NGOs demand change in India's bilateral aid policy
An apex body of NGOs on Tuesday 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.
By PTI |
NEW DELHI: An apex body of NGOs on Tuesday 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.
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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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