India

Implications of the Independent Review of Aid Effectiveness

Consistent with the Independent Review of Aid Effectiveness and reflecting the Indian Government’s views about external aid, AusAID’s bilateral assistance to India will be phased out. AusAID will see the existing contracts in the India country program through to their conclusion and continue to provide targeted assistance through multilateral organisations and regional programs, where we can make a difference to poor people.

This approach corresponds with the Indian Government’s preference to receive aid from fewer and larger donors, as well as encourage smaller donors such as Australia to channel their aid through multilateral mechanisms.

Country program estimate 2011–12: $9 million
Other Australian government aid: $16 million
Total estimated ODA for 2011–12: $25 million

Australia's aid relationship with India

Australia's development program in India is focused on supporting technical exchange in areas requested by India and where Australia has expertise. India is an important international partner and Australia's development program supports our collaboration in areas prioritised in the 2009 India-Australia Strategic Partnership [external website]. Cooperation in priority areas, including water resource management, climate change and energy security, is assisting India achieve its sustainable development goals.

Although AusAID is phasing out bilateral assistance to India, Australia will continue to work in partnership with India and provide assistance to India through multilateral organisations and regional programs in line with the recommendations of the Independent Review of Aid Effectiveness. This will be achieved through Australia's partnerships with UN agencies, development banks and local and international NGOs. The changing nature of this relationship indicates Australia's transition towards a more mature and progressive relationship with India as a partner.

Furthermore, with a focus of the Independent Review of Aid Effectiveness being on partnerships with emerging donors, Australia will look to partner with India through trilateral aid cooperation, primarily in South Asia and regional organisations.

Our strategy

Phase out of AusAID's bilateral country program

In response to the recommendation from the Independent Review of Aid Effectiveness, the Australian Government will gradually phase out AusAID's bilateral activities in India, which are supported through the AusAID India country program.

In phasing out the India country program, AusAID will honour existing contracts and agreements and will see these contracts and agreements through to completion. However, AusAID will not fund new initiatives or increase funding for existing activities in India through the India country program.

The India Public Sector Linkages Program (PSLP) will also continue in 2011–12 and 2012–13, providing opportunities for government-to-government linkages in a variety of sectors including economic policy, public sector effectiveness, education and health.

This approach is consistent with the Indian Government's preference of working with fewer and larger donors and to encourage smaller donors such as Australia to provide targeted assistance through working in partnership with multilateral institutions and NGOs.

Continued provision of targeted assistance through South Asia regional program

The Australian Government recognising the significant development needs of India will continue to provide targeted aid assistance to India through AusAID's South Asia regional program. This will be delivered in partnership with development banks, multilateral organisations, NGOs and through the South Asia regional PSLP.

Support will also be provided to India through AusAID's global programs including the Australian Development Scholarships program, Human Rights Grant Scheme and the Australian NGO Cooperation program.

Engagement with India as a donor

Australia will aim to strengthen cooperation with India potentially through joint delivery of aid, in South Asia and regional organisations. This engagement will provide Australia with the opportunity to work alongside India as a development partner to make a real difference to poor people, within the South Asia region and globally.

Impact of our support

Australia's development relationship with India has focused on building and strengthening the capacity of the Indian Government in priority areas, as identified in the Australia-India joint strategic partnership developed in November 2009. Improving governance, reform and strengthening technical cooperation towards inclusive and sustainable development, are key objectives of AusAID's country program for India. Ultimately, our assistance to India aims to improve the lives of the many impoverished people in the region through the provision of better facilities and services in priority sectors.

More information on the achievements of our aid activities

Millenium Development Goals status check

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are a set of measurable targets that Australia and 188 other nations including India have adopted with the aim of 'reducing extreme poverty, hunger and disease; and to promote gender equality, education and environmental sustainability'¹ by 2015.

The following table outlines India's progress towards achieving the eight MDGs based on the particular MDG targets:

MDGs	MDG Targets	Status – Achievement of Target	Status – Achievement of MDG
Eradicate extreme hunger and poverty	Halve between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people whose income is less than $1 a day.	Nearly on track to achieve this target.	Not on track to achieve this MDG.
Eradicate extreme hunger and poverty	Halve between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people who suffer from hunger.	Off track to achieve.	Not on track to achieve this MDG.
Achieve universal primary education	Ensure that, by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling.	On track to achieve.	On track to achieve this MDG.
Promote gender equality and empower women	Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education, preferably by 2005, and in all levels of education no later than 2015.	Nearly on track to achieve.	Nearly on track to achieve this MDG.
Reduce child mortality	Reduce by two-thirds, between 1990 and 2015, the under-five mortality rate.	Undetermined—off track to achieve some indicators but on track to achieve other indicators.**	Not on track to achieve this MDG.
Improve maternal health	Reduce by three quarters, between 1990 and 2015, the maternal mortality ratio.	Undetermined—off track to achieve some indicators but on track to achieve other indicators.**	Not on track to achieve this MDG.
Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases	Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS.	Nearly on track to achieve.	Nearly on track to achieve this MDG.
Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases	Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the incidence of malaria and other major diseases.	Undetermined—off track to achieve some indicators but on track to achieve other indicators.**	Nearly on track to achieve this MDG.
Ensure environmental sustainability	Integrate the principles of sustainable development into country policies and programs and reverse the loss of environmental resources.	On track to achieve.	Not on track to achieve this MDG.
	Halve by 2015, the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation.	Undetermined—on track to achieve one main indicator but slow to achieve other indicators.**
	Have achieved by 2020 a significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers.	Lack of sufficient information.
Develop a global partnership for development	In cooperation with the private sector, make available the benefits of new technologies, especially information and communication.	On track to achieve.	On track to achieve this MDG.

** For India to be regarded as either 'on track' or 'off track' in achieving the target, it must meet the requirements of all the individual indicators within that target.² The achievement of these MDGs are undetermined, as India has achieved some indicators but not slow to achieve the other indicators within the target.

Overview of key development facts

Basic Indicators	Statistics to date	Source of Information
Population	1.2 billion (2009)	World Bank: World Development Indicators.³
Gross National Income (GNI) per capita (using the World Bank Atlas Method)	USD 1220 (2009)	World Bank: World Development Indicators.⁴
GDP per capita average annual growth rate (%)	4.8	UNICEF—India—Statistics.⁵
Percentage of population below the international poverty line of USD1.25 per day (%)	42 (1994-2008)	UNICEF—India—Statistics.⁶
Primary-Secondary education enrolment ratio: (female/male per 100)	77.4/83.9	UNdata—India⁷
Primary education gender parity	0.97 (2007)	United Nations Statistics Division⁸
Mortality rate of children under five	66 per 1000 live births (2009)	World Bank: World Development Indicators.⁹
Maternal mortality	230 per 100 000 live births (2009)	World Bank: World Development Indicators.¹⁰

Australia and India have established a strategic partnership and Australia is giving high priority to expanding technical cooperation with India through government-to-government links and through partnerships with UN agencies and development banks. The Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) also has a significant program of research cooperation with India.

Aid in Action

Climate Change

AusAID provided $1 million in 2009–10 to support a joint CSIRO project with India’s The Energy and Resource Institute (TERI), which is piloting village cool rooms to improve food preservation in remote rural communities in India through the use of renewable energy. This pilot project is also providing village electrification, improved livelihood opportunities and clean drinking water, as by products.

Through the Energy Security and Climate Change Partnership Program, a groundbreaking report on Concentrating Solar Power concluded that India has sufficient land to allow solar power to make a major contribution to its energy mix. Jointly commissioned by the Indian Ministry of New and Renewable Resources (MNRE) and the Australian Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, the report was well received by the Secretary of MNRE who said the Ministry could adopt many of the recommendations.

Report: Concentrating Solar Power in India (PDF 10.9mb) [external website]

Health

In partnership with UNAIDS, AusAID support has assisted the Indian Government set up a regional office in North East India, for the Indian Government’s AIDS Control Organisation. This office has helped trained local people and has also improved the Indian Government’s understanding of the situation on the ground. This has strengthened responses to the problem in the region from the Indian Government, as well as UN agencies and civil society organisations. Furthermore, this initiative has also increased the number of people registered for anti-retroviral treatments from 20,500 to 33,310, an increase of 62 percent over the last three years.

Rural sanitation and hygiene

As part of the AusAID-World Bank improvement facility for South Asia in the water and sanitation sector, access to rural sanitation in India has rose from 21 percent in 2001 to 65 per cent in 2010. This multi-donor initiative has also supported the Indian Government’s National Nirmal Gram Puraskar program, which is part of the Indian Government’s Total Sanitation Campaign. Through this program 22,000 local governments have become open defecation free, resulting in an estimated 78 million people residing in sanitary communities since the program commenced.

Useful websites

[external sites]

Footnotes

Achieving the millennium development goals: Australia’s support 2000-2010, page 3.
Millennium Development goals – India Country Report 2009: Mid Term Statistical Appraisal, page 21. Report compiled by the Central Statistical Organisation, Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation, Government of India.
http://ddp-ext.worldbank.org/ext/ddpreports/ViewSharedReport?&CF=&REPORT_ID=1336&REQUEST_TYPE=VIEWADVANCED
http://ddp-ext.worldbank.org/ext/ddpreports/ViewSharedReport?&CF=&REPORT_ID=1336&REQUEST_TYPE=VIEWADVANCED
http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/india_statistics.html
http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/india_statistics.html
http://data.un.org/CountryProfile.aspx?crName=INDIA
http://mdgs.un.org/unsd/mdg/Data.aspx
http://ddp-ext.worldbank.org/ext/ddpreports/ViewSharedReport?&CF=&REPORT_ID=1336&REQUEST_TYPE=VIEWADVANCED
http://ddp-ext.worldbank.org/ext/ddpreports/ViewSharedReport?&CF=&REPORT_ID=1336&REQUEST_TYPE=VIEWADVANCED

Last reviewed: 18 October 2011