India’s Transition to Global Donor: Limitations and Prospects

India has increasingly sought to expand its activities as a donor, both to reposition itself as an emerging power and to use aid as an instrument for engaging with other developing countries. This ARI looks at the current state of India’s donor programme as regards both its size and scope, identifies India’s role within the multilateral aid scenario and evaluates the challenges and prospects for further growth.

This paper analyses the evolution of India’s giving in recent years. However, rather than simply describing what India gives and to whom, it primarily looks at three related questions: (1) what are the main characteristics that distinguish India’s aid?; (2) as India grows into a global donor, how is it likely to view multilateral engagement?; and (3) against the backdrop of almost certain growth in giving in the future, what are the challenges and options ahead?