Development Co‑operation Profiles: India
Table of contents
Development co-operation is an important component of India’s foreign policy. Guided by the principle of “Prosperity through Cooperation”, India’s approach to development co-operation aims to deepen its grassroots engagement and promote a member-driven economic model grounded in shared responsibility. India’s development co-operation uses multiple instruments, including grants, lines of credit, capacity building and technical assistance. India’s own national development is co-ordinated by the Ministry of Cooperation. The Ministry of External Affairs delivers external development co-operation, with a strong concentration on countries in the Global South.
This profile presents verified data on India’s development assistance allocation. See the Development Co‑operation Profiles.
India’s development co-operation policy is articulated through the Ministry of External Affairs’ Development Partnership Guidelines and operationalised by the Development Partnership Administration (DPA). Policy priorities emphasise demand-driven partnerships, capacity building and infrastructure development, primarily in South Asia and Africa and increasingly in Latin America and the Indo-Pacific. Bilateral engagement prioritises South Asia and Africa, including through follow-up to the India-Africa Forum Summit, but India is expanding its partnerships in the Indo-Pacific and Latin America.
Lines of credit (LoC), which are concessional loans offered to partner countries, are governed by the Indian Development and Economic Assistance Scheme of the Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance. Some of the major LoC projects which were completed in 2024 include a 20-megawatt hydroelectric project in Kabu in Burundi; the upgrade of water supply systems in Zimbabwe and the United Republic of Tanzania; a project to upgrade railway track in Sri Lanka and the supply of aircrafts to Guyana. A USD 700 million LoC to Mongolia was signed in January 2024 for financing of Package-IV of an oil refinery project. Another major LoC agreement worth USD 300 million was signed between India and Viet Nam on 31 July 2024.
At the multilateral level, India advocates for reform of development finance and stronger representation of the Global South. During its 2023 G20 Presidency, India advanced the inclusion of the African Union as a permanent member of the G20 and promoted initiatives such as Lifestyle for Environment, alongside joining the Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty as a founding member during the Rio G20 Summit. India also deepened co-operation with the European Union covering the fields of trade and investment, emerging technologies, innovation, green transition, security, and migration and mobility.
During an India-EU Summit held in January 2026, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on a Comprehensive Framework of Cooperation on Mobility between India and the European Union was signed. The MoU seeks to ensure safe and regulated migration pathways by facilitating structured legal mobility for highly skilled workers, students, researchers and seasonal workers; streamlining visa and immigration procedures; promoting fair and transparent recruitment; enabling long-stay visas and residence permits, including post-study and post-research stay for employment or entrepreneurship; strengthening co-operation on skills development and recognition of qualifications; enhancing information exchange on labour market needs; and reinforcing joint action against irregular migration, including co-operation on return and readmission.
The MoU outlines clear and legal pathways for migration, aiming to harness India’s demographic dividend by facilitating the mobility of students, academics and professionals. In addition to existing national visa provisions, it includes India-specific arrangements such as youth mobility schemes, extended post-study work opportunities, longer duration business visas and intra-corporate transfer visas. At the same time, it details procedures for bilateral co-operation in addressing irregular migration, including mechanisms for return, readmission, and measures to prevent misuse and irregularities, thereby promoting safe, orderly and regular migration.
Source: Ministry of External Affairs (2026), Question No. 2326 India-EU Co-operation Framework, https://www.mea.gov.in/rajya-sabha.htm?dtl/40882/question+no+2326+indiaeu+cooperation+framework.
The OECD estimates that India’s bilateral development co-operation reached USD 588 million1 in fiscal year 2024/2025, down from USD 708 million in fiscal year 2023/2024.
In 2022, the Indian think tank Research and Information System (RIS) estimated1 that India partnered with developing countries for a total budget of USD 7.66 billion. RIS also estimated that USD 788 million was extended as development assistance in 2022.2
India is expanding its triangular partnerships with OECD-DAC members, including the European Union, France, Germany, Japan and the United Kingdom. The expertise of Indian institutions and civil society organisations in areas such as agriculture, digitalisation, food security, women’s economic empowerment, health and technology is shared with partner countries in Africa and Asia. RIS India collects data on India’s triangular co‑operation initiatives. A joint RIS India-OECD publication highlights the importance of Indian civil society organisations in implementing this co-operation modality.
Learn more about triangular co-operation.
India’s international development co-operation is delivered primarily by the Ministry of External Affairs through the DPA, established in 2012. The DPA manages grant assistance, concessional LoC extended through the Export-Import Bank of India and technical co-operation programmes. The Ministry of Cooperation, established in 2021 under Act No. 2516, focuses primarily on strengthening India’s domestic co‑operation sector and does not manage external development assistance.
The DPA co-ordinates India’s bilateral development co‑operation in close collaboration with the Ministry of External Affairs’ regional divisions. It is structured in four divisions:
1. DPA-I deals with project appraisal for the Lines of Credit Programme and loans on concessional terms to developing countries under the Ministry of Finance’s Indian Development and Economic Assistance Scheme.
2. DPA-II focuses on technical co-operation. It manages the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation Programme and co-ordinates South-South co-operation with international development agencies.
3. DPA-III oversees grant assistance projects, particularly in India’s neighborhoods and extended neighborhoods, aligned with the “Neighborhood First” and “Act East” policies.
4. DPA-IV includes a humanitarian assistance and disaster relief procurement cell and manages cultural heritage restoration as part of India’s cultural diplomacy outreach.
The Ministry of Finance manages multilateral assistance and exercises administrative oversight for concessional loans and LoC provided by the EXIM Bank.
Access the full list of providers of development co-operation at this link: Development Co-operation Profiles.
Ministry of External Affairs (2024), Annual Report 2024, https://www.mea.gov.in/Images/CPV/140725MEAAnnualReport2024English.pdf.
Ministry of Cooperation (2023), Annual Report 2023-24, https://www.cooperation.gov.in/index.php/en/2023-2024.
Chawala, R. and Iyer, A. (2025), Foundations of Digital Public Infrastructure, Research and Information System for Developing Countries, https://ris.org.in/sites/default/files/Publication/DPI_Handbook.pdf.
India is an Adherent to the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness. Learn more about OECD legal instruments and DAC Recommendations.
Since 2007, India has been one of the OECD’s five Key Partners.
India participated in the DAC High Level Meeting in 2025.
The methodological notes provide further details on the definitions and statistical methodologies applied.
This work is published under the responsibility of the Secretary-General of the OECD. The opinions expressed and arguments employed herein do not necessarily reflect the official views of the Member countries of the OECD.
This document, as well as any data and map included herein, are without prejudice to the status of or sovereignty over any territory, to the delimitation of international frontiers and boundaries and to the name of any territory, city or area.
© OECD 2026
Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
This work is made available under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence. By using this work, you accept to be bound by the terms of this licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Attribution – you must cite the work.
Translations – you must cite the original work, identify changes to the original and add the following text: In the event of any discrepancy between the original work and the translation, only the text of original work should be considered valid.
Adaptations – you must cite the original work and add the following text: This is an adaptation of an original work by the OECD. The opinions expressed and arguments employed in this adaptation should not be reported as representing the official views of the OECD or of its Member countries.
Third-party material – the licence does not apply to third-party material in the work. If using such material, you are responsible for obtaining permission from the third party and for any claims of infringement.
You must not use the OECD logo, visual identity or cover image without express permission or suggest the OECD endorses your use of the work.
Any dispute arising under this licence shall be settled by arbitration in accordance with the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) Arbitration Rules 2012. The seat of arbitration shall be Paris (France). The number of arbitrators shall be one.
← 1. Estimates are based on the Ministry of External Affairs’ Annual Report 2024-2025 and are conservative. They cover solely bilateral support (excluding contributions to/through multilateral institutions). They are based on the Budget Estimates of the “Technical and Economic Cooperation (TEC)” budget line. The loan to Bhutan, indicated as concessional, has been included. The following elements were deducted from the total TEC (see Chapter 30 of the report): aid to Seychelles (not ODA eligible – 40 Rs Cr); the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation Programme (which partly funds training of military personnel that could not be isolated – 160.0 Rs Cr); the Scheme for Investment Promotion (considered as mostly for the promotion of India – 539.0 Rs Cr); and Quad Co-operation involving only non-ODA eligible countries (5.00 Rs Cr).
← 2. See p.10 in 75 Years of Development Partnership.