India is soon to publish a Bilateral Aid Policy and a Voluntary Sector Policy. Voluntary Action India (VANI) has been working to strengthen these policies. The articles below give more detail.
1. NGOs demand change in India's bilateral aid policy
New Delhi: An apex body of NGOs today complained that the Centre's "discouraging" bilateral aid policy was delaying development work by voluntary bodies in India and asked the government to "rework" existing rules.
The current bilateral aid policy makes it mandatory for foreign donors to seek approval from Department of Economic Affairs in the Finance ministry for projects they plan to fund through NGOs, the Voluntary Action Network India (VANI) said.
"The additional layers of scrutiny introduced by the DEA is unwarranted and leads to procedural delays in project implementation and even corruption," VANI chairperson Rajesh Tandon said.
The policy, introduced in 2003 and modified the following year, is also causing a decline in bilateral aid for India, he said at a consultative meet here.
According to Tandon, the policy does little to encourage aid provision from smaller bilateral agencies as opposed to the G-8 nations and the European Union.
Admitting that some procedural delays still remain, DEA Deputy Secretary Naga Raju, however, said that projects for NGOs registered under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act were cleared in an average period of 45 days.
"But we need to know from where the money is coming and for what purpose. In fact, the aid policy has brought in discipline among bilateral agencies," Raju said.
Planning Commission advisor Manjulika Gautam said the government needs to provide NGOs with an enabling environment while keeping the country's interests in mind.
A VANI spokesman said a Parliamentary Standing Committee had been set up on the bilateral aid issue and positive developments were expected soon.
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2. National policy on voluntary sector soon
NEW DELHI: The first-ever national policy on the voluntary sector is ready to be put before the cabinet for approval. Finalised by the Planning Commission with the help of experts and NGOs, the draft aims at creating an enabling environment for voluntary organisations and facilitating their partnership with the government.
Till now, the voluntary sector was governed by different sets of rules. Different ministries and states had their own guidelines.
Syeda Hamid, member, Planning Commission, says, "Currently, there is a lot of adhocism. So there is an urgent need to identify systems by which the government could work with these organisations based on mutual trust and respect and with shared responsibility.
The government wants to encourage the voluntary sector to come forward as there's wide scope for collaboration between states and NGOs in many areas. We expect all states to follow suit once the policy is executed."
The policy, she says, will encourage the voluntary sector to improve governance, accountability and transparency. "There are always complaints of misutilisation and lack of accountability in using funds, lack of cooperation and constraints in mobilising resources."
The Planning Commission took the initiative in drafting the policy in February 2005. It was a lengthy process arrived at after much dialogue. While there are about six lakh registered voluntary organisations, there are an equal number of unregistered ones. These survive on local charity.
Once the policy is formulated, they will be encouraged to come forward and register themselves. Pooran Chandra Pandey, chief executive, Voluntary Action Network India, says, "A policy will help growing need for collaboration between various agencies and the government."
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3. NGOs for change in bilateral aid policy
The Hindu 12 July 2006
Source
This Working Paper has its origin in the ODI project 'Southern Voices for Change in the International Aid System'. The original draft served as the basis for discussion at a workshop organised by ODI in November 2005, with collaborators from Africa, Asia and Latin America, as well as representatives from the donor community and from Northern-based NGOs. Drawing on comments made by Southern CSO representatives involved in the project, the paper aims to provide an analysis of the forces shaping the structure and operations of the international aid system. It examines current (mostly Northern) perceptions of problems inherent in and reforms necessary to the aid architecture, and explores Southern responses to this, focusing particularly on views and proposals from civil society organisations (CSOs) based in the South.
Read the full paper
IFI Watch Bangladesh, Vol.- I, No.- I, 4 September 2004
This paper (PDF) explores the origins and implications of an unprecedented move in a Cabinet approved a draft bill to provide blanket immunity to the World Bank in Bangladesh on 4 July 2004 by seeking an amendment to the International Financial Organisations Order 1972. The paper raises questions accountability and democracy stemming from this decision.
IFI Watch Bangladesh, Bangladesh Working Group on IFIs and Trade Organisations Vol. 2, No. 1, January 24, 2005
At a time when campaigners, including some parliamentarians worldwide are pushing for an increase in the accountability of IFIs, and efforts are being made to strengthen the democratic system the world over, particularly in developing countries to increase access to justice by the people, the proposed Bill tol give blanket immunity to the World Bank (WB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF)in Bangladesh is a body blow to the systematic labours that everyone is putting in. This paper examines the details of the proposal and its implications.
Louise Hilditch. Gerrishon K. Ikiara, Moses M. Ikiara, Walter Odhiambo, Rashed Al Mahmud Titumir and Raquel Souza, ActionAid Alliance, October 2003
This policy brief (PDF) attempts to gauge the impact of EU policies on the people and economies of Bangladesh, Brazil and Kenya. The brief focuses to what extent the EC's development themselves form a coherent approach and contains in-depth country studies examining EU policies and their impact on poor people in developing countries.
Poverty Reduction and PRSP Process in Bangladesh: Rethinking the Development Agenda Paper presented at the Seminar on Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers, organised by ActionAid Pakistan Islamabad, Pakistan, November 5-6, 2003
This paper is a critical analysis of the Bangladesh IPRSP. The way poverty is conceptualized has major policy implications. Poverty originates in injustice rather than the poverty of resources, and thus the moving force, the focus and the intention of these development procedures must be clearly pointing to further social justice. This does not mean that poverty reduction/ alleviation as such should be erased from the Bangladesh's policy agenda. It means re-dimensioning this aim and dealing with it as a short and medium term measure while at the same time tackling more structural, strategical and long term issues. Focusing on social justice implies focusing on the redistribution of power within Bangladesh's society and in the world as a whole, and that should be the focus of the PRSP and the process should enable all stakeholders to participate spontaneously in articulating their perceptions and experiences in living in poverty.
Guiding Principles for key stakeholders in post-tsunami rebuild
Dr. P. Wignaraja, Chairman, South Asian Perspectives Network Association (SAPNA), Sri Lanka, 2005
This paper is related to the 'Donor Guidelines for the North-East of Sri Lanka post-Tsunami' that were drafted in collaboration with SAPNA.
The South Asian Perspectives Network Association (SAPNA) is an independent innovative action research, policy dialogue and capacity building catalytic network, composed of a critical mass of
South Asians committed to renewing this vision and to investigating South Asian Governance and Development problems from a South Asian perspective. SAPNA's actions are rooted in pluralistic South Asian values, culture and the holistic civilisational rhythm and are based on the micro macro lessons from the ground. The strength of SAPNA also lies in the fact that its Network Members carry out their own programmes, which are based on similar fundamentals and values, thus contributing to an emerging South Asian School of Thought on Governance and Development.
