Monday 01 / July / 2024
India has been sharing its developmental experiences and technical expertise with other countries in the spirit of “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam”. India’s approach to development is human-centric and marked by Respect, Diversity, Care for the future and Sustainable development. The most fundamental principle guiding India’s development cooperation is respecting development partners and be guided by their development priorities. India’s development cooperation does not come with any conditions, as stated by Prime Minister of India in his address at the Parliament of Uganda in July 2018, “Our development partnership will be guided by your priorities. It will be on terms that will be comfortable for you, that will liberate your potential and not constrain your future... We will build as much local capacity and create as many local opportunities as possible”.
Indian model of developmental cooperation is comprehensive and involves multiple instruments including grant-in-aid, line of credit, capacity building and technical assistance. Depending on the priorities of partner countries, India’s development cooperation includes in areas as diverse as commerce, culture, energy, engineering, health, housing, IT, infrastructure, sports, science, disaster relief, humanitarian assistance and restoration & preservation of cultural and heritage assets.
Development assistance in the form of concessional Lines of Credit (LOCs) is extended by the Government of India under the Indian Development and Economic Assistance Scheme (IDEAS) through the Exim Bank of India. More than 300 LOCs worth US$ 30.66 billion have been extended to 64 countries. The projects under the LOCs cover critical infrastructure sectors such as transport connectivity through railways, roads and ports; power generation and distribution; agriculture and irrigation; manufacturing industries, healthcare, education and capacity building. So far about 300 LoC projects have been completed while more than 260 projects are under implementation.
Out of the total LOCs of US$ 30.66 billion, US$ 15.90 billion have been extended to Asian countries, with the largest value of commitments having been made in India’s immediate neighbourhood. There is a special focus on regional connectivity initiatives in the neighbourhood under GoI LOCs as these can act as force multipliers to accelerate regional growth & development, promote people-to-people contact and encourage trade and commerce.
India has completed numerous iconic infrastructure projects in partner countries under the Lines of Credit. Some of these iconic projects include the Parliament Building of Gambia, the Presidential Palace in Ghana, the Kosti Power project in Sudan which provides 1/3rd of the country’s power, the Nyaborongo Power Project in Rwanda which provides 1/4th of the country’s power, Railway Bridges and Signalling Systems in Bangladesh, the post-war rebuilding of the Sri Lankan Railways etc. LoCs have also been extended in many new sectors like defence and solar energy.
Grant-in-Aid projects
A number of grant-in-aid projects, aggregating around US$ 4 Billion, covering various sectors such as infrastructure, hydroelectricity, power transmission, agriculture, education, health, Industry etc, as prioritized by the host governments, are under implementation. Beyond India’s neighbourhood in South East Asia, Central Asia, Africa and Latin America, bilateral projects in Information and Computer Technology (lCT), Small & Medium enterprises and archaeological conservation have been undertaken.
Iconic projects competed with Government of India grant assistance include construction of Afghan-India Friendship Dam in Afghanistan, Construction of Afghan Parliament Building in Kabul, construction of new ENT hospital project in Mauritius, Metro Express Project in Mauritius, Jaffna Cultural Centre in Sri Lanka, Supreme Court building in Mauritius etc.
Capacity building and technical assistance
Capacity building assistance is an important strand of India's development partnership programme. The Government of India provides capacity building support to other friendly countries in various forms such as civilian and military training programmes in India, training on-site abroad, deputation of Indian experts, establishment of centres of excellence in IT and vocational training centres.
Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) programme, instituted in 1964, now covers around 160 partner countries from Asia, Africa, East Europe, Latin America, the Caribbean as well as Pacific and Small Island countries. The ITEC Programme comprises mostly of short term training courses for govt. officials and working professionals. The Programme has grown organically from about 4000 training slots in 2006-07 to around 14000 slots (including defence training) in 2019-20. During 2019-20, civilian training slots were offered under ITEC in over 383 courses across 98 institutions in a wide and diverse range areas including Engineering & Technology; Government Functions; Environment & Climate Change; Agriculture; Banking, Finance, English Language; Health & Yoga; Petroleum; ICT; Journalism; Management & Leadership; Power, renewable & Alternate Energy, including solar; Rural Development; Women Empowerment etc.
New modalities like e-ITEC, ITEC-Onsite and ITEC executive have been included in the bouquet of ITEC offerings from 2018 onwards. India is already partnering with Oman in its capacity building efforts through the ITEC Programme, which we plan to scale up as per the priorities of Oman Government.
India for humanity
In October 2018, the ‘India for Humanity’ initiative was launched to commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi and honour his service to humanity. In collaboration with the NGO Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti (BMVSS), popularly known as “Jaipur Foot,” the programme featured year-long series of artificial limb fitment camps in several countries in Asia and Africa. These camps aim to provide physical, economic and social rehabilitation of amputees by helping them regain their mobility and dignity. The programme has been extended for three more years till March 2023.
In the current Corona crisis, India has extended COVID-related medical assistance including testing kits, protective gear and Hydorxychloroquine and other medicines to around 90 plus countries across the globe and its role as a reliable supplier of pharmaceuticals and medicines is globally recognised and appreciated. Several e-ITEC webinars on handling the Corona pandemic have also been hosted for sharing experience and best practices with experts from other countries.
Apart from supply of medical relief, India also extended technical assistance by way of despatching rapid response teams to Kuwait and Maldives. The COVID crisis demonstrated the resilience of India-Oman strategic partnership. India provided corona-related medicines to Oman and remained a reliable supplier of food and other essential items to Oman at a time when global supply chains were severely disrupted.
Cooperation in cultural and heritage projects
With Government of India’s assistance programme more than 50 cultural and heritage projects have been completed, including restoration of Ananda Temple; Shwedagon Pagoda (Myanmar), restoration of Thiruketheeswaram temple; installation of Replica of Sarnath Buddha; Indian Gallery at Sacred Tooth Relic Temple (Srilanka), restoration of Mosques (Maldives), setting up of National Archives and Library (Mauritius), built National War Memorial (Tribute to Indian Soldiers in World War I) (France), etc. Currently around 25 cultural and heritage projects are under implementation in various countries.
India is conscious of its responsibilities towards the planet and always willing to work together for addressing global challenges. Our development partnership is driven by the motto of Sabka Saath, Saba Vikaas, Sabka Vishwas - meaning “together, for everyone's growth, with everyone's trust”.
