High Commission of India

Mbabane, Eswatini [formerly known as Swaziland]

I. Hole in the Wall Project 

About Hole-in-the-Wall (HiWEL) Lighting the spark of learning Hole-in-the-Wall Education Ltd. (HiWEL) is a joint venture between NIIT Ltd. and the International Finance Corporation (a part of The World Bank Group). Coinciding with the Republic Day in 1999, NIIT decided to do yet another meaningful act for the society, by first testing this innovative technology in a slum in South Delhi, located adjacent to one of its software factories. As an experiment, a Hole in the Wall was made, through the centre’s compound wall and a computer screen was installed, facing the slum. The effects were monitored by the R&D lab located in-house. It was observed that children were doing a number of interesting things with the computer, without any assistance. It was haphazard, but it had a sense of discovery & learning. This laid the foundation for further research which helped NIIT finally develop Playground Learning Stations (PLS), to give children their own private window to access the knowledge of the world. Formally called Minimally Invasive Education, the experiment was replicated in two other rural sites in the same year. The first adopter of the idea was the Government of NCT of Delhi, which set up 30 Playground Learning Stations in a resettlement colony by 2000. With the formation of HiWEL in 2001, a national research program was started, in which Learning Stations were set up in 23 locations across rural India. In 2004, the Hole-in-the-Wall reached Cambodia through the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India. Today, more than 300,000 children have benefited from 300 Hole-in-the-Wall stations over last 8 years. The number is going to double with more than 200 stations being installed in 2009. Besides India, HiWEL also has projects in African countries like Uganda, Rwanda, Mozambique, Zambia, Swaziland, Botswana, Nigeria and in Cambodia. HiWEL is now poised to scale up the idea of Hole-in-the-Wall to make a significant contribution to improving elementary education and life skills of children across the world, especially those in disadvantaged communities in rural areas and urban slums. What started as an experiment from a Hole-in-the-Wall, has become India’s gift to the world.  In Eswatini, 

II. Grant Assistance to National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA)

To strengthen its capacity to absorb current and future shocks, NDMA needed the in kind donation to address current food insecurity needed which according to the Vulnerability Assessment and Analysis Report 2018, a total of 122,000 people were identified to be food insecure and were requiring support to sustain their lives and livelihoods. The National Emergency Response Mitigation and Adaptation Plan (NERMAP 2016-2022) was developed to assist with these concerns, a plan detailed all response interventions across the five major sectors affected to deal with the drought in the short term, medium and long term. The government of India was able to donate towards making this plan a success, through the President of India a donation of 700 metric tonnes rice, 300 metric tonnes beans US$1 Million (E13 650 000.00), the donation was able to assist a total of 99 607 beneficiaries from 19 204 households.

Detailed breakdown of the donation

700 metric tonnes rice - This donation was able to reach a total 77 778 beneficiaries from 15 332 households with both rice and beans for three months

300 metric tonnes beans - The beans reached 21 829 people from 3872 households
This means the donation was able to reach a total of 99 607 beneficiaries from 19 204 households for three months.

Cash amounting to US$1 Million (E13 650 000.00)

Ø The Agency utilized about E583 138.00 towards procurement of emergency stock.

Ø  The development of the application “PHEPHA”, a Mobile and WEB application s to inform the public on disaster risk reduction and management measures and systems to help save lives and properties, and has embarked on a project of developing an emergency reporting further strengthen public awareness on disaster preparedness, response and management. It is a helpful communication tool to reduce and mitigate the disastrous effects of natural and human-made hazards to vulnerable communities using modern technologies currently available on Playstore.

Ø  Construction of Climate Smart Classrooms the NDMA has taken the initiative to design climate smart schools that will withstand these strong winds and storm events. Part of the funds 9 have been allocated towards the construction of one classroom block at Ngobelweni under Khubutha Inkhundla in the Shiselweni region the sum of E387, 432.36 from the donation was utilized towards the construction of the classroom block. By December 2019, construction had started of this new school and by November 2021 the classroom was handed over to the community. This school will service a community of about 2 000 people.

Ø The agency used E1 399 601.88 towards funding activities related to rehabilitation and reconstruction of storm damaged and fire damaged houses for the vulnerable population within the communities, over 405 beneficiaries from 81 households.

Ø The NDMA Central Warehouse at Matsapha has over the years experienced severe weather conditions which include storms, extreme high temperatures and erosion on the side and the warehouse was not in good condition to store perishable commidities due to its leaks and cracks as well as poor ventilation. NDMA was able to rehabilitate the Warehouse with funds totalling E388,103.69. This exercise contributed to the strengthening of NDMA capacity to deal with both minor and major disaster events for storage and pre-positioning of response material.

III. Royal Science & Technology Park (RSTP) The Setting up of Information Technology Park (RSTP) with the EXIM Bank of India Line of Credit of US$20 million has benefitted a number of Emaswati with the establishment of an Advanced school of IT in Eswatini to learn information security, ethical hacking, cyber security, network forensics, hardware, networking, software engineering, multimedia. RSTP has also helped entrepreneurship facilitation through the provision of incubational services and financial support. Mobilization of resources and training for people with disabilities have also been provided by RSTP. The project was completed in 2018 and was inaugurated during the visit of Hon'ble Rashtrapati ji in April 2018.

IV. Agricultural Development & Farm Mechanisation Project

The Kingdom of Eswatini availed a line of Credit of US$37.9 million from the EXIM Bank of India for Agricultural Development and Mechanization of Eswatini. The project was implemented over a period of 3 years and was completed in 2017. The model entailed demonstrating that applying the correct inputs in the correct quantities results in high yields. It also aimed at motivating farmers to invest in inputs for the rest of their fields in subsequent seasons after realizing the resultant yields. In this way, production and productivity were expected to increase, resulting in improved food security. The project targeted farmers with a potential to engage in meaningful production. The potential was determined by the availability of land, equipment, labour and knowledge of farming practices. The project also contributed significantly in improving service delivery by the Ministry of Agriculture of Eswatini, particularly on soil testing and mechanization. The components of the project include Tractors & Implements, Soil Testing & Liming, Input Subsidy, and Vermi-Composting Sites.

Tractors & Implements: In the first phase of the project, about 100 tractors were distributed evenly to the four regions of Eswatini where there are Rural Development Areas under the supervision of Ministry of Agriculture staff (Project Centre Managers). The tractors have improved the backlog of tractor hours paid by farmers and thus resulting to higher ploughed land in a short time when compared to when there were fewer tractors. Maintenance of tractors and implements has been supported by the project through establishment of tractor sheds for in-depth check of assets by trained mechanics which have appropriate equipment that was supported by the project.  In the second phase, lime spreaders and maize shellers to improve processing of the maize and reduce post-harvest losses for small holders were distributed as efficient lime spreading is essential for improved soil conditioning for small holder farmers.

Soil Testing & Liming: As against only one sol testing facility existed in Eswatini earlier, under the project, four other sites were identified to decentralize strategy for soil testing. The four sites were distributed efficiently in the four regions of Eswatini, increasing access and improving application of lime and nutrients to the soil. The conditioning of the soil has showed positive results to small holders on the importance of soil testing and liming for effective nutrient application to the soil. Training was imparted to Agronomy officers on soil testing and on how to run and manage soil testing facility and these officers are posted at various soil testing facilities permanently.

Input Subsidy: Considering the economic status of the small holder farmers in rural areas in Eswatini, who are predominantly poor with lack of investment and resources, the project supported the purchasing power of these small holder producers through the introduction of input subsidy programme. It reduced transaction cost of small holder farmers for procuring inputs from agro-dealers that are distant from them to reach. It has also improved the selection of seeds by farmers as the subsidy engages the dealers with the appropriate inputs for the different agro-ecological zones where the farmers produce. The input subsidy has increased the amount of land ploughed to maize and seriously increased small holder production through the availability of high yielding varieties and the procurement of basal and top-dressing fertilizers in the required quantities. At the project end, the Government of Eswatini took up the subsidy component and made it an annual exercise and the same is running under the national Maize Corporation (NMC) to market maize, beans, sorghum in Eswatini. The system has been improved to reduce farmer transaction costs.

Vermi-Composting Sites: The project established three vermi compost sites. These were established to improve the condition of the soil by replenishing lost organic carbon in the soil through vermi-composting. The technology was new to Eswatini. It boosted the green economy of the land through the adoption of newer production systems with established linkages to such sites. The huge potential for vermi compost to support sustainable, organic and ecological farming is at infancy in Eswatini but growing.

V. Data Recovery Site for the Data Centre [at] Royal Science & Technology Park

Agreement for the Line of Credit of US$10.4 million has been signed between the EXIM Bank of India and the Government of Eswatini in 2021. The project proposes to enable business systems and applications, continuous availability and recoverability in real time in the event of disaster at the primary site.  The project will further provide a strengthened security and highly protected national data against cyber attacks and threats by providing necessary and required business confidence to clients. The project will lead to better ‘ease of doing business’ ranking to the Kingdom in terms of a reliable and secured IT environment.  The project will provide uninterrupted access to data for the purposes of planning and development decisions and give assurance of business continuity for the e-Government services such as G2G, G2B, G2C for stimulating economic growth.

VI. New Parliament Building Complex
Agreement for the Line of Credit of US$108.28 million has been signed between the EXIM Bank of India and the Government of Eswatini in 2021. The objective of this project is to create a landmark Parliament Building for the Kingdom Eswatini as the existing building is proving inadequate for the smooth functioning  of the Parliament in the Kingdom.

VII. Lubuyane Irrigation Project

During State visit of Rashtrapati ji in April 2018, India announced a grant assistance of US$ 400,000 for construction of irrigation infrastructure in Lubuyane in the Hhohho region. The grant assistance of US$400,00 was released in two equal instalments of US$200,00 each in October 2019 and August 2020. The project facilitated numerous homesteads of Maphalaleni of Hhohho Region moving from subsistence to commercial-level farming.