Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation Programme

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Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation Programme (ITEC) is a bilateral assistance programme run by the

Caribbean nations. Since its inception, the programme has spent over US$ 2 billion and benefited thousands of students and professionals from around the globe and annual expenditure on the programme has averaged US$ 100 million per annum in recent years.[1][2]

History

ITEC was officially launched on 15 September 1964 but for decades it remained a marginal programme as India itself was dependent on international aid.

Lines of credit are also offered under ITEC and African nations have been the major beneficiaries under this head.[5]

Scope of ITEC

Assistance under ITEC covers the six areas of training for civil and defence personnel, projects and project related activities such as consultancy services, study tours, donation of equipment, deputation of Indian experts in the partner nation and aid for disaster relief.

COMESA, the African Union Commission and G-15 receive training and project support under ITEC.[6]

Augmenting Soft Power

The ITEC programme has significantly augmented India's soft power among developing nations. Indian public sector companies such as

civil servants abroad to help poorer governments with their professional expertise and providing training in India for civil servants from abroad all helped provide for good future relations with recipient countries. Hamid Karzai's education in India for instance is seen as one of the key reasons why Afghanistan has warmed up to India ever since the ouster of the Taliban government in 2001.[6][8] To commemorate its achievements and to bring together beneficiaries of the programme in the host country, Indian embassies and consulates around the globe celebrate an ITEC Day every year.[9][10][11][12][13]

An Indian Aid Agency

In 2012, the

P Chidambaram variously as the India Development Assistance and the India International Development Cooperation Agency.[5][14]

Global Impact of ITEC

South Asian nations have traditionally been the largest recipients of Indian aid both as part of ITEC and otherwise. Under the Twelfth

Five Year Plan, ₹ 1,500 crore have been earmarked for developmental assistance to Myanmar, Afghanistan and Bhutan. Bhutan has traditionally been the largest recipient of Indian aid. In Afghanistan and Myanmar, India has focused on building infrastructure such as roads, buildings and hospitals besides providing training to their personnel. In Sri Lanka, Indian assistance has focused on rebuilding that country, especially its Tamil majority areas in the north and east that were the worst affected, by fighting during the Sri Lankan Civil War.[15][16][17] An important strategy in utilising development aid has been the Small Development Projects (SDP) scheme which focuses on low cost projects that aim at creating infrastructure and technical capabilities that directly affects local communities and supports their socioeconomic development.[18]

ITEC has also been an important component of India's assistance to African nations. In recent years, India has increased its assistance to various African nations and groupings. The focus is now on areas such as transfer of technology and the development of projects like the Pan-African e-Network project that will link African nations with Indian institutions and expertise. India also continues to provide extensive opportunities for human resource development and personnel training in these countries. There is also a special corollary to augment ITEC for African nations called the Special Commonwealth Assistance for Africa Programme (SCAAP).[19][20][21]

References

  1. ^ a b "Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation - Introduction". Ministry of External Affairs, India. Retrieved 22 December 2012.
  2. ^ "India provides $2 billion technical assistance package…to developing countries". Modern Ghana. Retrieved 22 December 2012.
  3. ^ "The Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC)". Retrieved 22 December 2012.
  4. ^ "India's Transition from Recipient to Donor". Retrieved 22 December 2012.
  5. ^ a b c "India goes from aid beneficiary to donor". HT Mint. July 1, 2012. Retrieved 22 December 2012.
  6. ^ a b c "Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) Programme". The Embassy of India at Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Archived from the original on 16 March 2013. Retrieved 22 December 2012.
  7. ^ "Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation Programme (ITEC)". Archived from the original on 5 June 2013. Retrieved 22 December 2012.
  8. ^ "The Rise of India's Soft Power". Foreign Policy Magazine. May 8, 2012. Retrieved 22 December 2012.
  9. ^ "ITEC Day 2012 at Sofia". Voice of India. Retrieved 22 December 2012.
  10. ^ "Indian Embassy, Moscow observes ITEC day 2012". Embassy of India, Moscow. Retrieved 22 December 2012.
  11. ^ "ITEC DAY CELEBRATION - CELEBRACION DIA DE ITEC". Embassy of India, Guatemala. Retrieved 22 December 2012.
  12. ^ "Indian Embassy Celebrates ITEC Day in Uzbekistan". Turkish Weekly. Archived from the original on 15 June 2013. Retrieved 22 December 2012.
  13. ^ "ITEC DAY 2012 CELEBRATION". The Embassy of India, Yerevan. Retrieved 22 December 2012.
  14. ^ "Aid from India, coming to a country near you". The Hindu. Retrieved 22 December 2012.
  15. ^ "Amid slowdown, India ramps up aid for neighbours". The Times of India. March 18, 2012. Archived from the original on May 9, 2013. Retrieved 22 December 2012.
  16. ^ "India's Foreign Aid Program". Retrieved 22 December 2012.
  17. ^ "Karzai keen on Indian expertise". The Hindu. January 22, 2002. Archived from the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved 22 December 2012.
  18. ^ "Govt clears Rs540 crore development aid for Afghanistan". DNA. November 8, 2012. Retrieved 22 December 2012.
  19. ^ "An Indian adventure in Africa". HT Mint. May 23, 2011. Retrieved 22 December 2012.
  20. ^ "More Nigerians to benefit from Indian fellowship". The Hindu Businessline. Retrieved 22 December 2012.
  21. ^ "India spends over $12m annually on ITEC". Ghana Chronicle. Archived from the original on 24 January 2013. Retrieved 22 December 2012.
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