India, a developing and incredible country is known for its ancient monuments and unlimited natural resources. The rivers, mountains and vegetation and its exotic spices, make the country wonderful.

It covers an area of 3,287,263 square kilometre with its political capital as New Delhi and Mumbai formally known as Bombay the economic capital.

It is the second largest populated country in the world after China with a total population of 1.2 billion. India, a land of diverse culture and religion shows unity in diversity.

This country which has its roots deep in the past also has its long branches in the future and one needs to know more about India, especially in its recent developmental status on the globe and learn from it.

India’s economy has been ascending for the past two decades with drastic increase in foreign exchange reserves. Globally, India is recognised for its success in managerial and entrepreneurial talents as well as technological competence.

The country has really contributed immensely in various disciplines to make the advanced countries what they are today. Yet, India is termed a developing country. In my opinion, this is due to the population density but I hope with good policies in place, India will become a developed nation by 2020.

The face of India's undying commitment to South-South co-operation, the Indian Technical and Economic Co-operation (ITEC) programme and its corollary SCAAP has disseminated expertise and the country's developmental experience acquired over six decades of existence as a free nation to generations of students from 156 countries in Asia, East Europe, Central Asia, Africa and Latin America.

Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation, popularly known as "ITEC", was launched in 1964 as a bilateral programme of assistance of the Indian Government. The ITEC programme, including its corollary SCAAP (Special Commonwealth Assistance for Africa Programme), has expanded to include some 220 courses ranging from Journalism, IT, Rural Electrification, Textile Designing to Commerce and Science.

Most of these courses that students pursue under the ITEC/SCAAP programme are of short-duration lasting between three and 12 weeks.

The rationale behind imparting technical training to young men and women from developing countries is based on India's strengths and expertise in different sectors of the knowledge economy.

India is not a rich country and cannot offer grants-in-aid to match those of the developed countries. It does, however, possess skills of manpower and technology more appropriate to the geographical and ecological conditions and the stage of technological development of several developing countries and empowering them with life-sustaining skills.

The ITEC programme also gives students from different countries a taste of multiculturalism and pluralistic secular ethos of India.
Each year, India spends about Rs.500 million ($10.8 million) on ITEC activities and over 35,000 candidates from across the globe have been trained since its inception.

Since 1964, India has provided nearly $2.5 billion worth of technical assistance to developing countries, including neighbouring countries (assistance to whom is administered separately).

Last year, 80 Ghanaians were given the chance to participate in the ITEC/SCAAP and over the years, the number of slots for Ghana and other eligible countries have increased .

Participants are given well-furnished, well-equipped, air-conditioned residential facilities as well as a monthly allowance of Rs. 10,000 which is about $250. Participants are also provided with economy class tickets from the Indian Mission of their respective countries.

India has a rich cultural heritage and the ITEC/SCAAP participants have the opportunity to visit the world’s renowned monuments and heritage structures in the cities of Delhi, Agra and Jaipur.

In Delhi, the participants normally visit monuments like the Red Fort, India Gate, Lotus Temple, Humayun’s Tomb, Akshardham Temple, Qutab Minar and the Raj Ghat.

In Agra, the participants get to see the glorious Taj Mahal, Sikandra and Agra Fort. The Pink City of Jaipur houses monuments and architectural wonders such as Hawa Mahal, Amber Fort, Jantar Mantar, Maharaja Palace, Birla Mandir and Albert Hall.

Today, Afro-Asian Rural Reconstruction Organisation (AARRO) and the G-15 are being helped by ITEC with training and project support and a small beginning has also been made with cooperation with the SADC (Southern African Development Community).

Project assistance like training accounts for 40 per cent of the annual ITEC budget. India has financed an entire range of infrastructure-related projects across Asia, Africa and Latin America and in recent years in the Central Asian Republics (CARs).

Thanks to ITEC, Cuba and Costa Rica have got solar energy plants. Other key projects executed under the ITEC programme included computerisation of the office of the Prime Minister of Senegal, assistance in the transformation of the educational system of South Africa and fitting of artificial limbs in Cambodia and Uzbekistan

Agriculture, however, remains a major focus of ITEC's project assistance. The programme has provided Ghana, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Mali and Surinam with equipment and expertise for agricultural use and generated tremendous goodwill among African countries.

Vocational training in small-scale industry and entrepreneurship development are important areas of co-operation with Senegal, Zimbabwe, Vietnam and Mongolia under ITEC. Such training enables young people to gain useful employment at comparatively low levels of capital intensity.

It is not just students from foreign countries that have benefited from ITEC programmes, but several public sector undertaking have acquired a distinctive niche in developing countries, especially in Africa.

The National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC), Hindustan Machine Tools International Limited HMT (I), Water and Power Consultancy Services Limited (WAPCOS), Rail India Technical & Economic Services (RITES) and Central Economic Limited (CEL) have capitalised on their ITEC association and are now bidding for development projects in these countries on their own.

The ITEC division of the External Affairs Ministry also takes up feasibility studies and consultancy services on request. Results of these studies are handed over to the governments concerned, who are at liberty to use them in the manner they like.

Not surprisingly, the ITEC programme that encompasses an eclectic range of activities ranging from building and manning of a hospital in Afghanistan, restoration of the Angkor Vat temple in Cambodia, to sharing experience in dry-farming technique with Iraq and teaching Vietnamese students to converse in English, has created huge reservoirs of goodwill the world over.

Networking and bonding is incredible among students. Many of them have tears in their eyes when the course ends and most of them retain their bonds forged during this short programme.

With India emerging as a potential global power, its knowledge economy that is epitomised in the ITEC programme will shine as an example of the country's ethos of creating a more equitable world based on a transfer of technology and skills from the powerful to those who are still struggling to find their voice.


Source: Daily Graphic