million, including $319 million against PBCs and $56.70 million for the IPF component. The final disbursement of $12.3 million against the PBCs has been approved and is being processed. The balance of the IPF component will be disbursed in fiscal year 2026. This restructuring will only involve the extension of the project closing date by four months to October 31, 2025. The work plan will be adjusted with the proposed closing date. There will be no changes in PDO, PDO indicators, any activities or any components of the project as a result of this restructuring. No revision of implementation arrangement and M&E mechanism will take place. There will be no modification or scale-up of any activity of the project. The extension of the project's closing date does not involve any modifications to the current Financial Management (FM), procurement, and environmental and social safeguards arrangements, which have been deemed adequate and will continue to effectively support the project's operations. The existing FM systems, including budgeting, disbursement, accounting, and financial reporting, including the reporting frequency, will remain unchanged and will operate according to the established procedures. The project has been restructured thrice. The first restructuring was approved on June 14, 2021, to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic impacts and involved: (a) introduction of Component 6 to support continued learning for all in case of unpredicted crises and university lockdowns and provision of special funds to universities to increase their financial autonomy, (b) reallocation of funds between Components to better address ongoing needs, and (c) revision of the Results Framework to reflect the changes in activities. The second restructuring was approved on June 15, 2023, to repurpose the unutilised funds from lapsed targets under Performance Based Condition (PBC) 1 and PBC 2 toward: (a) a new round of Rapid Technology Transfer Grants (RTTGs) focused on emergency response, climate change, extreme weather event preparedness and import replacement research (PBC 1, Component 1); (b) a new target to track RTTG outcomes (PBC 2, Component 1); and (c) an increased target for universities participating in the framework for improvement in financial autonomy (PBC 10, Component 6). The third restructuring was completed on April 1, 2024 to: (a) extend the project closing date by 12-months to June 30, 2025; (b) adjust four PBC targets to align with implementation of activities; (c) drop two PBCs associated with activities no longer relevant and reallocate the associated US$ 4 million to support funding required for Information Technology (IT) and IT related activities and conduct a tracer study to inform labor market outcomes of higher education graduates; and (d) refine the Results Framework to reflect the activity changes, set more ambitious targets given the 12-month extension, and add a corporate scorecard indicator.
Indian Express
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Supreme Court directs holding of Maharashtra local body polls with OBC reservation before Banthia Commission report
Underlining that the constitutional mandate for democracy at the grassroots level must be 'respected and ensured,' the Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the holding of local body elections in Maharashtra, with OBC reservation set to the percentage which existed before the submission of the Banthia Commission report in July 2022. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and NK Singh asked the State Election Commission to notify the polls within four weeks and said that efforts be made to complete it within four months. The elections had been held up for some years due to a dispute over OBC reservation. In August 2022, the SC had ordered that the status quo be maintained in the matter. The Jayant Kumar Banthia Commission was set up by the Maharashtra government in March 2022 to examine the question of OBC reservation in the local bodies. The commission recommended 27 per cent representation for the OBCs within the total 50 per cent reservation ceiling. With the report coming under challenge, the bench said that the polls will be subject to the outcome of the petitions challenging it. Appearing for a petitioner Tuesday, Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan stressed the need for a study on political backwardness, distinct from social and educational backwardness, to ascertain the need for political reservation. He said the commission had applied reservation automatically to persons in the OBC list without looking into their political backwardness. The senior counsel argued that the Commission had gone with the existing list of OBCs, without fulfilling the 'triple test' laid down by the Supreme Court and contended that a separate criterion should apply to ascertain Politically Backward Classes (PBCs). Justice Kant told Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who appeared for Maharashtra, 'Whatever the law you have formulated, wrong or good, you have already identified certain classes of OBCs. Why can't elections be held as per that law without prejudice to the contentions of the petitioners?' asked Justice Kant. 'Is there any logic? Today, all bureaucrats are occupying all the Municipal Corporations and Panchayats and taking major policy decisions. Because of all this litigation, a complete democratic process has been stalled. Officers have no accountability. Why not allow them to hold the elections as per the present data?' the judge added. He said, 'Suppose whosoever has been declared as OBC, based on that, let the elections be held, subject to the outcome of the proceedings. After all, it is an election for a tenure. Assuming someone has been wrongly included or excluded, inclusion may not be an issue. Exclusion might cause heartburn. Assuming that there is an erroneous exclusion, how is it going to make a difference? They will have an opportunity [next elections]. It is not a permanent election for the whole life.' Appearing for some of the petitioners, Senior Advocate Indira Jaising said the local body elections in Maharashtra have been 'withheld for far too long'. 'They are running all representative bodies, right from gram panchayats up to zilla parishads, only through their chosen bureaucrats and taking major policy decisions. So, kindly allow the elections to go ahead,' said Jaising. Justice Kant pointed out that in the absence of local bodies, bureaucrats were running the show and added, 'one of them has, as it appears, started leasing out and auctioning prime properties…'
Yahoo
28-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Illinois EPA opposes proposed toxic waste dump expansion on Southeast Side lakefront
In a letter filed in federal court, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency said the proposed expansion of a toxic waste dump on the Southeast Side would go against state law. It's the latest development in a lengthy battle over the future of a 45-acre disposal site on the Lake Michigan shoreline. 'This is a major win for our community, to have both the Illinois attorney general and the Illinois EPA say that the expansion of this toxic landfill will not be (approved),' said Amalia NietoGomez, executive director of social justice nonprofit Alliance of the Southeast. Since 1984, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has been dumping toxic sediment dredged from the Calumet River into the now-full containment site, which contains mercury, arsenic and polychlorinated biphenyls or PBCs. After reaching capacity or after 10 years, whichever came first, the property was to be returned to the Chicago Park District to restore as a park for the largely Black and Latino community. Four decades later, the property hasn't been turned over to the community, and the Army Corps wants to raise the dump 25 feet, piling an additional 1 million cubic yards of toxic sediment over another 20 years. In 2023, the Alliance of the Southeast and Friends of the Parks sued the Army Corps to stop the expansion. So far, the Illinois EPA has denied the federal agency all of the state water quality permits it would need to proceed. The state's Attorney General Kwame Raoul has also staunchly opposed the proposed project; in 2024 he filed an amicus brief in support of turning the dump into a public park. More recently on Jan. 16, Raoul filed — alongside a supplemental brief with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois — a letter that the state's environmental agency had sent to the Army Corps the previous day. In that letter, the Illinois EPA said the Army Corps' proposal is contrary to some environmental regulations, including an Illinois law that prohibits the construction of new landfills or the expansion of existing landfills in Cook County. The plaintiffs' lead attorney Howard Learner, executive director of the Environmental Law and Policy Center, called the Illinois EPA letter a 'vital step forward' to a 'long-delayed victory' in a news release. 'It's time for the Army Corps to recognize it lacks the legal authority to build on this lakefront site and move forward with better alternative solutions,' he said. 'Chicago's lakefront is for people and parks, not toxic waste dumps. The long-promised park should now go forward for Chicagoans to use and enjoy.' After the letter was filed, the center's attorneys asked to meet with the Army Corps' legal team to discuss productive next steps. A meeting with the federal judge hearing the case has been set for Monday. The Army Corps declined to comment due to ongoing litigation. Last year, a U.S. Supreme Court ruling largely seen as anti-environment overturned 40 years of legal precedent that required courts to defer to federal agencies' interpretations of ambiguous statutes. But the Environmental Law and Policy Center hopes to leverage the ruling in its favor, using it to argue that the judge has full discretion to determine whether the Army Corps overstepped when determining it could keep and expand the dump site. The plaintiffs hope the property can be remediated and transformed into an extension of nearby Calumet Park, where neighborhood children swim and play. The existing toxic sediment has already given community members plenty of cause for concern. 'The only thing that separates the (disposal site) from Calumet Park is a chainlink fence,' NietoGomez said. 'So it's not just close, I mean, it's right there.' Restoring the site would provide more recreational green spaces in a ward that has long been overburdened with pollution from the steel and petroleum coke industries, where asthma and cancer rates are high. Environment | A Supreme Court decision largely seen as anti-environment may help protect the Southeast Side Environment | Economic opportunity or environmental burden? Massive real estate project proposed for Southeast Side ignites debate Environment | PsiQuantum plans to build one of the world's first commercially useful quantum computers in Chicago — despite huge obstacles People living on the Southeast Side breathe some of the city's dirtiest air, monitoring data shows. More than 75 polluters in the area have been investigated for Clean Air Act violations since 2014, including companies that contaminated yards and playgrounds with brain-damaging manganese and lung-damaging petcoke. 'If we have concerns about the current (dump site), it doesn't make sense to amplify those concerns and build more of the same on top,' NietoGomez said. She also said it would be a 'bad idea' to expand the landfill on the lakeshore where — as climate change intensifies storms and wave surges, as well as fluctuations in lake levels — the facility would be at risk of rupture. But the Army Corps contends they need somewhere to dispose of the sediment that has to be routinely dredged from the Calumet River so that commercial ships can pass through waterways connecting the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River basin. In the Illinois EPA letter, acting director James Jennings urged the Army Corps 'to explore alternative means to manage dredged materials,' including its disposal at permitted landfills or even 'upland beneficial use,' which would entail its use on dry land for habitat creation, land reclamation, soil enhancement or even construction materials. The lawsuit largely centers around the plaintiffs' claims that the Army Corps didn't consider alternative locations for a new dump or adequately assess the risks of expanding the current site. 'They told the Southeast Side to pick their poison and choose from six sites, and they were all located within the 10th Ward,' NietoGomez said. It caused uproar within the community. 'Enough is enough. We're sick and tired of being your dumping ground.' As President Donald Trump's deregulatory agenda threatens environmental policies and rules regarding clean air, clean water, toxic chemicals and more, NietoGomez feels encouraged by the state's opposition to expanding the dump site. 'Going forward, dealing with the new administration,' she said, 'I think it's more important than ever that we enforce the protections that we do have, whether that be at the city, county, state or federal level. … That's why the letters from both the Illinois attorney general's office and Illinois EPA carry particular weight.' adperez@ Chicago Tribune's Michael Hawthorne and Karina Atkins contributed.
