The World Bank Public Service Capability Enhancement Project (P174067) Appraisal Environmental and Social Review Summary Appraisal Stage (ESRS Appraisal Stage) Public Disclosure Date Prepared/Updated: 11/25/2020 | Report No: ESRSA01106 Nov 25, 2020 Page 1 of 7 The World Bank Public Service Capability Enhancement Project (P174067) BASIC INFORMATION A. Basic Project Data Country Region Project ID Parent Project ID (if any) India SOUTH ASIA P174067 Project Name Public Service Capability Enhancement Project Practice Area (Lead) Financing Instrument Estimated Appraisal Date Estimated Board Date Governance Investment Project 12/14/2020 2/8/2021 Financing Borrower(s) Implementing Agency(ies) Government of India Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), Department of Personnel and Training, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions Public Disclosure Proposed Development Objective To enhance technical and core competencies in select departments and agencies of Government of India Financing (in USD Million) Amount Total Project Cost 125.00 B. Is the project being prepared in a Situation of Urgent Need of Assistance or Capacity Constraints, as per Bank IPF Policy, para. 12? No C. Summary Description of Proposed Project [including overview of Country, Sectoral & Institutional Contexts and Relationship to CPF] The proposed project builds on GoI’s newly formulated human resource transformation agenda. It will address the urgent need to operationalize an easy to access learning platform utilizing digital technology to build new capabilities and competencies for government officials, and to augment governance business continuity and resilience. Nov 25, 2020 Page 2 of 7 The World Bank Public Service Capability Enhancement Project (P174067) D. Environmental and Social Overview D.1. Detailed project location(s) and salient physical characteristics relevant to the E&S assessment [geographic, environmental, social] The project development objective is to enhance technical and core competencies of civil servants in select departments of the Government of India. It has three components, namely Component 1: Support for Development and Implementation of Competency Frameworks; Component 2 : Support for the Development of an Integrated Learning Platform and Content Creation; Component 3: Support to Program Evaluation, Monitoring and Management. The project is largely to be implemented in a virtual setting as it aims to impart training to Civil Servants in select departments of the government of India. The various partner agencies, consultants, however would be located across the country. The main implementation agency of this project -- Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) is located in New Delhi. D. 2. Borrower’s Institutional Capacity A Project Management Unit headed by a Project Director and supported by an Under-Secretary will be responsible for the day to day implementation of the Project. A high-level Steering Committee will ensure coordination with the Special Purpose Vehicle and other agencies involved in the project. It will be the nodal unit for engagement and coordination with the World Bank team. As elaborated in the risk sections below, given the nature of the proposed activities known at the Appraisal stage, the overall E&S risk rating is low and in that regard, the current borrower's E&S capacity is deemed adequate. Currently DoPT has one dedicated full time official who is directly responsible for E&S aspects. This official is supported by various part time consultants working to prepare the project including one person who is supporting the coordinating on E&S aspects and supporting the preparation of requisite documents. II. SUMMARY OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL (ES) RISKS AND IMPACTS Public Disclosure A. Environmental and Social Risk Classification (ESRC) Low Environmental Risk Rating Low The emphasis of the project is to enhance training capabilities for civil servants, methods and processes, upgrading of human resource skills and institutional reviews. No procurement of civil works construction or IT equipment is envisaged and therefore environmental risks and impacts are not anticipated at the time of IT procurement and adoption. In case the project intends to use modern technology and IT equipment to improve efficiency, facilitate online learnings and enhance competencies and such procurement does take place during project implementation then risk of e-waste and solid waste management at time of disposal would make ESS3 relevant to this operation. Though such procurement would be very limited and resultant risk – very low, it will require the following of national guidelines under the E-Waste Management Rules, 2016 (amended in March 2018) and Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016 for solid waste management and appropriate procedures would be put in place for disposal of equipment as per best environmental practices The same has been recorded as an action in the Environment and Social Commitment Plan. Social Risk Rating Low Social Risk is rated as Low as the proposed interventions do not have any physical footprint and therefore, will not result in adverse impacts on land, community health and safety, Indigenous Peoples/Tribals or cultural heritage. The main social risks and mitigation measures/plans are as follows: i) Possible exclusion of vulnerable individuals such as physically challenged civil servants if the digital content and platforms are not created with all beneficiaries in Nov 25, 2020 Page 3 of 7 The World Bank Public Service Capability Enhancement Project (P174067) mind, such as those with disabilities and speaking/reading different languages, etc., ii) Risks relating to labor too are minimal, as all likely types of workers (Direct, Contracted workers) have well defined employment terms and/or formal contracts in accordance with national labor laws. However, OHS provisions will apply to these workers in relation to the implementation of the project, iii) Stakeholders risks as it will entail a host of stakeholders such as content developers, training providers, etc. B. Environment and Social Standards (ESSs) that Apply to the Activities Being Considered B.1. General Assessment ESS1 Assessment and Management of Environmental and Social Risks and Impacts Overview of the relevance of the Standard for the Project: Assessment indicates that potential exclusion, labor, possible e-waste management, SEA/SH and CE issues as the relevant E&S risks associated with proposed project activities. i) Possible exclusion of vulnerable groups i.e. those physically challenged, all intended beneficiaries may not be able to access the learning platform, if not mitigated by providing content in languages they speak/read and special provisions such as transcription, transliteration and subtitling are not provided to ensure equitable access to learning. The digital platform – IGoT will ensure that the content is in compliance with AA levels of Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 that will make content more accessible to a wider range of people with disabilities, including accommodations for blindness and low vision, deafness and hearing loss, limited movement, speech disabilities, and some accommodation for learning disabilities and cognitive limitations. DoPT will also include relevant clauses in the bid documents to ensure accessibility and that content to be created needs to follow diversity and inclusion Public Disclosure principles such as closed caption, transcripts, alt tags etc. ii) While all likely types of workers (Direct, Contracted workers) will have well defined employment terms and/or formal contracts in accordance with national labor laws, Sexual Exploitation and Abuse/Sexual Harassment at workplace and Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) and COVID concerns will be relevant risks. This would be mitigated through insertion of requisite clauses within bid documents for those agencies that shall provide services towards content creation, delivery, impact evaluation, etc.. iii) Management and disposal of E-waste is identified as a potential environmental risks, if such IT hardware is procured under the project. While no electronic hardware is proposed for procurement at the preparation phase, it is possible that such procurement might take place during project implementation for which project shall follow applicable national guidelines. iv) Stakeholders risks could be there if all potential stakeholders are not identified and engaged through systematic approach. This would be addressed through the SEP prepared for the project (see details under ESS 10 section). ESS10 Stakeholder Engagement and Information Disclosure During the preparation stage, various consultations meetings were held by the Implementing agency with relevant stakeholders to discuss various aspects such as: overall strategy of this entire program of Civil Services Capacity Building Reforms; review the capacity building models of other countries across the globe and their outcome; to discuss the approach and implementation of iGOT 2.0, specifically for the pre-foundation and common foundation courses/content; discuss the content/courses that can be leveraged from them in ready state for the platform. Such interactions and consultative meetings will continue during preparation and implementation as well. Nov 25, 2020 Page 4 of 7 The World Bank Public Service Capability Enhancement Project (P174067) Stakeholders identified at this stage include: Officials working in the government of india, Central departments, including training academies/institutions under those departments \ Pilot users or the Champion Central Training Institutions (CTIs) Technology Service Provider ; Other third-party providers ; DOPT’s Programme Management Unit comprising of multiple agencies; Knowledge partners and donor agencies Institutions playing a key role in managing and operating the Project (Capacity Building Commission, iGOT 2.0 SPV, Monitoring and Analysis Centre etc.) A Stakeholder Engagement Plan has been developed that presents a summary of interactions till date , analysis of stakeholders in terms of relevance and influence, to include actions identified for interactions within the various departments, and relevant training providers, content developers, hardware suppliers; provides information on the disclosure of documents and timelines for providing feedback etc. The SEP also presents details of the grievance redressal mechanism to redress grievances from the various stakeholder along with estimated budget for implementation of key actions in the SEP. B.2. Specific Risks and Impacts A brief description of the potential environmental and social risks and impacts relevant to the Project. ESS2 Labor and Working Conditions Civil Servants from select departments at the national government are the core beneficiaries of the project. Other professionals from various training institutions (ISTM) and many other private agencies will support the project in development of the learning platform and content/modules, delivery and evaluation, etc. Public Disclosure Therefore the project will only involve: a) direct workers; and b) contracted workers (engaged in consultancy services firms for developing content, providing training, data systems, portals, undertaking studies), and their employment terms are well defined in their existing contracts. Given that the project has no physical footprint, Occupational Health and Safety and COVID concerns will be relevant risks. This would be mitigated through insertion of requisite clauses within bid documents for those agencies that shall provide services towards content creation, delivery, impact evaluation etc. Also with respect to contractors/consultants providing goods and services to the project, the project would have formal contractual agreements in accordance with Bank's procurement guidelines. In light of the above, only Sexual Exploitation and Abuse/Sexual Harassment at workplace and COVID related issues are considered relevant labor risks and these would be addressed through insertion of relevant clauses in the bid and contract document and also stated as an action in the ESCP. Hence no separate LMP is required. ESS3 Resource Efficiency and Pollution Prevention and Management This standard is Not currently relevant. The project intends to use modern technology and IT equipment to improve efficiency of data , processing, integration and dissemination. The use of IT/modern technology is encouraged in this project which is resource efficient. Though not envisaged at this stage, in case, procurement of IT hardware takes place, e-waste and solid waste management at time of disposal will require attention. E-waste management guidelines in line with India’s electronic and solid waste management Rules for implementation and supervision within project will be developed. Nov 25, 2020 Page 5 of 7 The World Bank Public Service Capability Enhancement Project (P174067) ESS4 Community Health and Safety This standard is not relevant. Since no construction or infrastructure development activity is envisaged under the project, project activities are not expected to cause risks and impacts to local communities. ESS5 Land Acquisition, Restrictions on Land Use and Involuntary Resettlement Not relevant. Project activities will not have a physical footprint and therefore will not result in any adverse impacts related to this ESS5. ESS6 Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Management of Living Natural Resources This standard is not relevant. The project does not envisage any activities which have either direct or indirect impacts on bio-diversity or any living natural resource areas. ESS7 Indigenous Peoples/Sub-Saharan African Historically Underserved Traditional Local Communities Project activities will not have a physical footprint in any tribal areas and will not result in any impacts -- positive or Public Disclosure adverse on tribal population. Hence this standard is not relevant. However all efforts will be made to ensure that individuals from these communities will receive the full benefits of the project and no civil servant from these communities will be excluded from any relevant project activity due to their special circumstances. ESS8 Cultural Heritage This standard is not relevant as cultural assets are unlikely to be impacted by the activities currently envisaged. ESS9 Financial Intermediaries At this stage, No FI is expected to be involved. B.3 Other Relevant Project Risks none anticipated at this stage C. Legal Operational Policies that Apply OP 7.50 Projects on International Waterways No OP 7.60 Projects in Disputed Areas No Nov 25, 2020 Page 6 of 7 The World Bank Public Service Capability Enhancement Project (P174067) B.3. Reliance on Borrower’s policy, legal and institutional framework, relevant to the Project risks and impacts Is this project being prepared for use of Borrower Framework? No Areas where “Use of Borrower Framework” is being considered: No specific request has been made by the Borrower in respect of this aspect. IV. CONTACT POINTS World Bank Contact: Vikram Menon Title: Senior Public Sector Specialist Telephone No: 5785+79293 Email: vmenon@worldbank.org Borrower/Client/Recipient Borrower: Government of India Public Disclosure Implementing Agency(ies) Implementing Agency: Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) Implementing Agency: Department of Personnel and Training, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions V. FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT The World Bank 1818 H Street, NW Washington, D.C. 20433 Telephone: (202) 473-1000 Web: http://www.worldbank.org/projects VI. APPROVAL Task Team Leader(s): Vikram Menon Practice Manager (ENR/Social) Christophe Crepin Cleared on 08-Nov-2020 at 22:35:43 GMT-05:00 Nov 25, 2020 Page 7 of 7