Historically, India has been at the forefront of South-South development initiatives starting with the 1950 Colombo Plan, and later being a prominent player in the 1955 Bandung Conference, the Non-Alignment Movement in 1961, and the Group of 77’s formation in 1964. Their SSDC track record only grew when they became a founding member of IBSA and BRICS, asserting its alternative way to development since the mid-20th century.1
Unlike Western aid, India has emphasized its development cooperation to be mutually beneficial and not focusing simply on financial assistance or one-way relationships. With a collaborative mindset, India’s development programs focused on reducing poverty and increasing economic growth instead of mere debt relief. Specifically, the country has executed a “mission approach” strategy by identifying growth drivers for development and assisting partners to greater growth. By understanding a partner’s economic scenario, key sectors would be highlighted and a plan could be made on what resources to provide as equals.2
One major part of India’s development package is the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) Program, which mainly devotes itself to training, projects, and technical assistance to partner countries; this can range from governance studies to IT skills. A sister program called the Special Commonwealth Assistance Programme (SCAAP) covers only African countries. These two programs combined reach over 150 countries and ITEC itself has given $2 billion+ worth of technical assistance.1
However, a few challenges exist. India does not devote as much money towards assistance programs and has to compete with other donors. India also has to preserve its “goodwill” attitude towards assistance and ensure that commercial interests do not take over. Finally, there is an issue of detailed documentation that is required for India’s aid engagement and to allow for better policymaking.1
Footnotes
1. Tilak, J. (2013). South-South Cooperation: India’s programme of development assistance–nature, size and functioning. Asian Education and Development Studies, 3(1), 58-75.