India Urban Management Certification Program

The World Bank Institute’s Urban Program launched a pilot initiative to design, develop and offer a Certification in City Management Program in partnership with the Hyderabad based Administrative Staff College of India (ASCI), and the State Institute of Urban Development (SIUD)/YASHADA, Pune, Maharashtra. 

An Advisory Committee (chaired by the Government of India’s Joint Secretary of Urban Development, Ministry of Urban Development and Poverty Alleviation and with membership of several state level officials) was formed to guide the program.

A core curriculum consisting of five knowledge modules delivered through three sessions over a period of four months including a participant testing method and requirements for an individual report preparation and presentation were developed. An impact assessment of ASCI’s program showed that certified urban managers have taken what they learned straight to the field – West Bengal has simplified and computerized the issue of birth and death certificates.

The transparency of the property tax system (important revenue generator) in Nagpur has been enhanced. In Kerala, customer service improved since the local water authority was made financially accountable to the local government. In Karnataka officials are working on energy efficiency projects through public-private partnerships. The cities of Chalisgaon in Maharashtra and Ooty in Tamil Nadu are the two first cities is in India to be declared open defecation free' and in Navi Mumbai, the city corporation is supplying water 24 -7 in over half its territory, including slums.

In 2008, GoI requested that WBI scale up the urban management certification program. In partnership with  ASCI and YASHADA, WBI has started to introduce e-learning approaches to enrich the learning environment, improve financial sustainability, and increase significantly the target capacity of these two initial programs.

New diplomas and modules based on identified demands emerging from the fast changing urban context, such as Public-Private-Partnership in Urban Services Delivery, Solid Waste Management, Urban Poverty Alleviation, and City Development Strategies is being developed. Other state-level learning institutions will receive support to develop their urban management certification programs, particularly in lagging States and where the WB has ongoing lending operations.

Following the examples of developed countries, and other emerging nations such as China and Brazil, there is also a need to support GoI, and State Government to set up appropriate regulatory mechanisms for certifying cities, and the training institute which are in charge of certifying individual competencies.

The continuation of WBI’s effort will be significantly leverage with the implementation of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), through which GOI has committed to provide up US$ 12.5 billion in federal resources for qualifying ULBs over seven years, as well as with new Bank's $60 million Urban Development Capacity Building Project.

This will ultimately place India’s as a regional and global capacity development hub in the area of urban growth and poverty reduction.