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SEMINAR ON PROCUREMENT AND DISBURSEMENT UNDER JAPANESE ODA LOANS 2016 AT NEW DELHI ON 29.09.2016.
JICA India office had organised a seminar on procurement and disbursement under Japanese ODA loans 2016 on September 29th, 2016 at the Park Hotel, New Delhi. The purpose of the seminar was to explain the principles, frameworks and procedures of procurement and disbursement under Japanese ODA loans. The above seminar was attended by Dr. Pradeep Raj Karat IFS Joint Project Director (Accounts & Finance) and Sri Bimalendu Mishra, Accounts Manager of OFSDS.
The programme started at 10.00 A.M. with welcome address by the chief representative of JICA India office Mr. Takema Sakamoto who highlighted the need for speedy and quality implementation of projects while ensuring adherence to procedures and timely disbursement. Mr. Avinash Kumar Mishra, Director DEA expressed concern over low disbursement over the JICA loan commitment which has increased substantially over years and lack awareness about procedures being one of the reason. Mr. SG Dastidar, Controller, AA&A Division of DEA explained the volume of JICA loan in India, major portion of which goes to urban development and explained the Government of India Rules which are to be followed by PIAs. He emphasised the need for accurate Project estimation in order to ensure full utilisation of project amount in full within project period. It was also mentioned that frequent amendments to Loan Agreements in some cases is also an issue to be avoided.
The session on procurement was dealt in detail by Mr.Tamohide Ichiguchi, Director, Loan Procurement Policy and Supervision division, JICA Head Office, Tokiyo who explained the details about the procurement viz; Effective use of Loan funds, Characteristics of public works, Type of bidding documents, standards & features of FIDIC to be followed, means to avoid delay in implementation and ways of dispute resolution. Also the role of PIA in selecting the consultants and contractors was explained and were advised to prepare the contract conditions diligently to ensure fair risk allocation between the parties to the contract. The session ended with Q&A interaction.
The session on disbursement started at 14.30 p.m. Mr.Hajime Matsuoka, Asst Director, Operations Management Division, JICA Head Office, Tokiyo started with ODA loan outlook and overview on disbursement. Participants were explained about the types of disbursement plans, formulating disbursement plans, factors which may affect disbursement plans and time frame of disbursement. Subsequently, Mr.Naoto Furukawa, Representative of JICA India office explained in detail about five types of disbursement procedures. He deliberated upon SOE procedure, basic documents required for disbursement, documentation of reimbursement procedure, stages of transfer of funds, Audit of SOE and checkpoints for documentation.
Mr. J.P. Singh, Deputy Controller of AA&A section of the DEA explained the role of office of CAA&A and the importance of external assistance. The participants were explained about the role of borrowers & reporting process to be followed by the PIA to CAA&A and the stages of flow of funds in the process of reimbursement. The role of JICA India office was explained by Ms. Surabhi Sondhi, Asst Project Officer, JICA India office. She narrated the important points to be considered while communicating the disbursement forecasts and claiming the reimbursements. Finally the session ended with closing remarks by Mr.Takayoshi Tange, Senior Representative, JICA India office who emphasised on importance of such workshops and interaction among the PIAs and JICA.