WASHINGTON, Dec. 21, 2023¡ªÄ¾¹ÏÓ°Ôº¡¯s Board of Executive Directors today approved a new project to support the state of Sikkim¡¯s efforts to train, upskill, and provide jobs for 300,500 women and youth in high-growth and priority sectors.
Sikkim has been one of the fastest-growing states in India. While over 40 percent of youth are currently engaged in agriculture, the state has a growing manufacturing and services industry. To sustain growth, the state aims to skill its women and youth in jobs in non-farm sectors like renewable energy, information and technology (IT) services, tourism, hospitality and wellness care, and creative design.
The $100 million Operation will establish an Employment and Entrepreneurship Promotion Facility, which will promote partnerships with private-sector firms, central agencies, and business associations. In addition, the project will provide staff trainings and build public procurement capacity across priority state departments.
¡°This project will solely focus on jobs, and it will aim to remove barriers for women and youth in Sikkim to join the priority sectors and be a part of the state and nation¡¯s growth story,¡± said Auguste Tano Kouame, the World Bank¡¯s Country Director for India. ¡°This initiative will be supported by career counseling, migration services and mental health management to make the challenges of job transition easier.¡±
Studies have shown that around 70 percent of Sikkim¡¯s youth aspire to work in sectors like renewable energy and IT and would need technical and foundational skills.
¡°To meet the aspirations of women and youth who want to work in the manufacturing and services sector, the Program will organize bootcamps, create a workplace safety management system, and provide transport allowance and business development support,¡± said Kanchan Rajeevsingh Parmar, Benedicte Leroy de La Briere, and Anna O'Donnell, the Task Team Leaders for the operation.
The $100 million loan from the International Bank of Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) will use the blended financing instrument of Program-for-Results (PforR) with Investment Project Financing (IPF) to link disbursement of funds directly to the achievement of results while providing technical assistance. The loan has a maturity of 14 years with a grace period of five and a half years.
