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India
SNAPSHOT
Date of independence: 1947
Capital: New Delhi
Population: 1.1 billion (2006)
income per person: $820 (YR)
Source: World Bank Development Indicators 2007
USAID IN INDIA www.usaid.gov/in
CONTACTS
Mission Director
George Deikun
USAID/New Delhi
Department of State
Washington, DC 20521-9000
Tel: 91-11-2419-8000
India Desk Officer
Renee Howell
Tel: (202) 712-5919
Email: rhowell@usaid.gov
Children during an interactive radio instruction lesson at a government school in Banjarapalya, Karnataka. The interactive radio instruction program is one of several interventions made for the improvement of primary education through USAID's Technology Tools for Teaching and Training Project. The lesson that the children are learning is called "Continents and Oceans." (Photo: Anita Khemka) Overview
India has the potential to be a catalyst for economic growth and development in an unstable region. As the world's largest democracy, it is also a key U.S. ally in the war on terrorism. More than 50 years of U.S. assistance have helped India make tremendous gains. Working with the government, the private sector, and other donors, USAID leverages approximately five dollars for every dollar of development assistance. However, poverty, rapid population growth, pockets of weak governance, and poor health systems and indicators continue to pose serious challenges for India. The United States and India are committed to working in partnership to reach India’s development goal of halving poverty by 2015.
Programs
Investing In People
Ensuring the good health of over 1 billion people is an enormous challenge for India. USAID has made considerable contributions to reducing the transmission and impact of HIV/AIDS, unintended pregnancies, and child mortality. An intensive effort to further improve nutrition and health care for women and children, including newborns, is now underway. In the state of Uttar Pradesh, which has a population of 180 million, the use of contraception has increased from 27 percent in 1992–1993 to 44 percent in 2005–2006. In Tamil Nadu, an Indian state as populous as Thailand, the HIV prevalence rate was reduced from 1.13 percent in 2001 to 0.5 percent in 2005. In Muslim communities with persistent polio, USAID works with faith-based organizations to battle misconceptions about the polio vaccine, creating community support and ensuring that children are immunized.
Indians need better access to clean energy and water. Power is unreliable, and financial losses in utilities are high. Water and sanitation systems, especially in cities, are overstressed—raising health risks and increasing the domestic burden on women and girls. USAID works to increase viability in the power sector to meet consumer needs, conserve energy and water resources, and promote clean technologies and renewable energy. Programs work with cities and farmers to demonstrate the link between dependable electricity supply and water conservation. By leveraging private funds along with government and improving water and sanitation services for over 18 million people by the end of 2008.
Literacy is still low among Indian women, and an estimated 7 to 8 million youth are out of school. Abuse, violence, and discrimination are part of everyday life for many of India's poor and most marginalized. USAID's education program works with Indian nongovernmental organizations, state governments, and private corporations to reach these vulnerable groups. Projects focus on improving the quality and relevance of education through the use of education technology. USAID also supports activities that keep girls in school, improve the legal rights of women, address the problem of female feticide, and combat human trafficking. Partnerships with the private sector provide disadvantaged youth with the skills they need to participate in India’s growing economy.
Economic Growth: Strengthening Institutions
While India is emerging as a vibrant trillion dollar economy, it still has the world's largest concentration of people in poverty—more than 700 million live on less than $2 a day. To promote sustained and inclusive growth, USAID supports agricultural reform and links small-scale farmers to new markets; strengthens financial institutions; helps state governments improve fiscal decision-making; and generates financing for urban services. USAID also supports India’s development of micro-insurance and micro-finance institutions to address the finance needs of its largest segment of the population, the poor.
Humanitarian Aid: Reducing Disaster Risk
Floods, droughts, landslides, and cyclones occur regularly in India, and the earthquake risk is extremely high. USAID collaborates with the Indian government and local communities to improve their capacity in disaster risk reduction to save lives and minimize threats from large-scale financial, infrastructure, crop, and productivity losses. Training of Indian disaster management professionals in the Incident Command System is helping states better prepare for and respond to floods and other natural disasters. USAID is providing scientists and engineers with state-of-the-art tools for better early warning. Retrofitting government buildings in Delhi to withstand earthquakes, coupled with training in earthquake preparedness, is helping to ensure that critical lifeline buildings and staff will be able to function in the event of a natural disaster.
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