Rising Powers in International Development

The State of the Debate in India:Strengthening Institutions

Presented by Dr Emma Mawdsley, University of CambridgeOn behalf of:

Sachin Chaturvedi, Anuradha M. Chenoy, Deepta Chopra, Anuradha Joshi and Khush Hal S. Lagdhyan

Two sets of Discourses

• Different from Western Aid• Different From Chinese Development Cooperation• Indian DC is viewed as:

Sustainable and InclusiveBased on India’s own development experienceDemand BasedWithout conditionalitiesMutual gainBased on India’s soft power

Background and history (Up to late 1980s)

• Contextual FactorsNon-aligned MovementColombo Plan

• Key featuresTrilateral cooperation (with NGOs)Transparency in support of less developed countries

(neighbourhood)Program-based Development Assistance

• MotivationsIndia’s energy needs (hydropower)Buffer between India and China (e.g. Nepal)Desire to become an International player

Current Trends1990s onwards

• Contextual factorsRapid Economic Growth Nuclear Power

• Key FeaturesDebt relief to HIPC countriesEmphasis on Trade and Lines of CreditIncreasing role in Africa

• MotivationsIndia’s aspirations as a Global PlayerImplicit Competition with China

Indian expenditure on the ITEC programme

Source: Srinath (2013).

Regional distribution of the ITEC programme during 2011–12

Source: Adapted from Ministry of External Affairs (2012).

Components of Indian development cooperation (1)

• The ITEC programme

Components of Indian development cooperation (2)• Lines of credit

Active lines of credit to countries in various regions of the world (2012)

• Trade and investment

• Grants

Source: Srinath (2013).

Source: Srinath, Pavan 2013

Institutional Architecture1950s-1980s Experimentation in the field and consolidation in the Ministry

of External Affairs (MEA) Indian Aid Mission (IAM) Indian Cooperation Mission (ICM) Economic and Coordination Division (ECD) Consolidated training programme launched as ITEC

1990s-2010s Multiple Institutions (Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Commerce and Ministry of External Affairs) Establishment of ITEC Division—MF and then MEA India Development Initiative (IDI) --MF IDEAS lines of credit launched—EXIM Bank

2012 onwards Consolidation of DC under Ministry of External Affairs Development Partnership Administration (DPA) DPA I: Lines of Credit DPA II: ITEC, Grant assistance and humanitarian assistance DPA III: implementation of grant assistance projects in the region

Business and development cooperation

• Close link between development cooperation and business

• Business benefits from trade focus• Long term, commercial and sustainable • Clarity on demand for investment required• Ethics and transparency of business operations

abroad

Public debate and civil society perspectives

• Broad support for South-South cooperation by civil society, based on principles of sustainable, socially just approach to international relations

• Some CSOs engaged with national government for designing a new cooperative framework

• Other CSOs are deeply critical, but have been bypassed and need to be worked with

Media coverage and public debate

• Low coverage• Indian media has been supportive of private sector-

led business engagement • Largely nationalist, with China being seen as

competition• Lack of public debate• Little or no engagement of parliamentarians and

political parties

Policy priorities and issues

• Developing policy clarity• Building transparency (collecting and making data available)

• Engaging with civil society organizations • Encouraging domestic debate• Sharing experiences internationally• Assessing Impact of new forms of DC

THANK YOU!