Speakers
-
Dr. Debarpita RoyFellow, Centre for Social and Economic Progress (CSEP)Dr. Debarpita Roy is a researcher at the Centre for Social and Economic Progress (CSEP), New Delhi. Her research focus pertains to India’s contemporary urban issues including urban finance and affordable housing. Her research in affordable housing has looked at housing policy, aspects of demand for low-income housing, social rental housing and challenges faced in adoption of innovative technologies in construction in the Indian context. India’s municipal finance is another area of deep interest for her, and she has co-authored two reports on municipal finances for the 15th Finance Commission. She is a PhD in Economics from Centre of Economic Studies and Planning (CESP), Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and a MA (Economics) from Delhi School of Economics, DU.
-
Dr. Ravikant JoshiSenior Fellow (Senior Finance & Governance) CPPR, Former Chief Accounts Officer, Vadodra Municipal CorporationDr. Ravikant Joshi is an Urban Finance and Management specialist and has worked in India and abroad. He is former chief accounts officer of Vadodara Municipal Corporation with more than 35 years of experience. He was responsible for the conceptualisation, designing and implementation of Municipal Financial, Budgetary and Accounting System Reforms and their computerization in Vadodara Municipal Corporation.
• At present since August 2019, Dr. Joshi is working as an Advisor to Urban Management Centre – Ahmedabad, also he is working as a freelance consultant.
• 2017 to 2019 Dr. Joshi worked as a Team Leader – Technical Support Group to National Urban Livelihood Mission – Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs – Government of India
• Dr. Ravikant Joshi worked as an Advisor – Urban to CRISIL Risk and Infrastructure Solutions, Mumbai from 2002 to 2017.
• He has worked as a short-term consultant (STC) for multilaterals like World Bank, Water & Sanitation Program, ADB, USAID, DFID, UN Habitat, CLGF and for various national/state level organisations on urban issues.
• He conceived, designed and spearheaded implementation of Accrual Base Double Entry Accounting System in 159 municipal bodies of Gujarat. -
Dr. Tarun AroraAssociate Professor, O.P. Jindal Global University (JGU)A researcher with a demonstrated history of working in the development space. Dr. Tarun Arora is skilled in Project Management, Monitoring and Evaluation, Policy Analysis, and Quantitative research methods. He completed his doctoral studies in Economics from Institute of Social and Economic Change.
Dr. Tarun joined Janaagraha in the year 2016. At Janaagraha, among many other projects that he headed one of the projects closest to him was the Jana Brown-Citizenship Index project which is a collaboration between Janaagraha and Brown University, USA. The project’s aim was to evaluate the quality of citizenship in urban centres through the lens of knowledge, participation, and engagement and estimate its impact on the quality of public service delivery. He has widely published in the area of urban governance, voter list management, civic learning, trade competitiveness, and Industrial economics. At present, Dr. Tarun Arora is Associate Professor, Economics at Department of Professional Studies of Christ (deemed-to-be) University, Bengaluru.
He was the Coordinator and Head, MA (Public Policy) programme at Christ University, Bangalore. Currently, he is working at Jindal School Of Government and Public Policy at O.P. Jindal Global University (JGU) as an Associate Professor.
He has robust skill set that includes advanced quantitative methods, Econometrics with speciality in panel data, Microsoft Word, Stata, Econometrics and more, Tarun Arora contributes valuable insights to the industry.
-
Prabhat KumarHead- Public Finance Management (PFM), JanaagrahaShri Prabhat Kumar works as the Head of Public Finance Management (PFM) at Janaagraha, a non-profit organization that works to improve the quality of life in Indian cities, He has over six years of experience in designing and implementing PFM reforms at various levels of administration. His core competencies include policy analysis, intervention design, project management, digital innovation, and stakeholder engagement.
His mission is to enhance the efficiency, effectiveness, and accountability of government spending through evidence-based and innovative solutions that lead to better utilization of public money and improved citizen outcomes. He collaborate with constitutional authorities, governments, donors, and civil society organizations to set narrative for reforms. Some of the projects I have contributed to are funded by The World Bank, FCDO, IFC, ADB, AFD, BMGF, and UNDP. I leverage my analytical skills developed at IIT Roorkee and my MBA degree to bring in a holistic and strategic perspective to PFM issues.
-
Sarthak PradhanPublic Finance Researcher, Takshashila InstitutionSarthak Pradhan is an Assistant Professor at the Takshashila Institution. He teaches economic reasoning, researches public finance and conducts tutorials on government budgets. He has a PGP in Public Policy from the Takshashila Institution. He holds a dual degree from BITS Pilani.
Local Time
- Timezone: America/New_York
- Date: Jul 26 2024
- Time: 8:30 am
Strengthening Municipal Finances in India: Improving the Quality of Municipal Expenditures (Part 02)
In India, municipal revenue and expenditure are not only low, hovering around 1% of GDP (as against 7.4% in Brazil and 6% in South Africa), but they have also remained stagnant over time. There is a gross mismatch between the functions and finances of the urban local bodies. The current levels of own taxes and non-taxes are insufficient to fund the expenditure demands of urban areas adequately. Consequently, urban local bodies have increasingly relied on funding from the Union and state governments, placing them in a vulnerable position over time.
The poor finances of the Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) have detrimental effects on urban infrastructure and service delivery, ultimately lowering living standards. Moreover, these financial constraints serve as a barrier to the continued expansion of cities, impeding national economic growth. Considering the substantial contribution of cities to India’s GDP (>60%), it is imperative to prioritise their development and advancement. An essential step towards achieving this goal is addressing and improving municipal finances.
In our endeavour to strengthen municipal finances, we are hosting a three-session webinar series on municipal revenue, expenditure and institutional design. The sessions will have leading economists, policy practitioners, public finance scholars, urban planners, etc., to discuss various municipal finances. The goal of these webinars is to generate actionable suggestions for policymakers. Thus, the discussion will focus primarily on exploring potential solutions, with limited discussion on the problem’s context, nature, and extent.
Key Questions to be addressed:
What are some appropriate benchmarks for the expenditure of urban local bodies? Which areas of expenditure should take precedence in their budget allocations? Are there specific expenses that require reduction or elimination? What are some valuable insights from both global and national practices in this regard?
