Abstract: The rise in volume and diversity of India’s foreign assistance over the past decade is a little understood phenomenon. India is not a new donor, having provided its first development assistance in the late 1940s, shortly after its independence. Yet its development assistance remained small compared to traditional DAC donors until the turn of the century. Since then Indian foreign aid has risen significantly. Indian foreign aid today is comparable to that of smaller developed countries such as Austria. Moreover, the growth rate of Indian aid stands in notable contrast to the stagnant or even declining foreign assistance of most developed countries.
This paper will examine the historical underpinnings driving India’s approach to its development assistance program. It will also examine the evolution of its development assistance, and the recent changes in its volume, diversification of lending instruments, regional refocus, and increasing regional and global ambitions that drive its development assistance program. By examining these different aspects of India’s foreign aid program the paper will address the larger issue of whether changes in India’s development assistance program will lead to changes in the global development finance paradigm.
Post description
- Publication year: 2013
- Content type: Research Paper (Workshop)
- Form of cooperation: Comprehensive (Lines of credit, grants and loans, and technical assistance).
- Cooperation context: Multilateral
- Sector: Multisectoral
- Institution (publication): Institute for International Law and Justice (IILJ)
- Author (and co-authors): Rani Mullen
- Keywords: South-South cooperation; India’s development assistance; evolution and historical underpinnings of India’s development cooperation; instruments and administration of India’s development cooperation
- Link: http://www.iilj.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Mullen-Indias-development-assistance-2003.pdf