Aimed at supporting the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD), Government of India, Infrastructure for Climate Resilient Growth in India (ICRG) was a 43-month Technical Assistance (TA) Programme commissioned by the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID). Selected from 2,500 blocks under the special focus of MGNREGA by the Government of India, the ICRG programme was implemented in 103 blocks in the states of Bihar, Odisha, and Chhattisgarh.
The programme ensured that the most vulnerable sections in selected geographies were able to tackle the impact of climate extremes. Facilitating a better understanding of climate factors, capacity building of field practitioners, and improving the design of the work being undertaken, ICRG synergised its resources with MGNREGA in building climate resilience of the most vulnerable to achieve improved quality and climate resilient assets.
ICRG benefitted 1,579,660 climate-vulnerable communities across the three states. We provided technical assistance to help achieve several objectives.
Key Objectives
- Increasing the capacity of implementation agencies and communities to plan climate-resilient works
- Developing innovative tools and effective processes to strengthen MGNREGS systems
- Generating and sharing evidence to inform policy and wider investments in design and implementation of public works-based programmes by building climate-resilient livelihoods and physical assets
- Enabling states to ensure effective implementation of MGNREGS so that assets are not only responsive to the needs of rural households and communities as well as responsive to a changing climate
- Strengthening livelihoods and wages through climate resilient works (combining a core asset, an ancillary structure and a livelihood plan, incorporating either livestock, fisheries, additional crops, horticulture, or sericulture)
- Enhancing the capacity of technical organisations such as academic institutions, technical engineering institutions, training organisations and barefoot engineers’ for providing sustainable technical support to communities especially vulnerable sections of society in building resilient infrastructure
- Strengthening MGNREGS systems and processes to support the construction of better quality infrastructure and improved resilience of rural poor, including through the development of innovative tools
- Generating evidence (a) inform a stronger policy focus on the design and implementation of public works-based programmes, and (b) strengthen the evidence base for how better physical assets can build more climate-resilient livelihoods
Key Outcomes
- 35,000+ people trained on climate proofing MGNREGA assets
- 18,000+ MGNREGA and line department functionaries
- 27 training modules and guidebooks developed
- 350+ women-led micro-enterprises were set up to empower the urban poor by increasing access to resources and livelihood opportunities
