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Publication Greening ICT: A Case Study in Singapore(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2023-12-05) World BankThis report is based on a targeted review of Singapore’s approach to climate change, focusing on how the country drives energy efficiency and reduces GHG emissions in the ICT sector, particularly in data centers. It aims to reflect the various measures undertaken by the Singapore Government, present lessons learned, keytakeaways and challenges that continue to lie ahead. The information in this version is current as of end November 2023. The purpose of this report is to provide the key lessons for broad, multistakeholder consideration and dialogue forwhat countries could consider as they approach “greening” the ICT sector. It is important to note that addressing all the issues raised in this report does not guarantee a perfect, or even workable, enabling environment to meet theglobal climate change challenge. This is because the effectiveness of these measures can be affected by exogenous factors and the unique national circumstances of each country.Publication Vulnerability to Human Trafficking in Nepal from Enhanced Regional Connectivity(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-12) World BankTrafficking in persons is a serious crime and a grave violation of human rights. It is a form of modern-day slavery that involves the recruitment, harboring, or transportation of people into an exploitative situation by means of violence, deception, or coercion for the purpose of exploitation. In Nepal, the most widespread forms of human trafficking are for forced labor, domestic servitude, prostitution and sexual exploitation, and organ extraction. The country’s open borders with India, and to some extent China, with limited border surveillance, have enabled transnational crimes such as human trafficking. The World Bank has extended technical and financial assistance to large-scale infrastructure projects in Nepal, some for improved transport connectivity and trade facilitation both within the country and within the region. The nature of these investments must be looked at through the lens of enhancing long-term economic growth and prosperity, which is jeopardized by human trafficking. As a result, this study was conducted to draw links between the various aspects of development projects, in particular, improved transport connectivity and migration, that either contribute, mitigate, facilitate, or prevent trafficking in men, women, and children.Publication Business Regulation in South Asia and the Belt and Road Initiative(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020-11-24) World BankThis study provides a comprehensive comparative analysis of the business environment in six South Asian countries, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, to examine whether business regulatory requirements in these countries hinder them from fully benefiting from BRI project spillovers. The analysis is based on available secondary data sources and responses to a structured questionnaire sent to selected private sector participants in each of these countries, eliciting information on the law, regulation, and practice in a wide range of thematic areas influencing the overall business and regulatory environment. Survey respondents identified nine key themes as the most challenging for the private sector, including from the perspective of potential benefits from BRI-induced opportunities. The thematic areas are: (a) licensing and inspection requirements; (b) regulations and practices governing foreign investment; (c) access to resources such as land, credit, and electricity; (d) regulatory restrictions on the operation of foreign firms, such as local content requirements and currency repatriation; (e) regulatory governance and corruption and state capture; (f) predictability and quality of the regulatory framework, especially corporate taxation; (g) government procurement laws and practice; (h) effective dispute settlement and grievance mechanisms; and (i) trade and customs regulations. The identified thematic areas promote connectivity and regional integration and thus are particularly relevant from the BRI perspective. Improvements along different dimensions of these thematic areas will likely enable countries in the region to gain from BRI-induced opportunities.Publication Nepal Energy Infrastructure Sector Assessment(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2019-03) World Bank GroupThe purpose of this report is to identify how to maximize finance available to Nepal in the electricity sector. This report identifies financing needs and constraints for the energy sector in the short to medium term and outlines a road map for overcoming these constraints and seizing opportunities to gradually achieve a sectoral transformation. The report forms part of the World Bank Group’s Infrastructure Sector Assessment Program (INFRA-SAP).Publication Nepal Infrastructure Sector Assessment(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2019-02-28) World BankDespite several severe shocks in the past, conflict, unstable governments, earthquakes, and trade disruptions, Nepal has made strong progress in reducing poverty and boosting shared prosperity. With the decade-long peace and constitutional process concluded, the Government of Nepal is keen to accelerate economic growth and become a middle-income country by 2030. Between 1996 and 2011, the proportion of households living in extreme poverty fell from 46 to 15 percent. Nepal's macroeconomic fundamentals have remained sound. This report takes place as Nepal transitions to a federal structure. This poses a unique and unprecedented opportunity to establish clarity of functions, expenditures, and revenue assignments, as well as changing jurisdictions across various levels of governments and agencies, including as they interface with the private sector. The new government is in place and emphasizing the need for stronger cooperation between the public and private sectors. Against this background, this report assesses the energy (electricity generation, transmission, and distribution), transport (roads, airports, and urban transport), and urban (water supply, sanitation, and solid waste management) infrastructure sectors. The report recommends interventions that combine short-term and longer-term structural and policy changes with tailored project implementation approaches. Completing projects will help stress test the framework and system and identify potential bottlenecks that can be corrected. Such a learning-by-doing approach will further help prioritize the implementation of the initiatives proposed in this report and target capacity development initiatives in the areas of greatest need.Publication Information and Communications Technology Sectoral Analysis: Nepal(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2018-12) World BankNepal’s information and communications technology (ICT) services are nascent, informal and centered in Kathmandu. The supply of skilled manpower is not well-oriented to the needs of ICT firms. Similar to other sectors, Nepal’s ICT sector also faces severe cross-cutting business climate challenges, the most critical relating to institutions and infrastructure. Limited access to finance and excessive barriers to foreign investment and foreign-exchange transactions also hamper the ICT sector. Reform efforts should focus on improving access to skills, infrastructure and finance, together with regulatory simplification. The education sector reforms are required to increase the pool of skilled manpower for the ICT sector. This report provides recommendations on key horizontal and cross-cutting challenges that are essential to develop the ICT sector in Nepal. Furthermore, it provides a strategic segment analysis applicable to a small number of niche ICT firms that can develop specialized software and services in focused sectors such as tourism and mountaineering.Publication Sri Lanka PPP Diagnostic Note: Accelerating Infrastructure Investment through PPPs(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2017-08-31) World Bank GroupFiscal constraints and limited budget resources will require the Government of Sri Lanka to explore and consider alternative financing options to address the country’s infrastructure needs. One option to address these constraints is to mobilize private sector financing through the use of Public Private Partnerships (PPPs). However, it is important to note that PPPs have direct and indirect fiscal and financial implications which need to be assessed on a case by case basis and fully understood by participating agencies and policy makers.Publication Support to National Capacity Development: Framework for Improving Water and Sanitation Services in Bangladesh(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2015-12-23) World BankThe objective of this World Bank technical assistance has been to support the Government of Bangladesh’s (GoB) national capacity development framework for improving water and sanitation services (WSS) in Bangladesh, focusing on demand-responsive peer-to-peer or horizontal learning processes and improve horizontal accountability communication and monitoring systems to track progress in the sector. This technical assistance is in line with the World Bank country assistance strategy (CAS) which seeks to support the GoB target of ensuring safe drinking water and sanitation for all. It has contributed to strengthening the long-term capacity of the government, in particular the union Parishad (UP) which is responsible for ensuring water and sanitation services for all in Bangladesh.Publication Private Sector Delivery of Rural Piped Water Services in Bangladesh: A Review of Experience, 2003-2015(Washington, DC, 2015-08) World BankThis note explores the Bangladesh experience in implementing the widespread use of a private operator model for building and operating rural piped water schemes. Since the early 1990s, the World Bank has, through a series of development projects, designed, piloted, and attempted to scale up use of the model as a mechanisms to address the very real issues of arsenic contamination and delivery at scale. The latest of these projects is still in implementation. The experience with these projects to date has been disappointing, and while a limited number of schemes are still in operation, the model has not been replicated in a large number of communities as intended and has not proved to be particularly sustainable. Over this same period, the government and other development partners also have been using alternative methods to deliver the same kinds of services in rural areas. Some of these efforts seem to have been modestly successful. However, much of the evidence about the performance of these other models is anecdotal and there has been little rigorous analysis to compare the performance of these different models with the private sponsor approach. This paper attempts to do this on the basis of a desk review of existing World Bank literature, including project documents and research reports, coupled with interviews with key stakeholders and World Bank staff. The first section of the paper provides an overview of the rationale and key issues associated with efforts to scale up a private operator model in Bangladesh. The second section reviews government efforts and those of its other development partners, to use a more traditional mode of service provision, involving community management. The third, fourth, and fifth sections review efforts by the government and the World Bank to design, test, and scale up a private operator model for service provision. A sixth section reviews some of the international research that provides insights into the use of such models in other countries and sectors. The paper ends with tentative conclusions about the experience in Bangladesh, lessons learned, and several options for further analysis.Publication Sri Lanka: Innovation, ICT and Competitiveness(Washington, DC, 2015-02-15) World BankRecent history around the world has revealed that ICT can play a crucial role in economic and social development of societies at all levels of development. ICT improves communication and the exchange of knowledge and information necessary for development processes. In other words, ICT has revolutionized the way the society, businesses, and the government interacts, working procedures and processes, as well as product innovations. ‘As an accelerator, driver, multiplier, and innovator, ICT is a powerful if not indispensable tool in the massive scaling up and inter-linkages of development interventions and outcomes.’ Policy makers in Sri Lanka, like those around the world, are concerned with ensuring that the new drivers of competitiveness are a part of the development strategy. However, Sri Lanka’s first mover advantage in opening and transforming its economy has placed it in a fortuitous position of having the luxury to take a holistic and comprehensive approach to ICT development. Such a strategic approach can at once build on past strengths, apply lessons from Sri Lanka and around the world, and enable any course-corrections based on these lessons. The Government’s role in this process, therefore, is to ensure: good network infrastructure (discussed in chapter two), a good business environment (discussed in chapter three), and public and semi-public services (discussed in chapter four).
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