Safe drinking water and toilets keep more girls in school. Picture: DFID
Country programme update - 9 November 2012
No new British financial aid grants will be made to India with immediate effect, International Development Secretary Justine Greening announced on 9 November 2012. The UK's programme in India will be restructured and financial aid ended responsibly, so programmes already underway will be completed by the end of 2015 as planned.
India is a key strategic partner to the UK and the largest democracy in the Commonwealth. India is growing fast and is making good progress on tackling poverty. However, India is still home to one-third of the world's people living below $1.25 (80 pence) a day and the average income is one third of China's.
Eight states in India are home to 65% of India's poor: a quarter of them located in DFID's three focus states (Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa). More than half of the young children in Madhya Pradesh are undernourished; and only one in four people in Bihar has access to a toilet.
Poverty reduction in these states remains critical to global success in meeting the Millennium Development Goals. Inclusive growth and development is a top priority for the government of India and we are working in partnership to build on their own poverty reduction schemes.
We have overhauled the programme to reflect India's rising resources, and to ensure that it represents good value for money for the British taxpayer. As India's economy grows, poverty reduces and India becomes more prominent in world affairs, our development partnership with India will become about sharing expertise, supporting innovation and building skills. Until 2015 our top priorities are as follows.
Top priorities
- Focus on the poorest people in India's low income states: UK assistance is benefiting the poorest people in three poor states - Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Orissa - reinforcing the deep, productive partnerships we have built over the last decade
- Put women and girls at the heart of our work: the UK is investing in girls' education; access to finance, skills and low carbon energy; safe birth, children by choice and reducing violence against women; children's health and nutrition; and sanitation
- Expand the private sector's potential to combat poverty: to support growth in the low income states the UK is developing programmes of pro-poor private investment to deliver jobs, products, infrastructure and basic services
- Deepen our engagement with India on global issues where there may be benefits for poor people elsewhere: such as growth and trade, climate change, resource scarcity and health and disease control