Note that the countries included in the South Asia Region fonds and, in particular, the "Country operational records" series, fluctuated over the years; countries were moved from one Region to another and Regional Vice Presidencies were merged and separated. This is reflected in the inclusion of records from, specifically, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Myanmar (Burma). While the inclusion of records partially depends on the nature of their transfer (see "Archival history" for explanation), generally operational records related to Afghanistan from 1972 to 1991, Pakistan from 1987 to 1991, and Myanmar from 1987 to the present will not be included in the records of this fonds. See the "Related units of description" field of this description for the location of those records not included. There were fluctuations in the countries overseen by SAR prior to 1972, as well. However, these changes are not reflected in the inclusion of records in this fonds as a result of the reaccessioning exercise described in the "Archival history" field.

Also note that this fonds has been arranged into eleven provisional series. Sub-headings are used to break the content of this field up according to series. For a complete list of the provisional series, see the Arrangement field below.

Country operational records

The majority of the records in this fonds are country operational records. The records in the Country operational records series broadly consist of project records relating to the negotiation and administration of loans and general country records relating to economic and sector study. These records were created by Area Departments (1947-1972), Country Departments (CDs, 1972-1997) and Country Management Units (CMUs, 1997- 2009) as well as Regional project departments (1972 - 1987), technical departments (1987 - 1997), and sector departments (1997 - 2009).

Records related to the Bank's projects overseen by SAR are contained in the "Country operational records" series. These records relate to investment, structural adjustment, technical assistance and other development projects financed, co-financed, or managed by the Bank. Note that projects funded or co-funded by external bodies such as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), national governments, and trust funds but which were executed by the Bank are also included.

Records relating to all phases of the World Bank Project Cycle, from conception through negotiation and completion, are found here. Project records contained in this fonds were created by both the unitidentified as the designated record keeping unit within the Region and, in smaller number, the Regional units that provided project support. Included are records relating to not only completed projects but also to abandoned projects (i.e. projects that were abandoned in course of preparation or that failed to gain Board approval) and suspended projects (i.e. approved projects, including those partially disbursed, which have been suspended and not resumed). Records related to the discussion and negotiationof projects that were never initiated are also included.

Correspondence files make up the bulk of the project records and relate to the identification, preparation, appraisal, negotiation, approval, supervision, fund disbursement, completion, and review of each individual project. Correspondence is in the form of letters, printed email, memoranda, telexes, and faxes. Accompanying materials most often include aide-memoires, minutes of meetings, Terms of Reference, back-to-office reports, etc. Correspondence is between the Bank and government officials, ambassadors, institutions, contractors, and consultants.

Project records may also include: Project Implementation Index File (PIIF) documents; executive project summary/project concept documents; annual progress reports; supplemental documents; Project Completion Reports (PCRs, also known as Completion Reports); consultant reports; supervision reports; andfinal versions of mandatory reports. A small amount of project-related newspaper clippings, financial statements, photographs, hand-written notes, maps, engineering plans, and copies of loan agreements and related documents may also be found as well. External documents received from borrowers, governments, consultants, etc., including studies, reports, plans, specifications, etc., are also included.

General country files are also included in the "Country operational records" series. These refer to background correspondence and other records of the Region's support activities for IBRD/IDA lending programs, other than those maintained for individual loans and credits. Records relate to economic, social, and sector work study and analysis and the development of sector and country programs, policies and strategies. Specifically, these records might relate to: capital markets; indebtedness; investment law; missions to the country; technical assistance; disbursement; government relations; inquiries; local bond issues; country liaison; programs and missions; resident representatives; Country Program Papers (CPP) preparation; and Project Implementation Review (PIR). Records relating to and filed according to the various sectors of investment are also included. In each series, sector files may include but are not limited to: agriculture; education; energy; industrial development and finance; industry; population; health; nutrition; telecommunications; tourism; transportation; urban development; water and sewage; and social development. General country file records take the form of correspondence, memoranda, minutes of meetings, notes for files, briefing papers, back-to-office reports, aide-memoires, briefing papers, and reports. Records relating to analytical and advisory activities (AAA) and the related collection of data for these activities may also be included.

Country-specific records relating to country program management are also included in the country operational record series. These records were maintained primarily by the Country Department headquarter units and were used to document Bank Group assistance planning and strategy for each country. Records may pertain to the creation of Bank reports such as: the Country Assistance Strategy (CAS); Country Briefs; Country Strategy Papers; Country Economic Memoranda; Medium Term Framework Papers; and policy statements. These records take the form of: agendas; briefings and reports of country team meetings; final versions of reports; external reports (particularly from the International Monetary Fund [IMF]); meeting summaries and notes; and background materials used in the preparation of reports. Briefing papers prepared for Annual Meetings and other reports to management may also be included.

Also included are informational records related to each country and to development issues specific to that country. Much of the topics covered in these records are focused on various development sectors. These records primarily contain externally created reference material, although a small amount of internally generated material (such as speeches and addresses and material relatedto internally sponsored conferences and seminars) may also be included. Reference materials may include: lists of government officials; information on external consultants; newspaper clippings related to country matters; press releases related to Bank and country activities; correspondence with government officials and/or ministries; and documents related to the operations of field offices in the country. Also included, in small amounts, are books, journals, magazines, articles, extracts, directories, manuals, handbooks, guides, and dissertations originating from elsewhere in the Bank Group or of external origin. Topics include common development sectors (agriculture, transportation, education, etc.) as well as: resettlement; indigenous peoples; participation; Global Environment Facility (GEF); World Bank operation policies; country politics, legislation, and economic situation; and natural resource management.

Regional operational records

Operational records related to the South Asia region are also included in this fonds. Included are the project records of projects that span more than a single country, such as the founding of new regional banks, the establishment of a common market, tourism projects, and the creation of regional infrastructure, such as roads, ports, electric power generation and telecommunications. The types of project-related records are similar to those described in the "Country operational records" series section above. Also included are general records related to economic and sectorwork study and analysis and the development of sector and regional programs, policies and strategies. In terms of topic and form, these records are similar to the general records of the country operational series described above; this includes records related to sector study and development and analytical and advisory activities (AAA). However, records relate to either the region as a whole or to multi-country areas of the region. Also included are records relating to external institutions that work together (co-financing, sector research, information sharing, reporting) with the Region; these include, for example, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the South Pacific Regional Development Bank. Also included in this series are records related to the Bank's role in the resolution of the dispute between India and Pakistan over the use of water resources in the Indus Basin.

External aid coordination

Series consists of records relating to the development and implementation of aid coordination activities not specific to projects, such as cofinancing arrangements, donor meetings, consultative group meetings, and Country Team meetings. Records originate in country and sector departments and relate to cooperative relationships between the Bank Group and donors, cofinanciers, development agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and other concerned organizations. Specifically, records may relate to: collaborative development assistance; consultative groups and meetings; Bank-sponsored seminars and conferences; cofinancing and trust funds; the Consultant Trust Fund Program (CTFP); and external funding for consultants. Records may include: copies of agreements and other legal documents; initiating briefs; reports and memoranda concerning disbursement of cofinanced funds; periodic reports to cofinanciers; and other related materials.

The series contains records documenting the establishment, proceedings and activities of the consortia, aid and consultative groups convened and chaired by the Bank to coordinate external financial assistance and which the Bank provided secretarial support to. Includes India Consortium (1958), Pakistan Consortium (1960), Ceylon - Sri Lanka Aid Group (1965), Bangladesh Aid Group (1974) Burma Aid Group (1976), Nepal Aid Group (1976), Maldives Consultative Group (1984) and Timor Leste Consultative Group (1999). The groups met bi-annually for several successive years, some continuing over decades as in the case of the India Consortium which met until 1993 when it evolved into the India Development Forum and was constituted as an annual meeting to include private investors.

Aid coordination group files contain a large body of correspondence between the country department staff, the chairman who was typically the Area or Country Director but on occasion was the Bank Vice President or Regional Vice President, and members of the consortia and consultative groups including the recipient country. Correspondence includes copies of outgoing memoranda and letters, cables, original letters from member government officials (some addressed to the Bank President), notes to the file, minutes of pre-consultative group meetings, sector, and/or local meetings organized by country staff in between consultative group meetings, and drafts of documents. Topics covered by the correspondence include policies and practices of the consortia, consultative group or aid group; its origins and establishment; changes in membership or participation; pledges and terms of aid by donor countries; and collaboration with the International Monetary Fund and other multilateral participants or observers.

Also included are the set of official meeting documents of the earliest Bank-chaired consortia and other groups aforementioned that contain: preliminary meeting summaries, notice of meeting, agenda, list of delegates, Bank-authored or government authored memoranda or economic reports and policy papers, Chairman's report of proceedings, transcripts or verbatim proceedings, participants statements, and press release. Meeting files also contain a small amount of administrative correspondence authored by Secretary's department or the Area or Country Department concerning meeting preparations, distribution of documents, or announcements about participants in attendance of the meetings.

Department directors' project records (reference)

Project file reference copies maintained by the CD, CMU, or Sector Family directors' front office staff are also included in this fonds. These include project-related records circulated from project managers to the departments for information, monitoring, review, or input. These records are arranged by project and then, in most cases, by project cycle component or phase.

Business plan and budget management records

Fonds includes records relating to business plan and budget management (i.e. planning, implementation, monitoring, and review) activities of the Region. These records include annual budget files created by the Region's budget and administrative units as well as Business Plans covering three-year periods and Retrospective Reviews. Records relating to the budgets of Country Departments are included primarily in the form of budget reports, tools, and correspondence. Budget records created by both the Regional VP and Country Departments relating to country field offices are included (these offices also go by the names "resident mission" or "country office"). Records related to the quarterly VP Business Review Meetings are also included.

Management and oversight of unit functions

Records relating to the management and oversight of the Region's country and technical departments' functional responsibilities, work program, and policy development are included in this fonds. Topics include: work program development; unit policy and procedures; agency structure and organization; management improvement studies; coordination and direction; departmental reviews; Regional objectives and operational directives; and staffing. Records include: work program agreements and monthly reports; research program materials; general correspondence; various task force records including some final reports; unit reviews; procedural and budget guides; management team meeting records; management retreats; records related to the 1991 reorganization of the Asia Region and subsequent reorganization of the Technical Departments; and general correspondence.

VP Chronological files

Fonds includes the chronological files of the Region's VP Mieko Nishimizu for the years 1997 to 1999. (See 5.3 of this description for the locationof other SAR VP chronological files.)

Front office administration and oversight of field offices

Fonds also includes those records maintained in the Region's front office relating to the administration and management of the Region's field offices. Records may include: correspondence; reports; and contracts. Records may also relate to: establishment agreements; leases; renovation; capital budget; local staff; resident representatives; mission statement; job grading; staff reassignment; Internal Auditing Department (IAD) reports; ad hoc reports related to staff issues in country offices; and other information of substantive nature.

Conferences, meetings, and seminar attendance

Fonds includes records related to the establishment, organization, and output of conferences, meetings, seminars, and training organized or attended by SAR staff. Events include externally organized conferences and seminars as well as internally organized events by Bank units. Records related to the Bank's Spring and Annual Meetingsare also included. With regard to events organized or sponsored by the Region, records may relate to identification and selection of themes, topics, and speakers in addition to other planning, administrative, and logistical topics.

Committee Records

Fonds contains records relating to a number of temporary and standing committees, task forces, working groups, etc., that establish, recommend, or monitor implementation of policy and procedures and on which the Region or its units are represented or about which they are kept informed. Committees include, among others: Committee on Regional Initiatives; Research Committee; Information Management Group. Other committees internal to the Regional VP or Country Department relate to research, briefing and sector work. Records may include terms of reference, agenda, agenda papers, decisions, member lists, supporting or background documentation, and minutes and reports.

Front Office Reference Material

A variety of front office reference material is included in this fonds. Topics include: development (including specific sector work); regional economic and political issues; corruption; governance; Bank-Fund collaboration; Bank operations; information technology; communications; privatization and private sector development; cofinancing; human resources; the Quality Assurance Group (QAG); World Development Report (WDR); and World Debt Tables. Records take the form of: photocopied articles; Bank-authored reports including task force reports; Bank Executive Director memoranda; reports from external institutions; workshop publications; and seminar reports. Records received from other Bank Vice Presidencies are also included.

Briefing books

Series also consists of briefing books prepared for senior officials created by SAR units. Briefing books included were prepared for both SAR senior officials as well as other senior Bank staff in preparation for visits to South Asian countries as well as for meetings and seminars. Briefing books commonly contain: program of country visit; country overview; World Bank Group activities; visit and meeting briefs; project meeting briefs; as well as other World Bank authored reports which serve as background information.