EVALUATION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION’S SUPPORT TO THE REPUBLIC OF INDIA COUNTRY LEVEL EVALUATION Final Report Volume 2 - Annexes August 2007 Evaluation for the European Commission 1 Volume 2 – Final Report Country Level Evaluation India This evaluation is commissioned by: The Evaluation Unit common to: EuropeAid Co-operation Office, Directorate General for Development and External Relations Directorate-General This evaluation was carried out by: EGEval II EEIG The evaluation is managed by the evaluation unit who also chaired the reference group composed by members of the services. The opinions expressed in this document represent the authors’ points of view, which are not necessarily shared by the European Commission. Any enquiries about this evaluation should be addressed to: European Commission/ EuropeAid/ Evaluation Unit Rue de la Loi, 41, Office: 03/83, B-1000 Brussels, Belgium, Email: [email protected] Full reports can be obtained from the evaluation unit website: HTTP://EC.EUROPA.EU/EUROPEAID/EVALUATION/EVAL_REPORTS/COUNTRY_REG 2 Volume 2 – Final Report Country Level Evaluation India ANNEX 1 – Terms of Reference ..................... 1 ANNEX 2: List of Persons met...................... 14 ANNEX 3 Selected Social and Economic Indicators ........................................................ 21 ANNEX 4: EVALUATION QUESTIONS, CRITERIA, INDICATORS AND FINDINGS............ 22 ANNEX 5: List of Documents Consulted.... 126 ANNEX 6: Intervention Logic Diagrams .... 133 3 Volume 2 – Final Report Country Level Evaluation India ANNEX 1 – Terms of Reference EUROPEAN COMMISSION Evaluation of the Commission’s support to INDIA Country Level Evaluation MODEL OF TERMS OF REFERENCE o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o 1 Volume 2 – Final Report Country Level Evaluation India MANDATE Systematic and timely evaluation of its expenditure programmes has been defined as a priority of the European Commission (EC), as a means of accounting for the management of the allocated funds and of promoting a lesson-learning culture throughout the organisation. Of great importance also, particularly in the context of the programmes of the so-called Relex Family of Directorates-General1, is the increased focus on impact against a background of greater concentration of external cooperation and increasing emphasis on result-oriented approaches. The present evaluation on the European Commission’s support to the Republic of India (India) is part of the 2005 evaluation programme as approved by External Relations Commissioners. BACKGROUND The relationship between the European Union as a bloc and the Republic of India took root in their present form in 1963, when India was amongst the first developing countries to establish diplomatic relations with the then six-nation European Economic Community (following the European Community and, since 1992, the European Union). Since then, India and the EU have developed a close relationship that covers key areas such as political relations, trade and investment, economic and development cooperation and cultural exchanges. Important examples have been: in 1981 the signature signed of a five years commercial and economic cooperation between India and the EEC, the setting up of a Delegation of the European Commission at New Delhi in 1983, the launching of European Community Investment Partners (ECIP) in 1991 providing financing facility to promote EU-India Joint ventures among SMEs (small and medium enterprises) and in 1993 the EU support to a major sectoral programme in education (district primary education programme DPEP) with a funding of EUR 150 million. The 1994 co-operation agreement between the EC and the Republic of India on partnership and development provides for respect of human rights and democratic principles as the basis for EC-India co-operation. It also calls for mutually agreed priorities in pursuing project and programme efficiency, sustainability and respect for the environment. The agreement also puts considerable emphasis on economic co- operation “of the widest possible scope in order to contribute to the expansion of their respective economies and their developmental needs”. The institutional basis for EU- India political dialogue is a Joint political statement signed simultaneously with the Co-operation Agreement. The Commission Communication for an "EU-India Enhanced Partnership" of June 1996 sets the stage for a comprehensive relationship between equal partners and emphasises the need for greater mutual understanding with special focus on supporting the civil society dialogue. It advocates for pursuit of equilibrium between economic growth, social progress and environmental conservation. In November 2000, the Council and the Commission endorsed a Development Policy Declaration2that provides overall orientations for all future co-operation actions. 1 Directorates General of External Relations, (RELEX), Development (DEV), Enlargement (ELARG), Trade (TRADE) and the EuropeAid Co-operation Office (AIDCO). 2 Council document 13458/00 2 Volume 2 – Final Report Country Level Evaluation India EC co-operation aims at underpinning and catalysing Government’s efforts to improve India’s human development and the performance of the Indian economy to the benefit of all citizens. The EC co-operation strategy will take into account (1) discrepancies between the economically vibrant south and west and the less dynamic areas in the north, centre and east, (2) gender imbalance in terms of income, education and health indicators, (3) the continued population pressure severest in the poor regions, and (4) the rapid political and institutional transformation that the Indian Union is undergoing The EU-India summit held in Lisbon and New Delhi in June 2000 and November 2001 respectively, have set out concrete action plans for the major policy areas of the EU- India relationship, including development co-operation and the broadening of our economic cooperation in a number of key areas such as transport, energy, IT, environment, science and technology and trade and investment development. Within this framework in the particular case of India the CSP3 , which covers the period from 2002 to 2006, is build on the experience of two decades of successful co-operation and adapt its interventions to the changing political and economic landscape in India. It will assist India to build its "human capital" by dedicating its resources to a) making elementary education universal b) improving health services in favour of the hitherto deprived population groups c) restoring and safeguarding a healthy environment The EC will work with the Indian authorities to create an enabling economic environment. It will share its expertise, including in science and technology, to help India unlock the full potential of its economy, induce better returns on its vast economic assets through regulatory reform, privatisation and fiscal reform. It will also seek to facilitate the exchange of talented students, scholars and the collaboration of scientists from both sides. The central cross-cutting themes for the EC’s co-operation strategy will comprise improved governance, the devolution of decision making and management and the participation of stakeholders, in particular women and segments of the population traditionally disadvantaged in articulating their interests. The EC will assist communities at risk to be better prepared for natural disasters. As political decentralisation in India is increasingly shifting the dynamics for change from the Centre to individual State governments, the EC will in the years to come invest resources in a "Partnership for Progress" with initially one Indian State that is committed to reducing poverty by pursuing a social and economic reform agenda. In the pursuit of these objectives the EC will continue to work closely with and through Non Governmental Organisations, the Indian civil society and private sector. It is 3 Country Strategy Paper for India http://europa.eu.int/comm/external_relations/india/csp/index.htm 3 Volume 2 – Final Report Country Level Evaluation India expected € 225 Mio for the forthcoming five year period for EC development and economic co-operation. The Commission Communication of 16 June 2004 was another milestone, as it sets out concrete proposals to up-grade the relationship to a Strategic Partnership. Council in its Conclusions of 11 October 2004 endorsed the Commission’s approach India is the world’s largest democracy, ethnically and linguistically the most diverse nation state and, next to China, the only other population billionaire. India has made enormous strides since it achieved independence more than 50 years ago: Literacy, health and life expectancy have substantially improved, and poverty that once afflicted a majority of its citizens has been reduced dramatically. India has developed the world’s fourth largest economy with a growth rate that since 1980 ranks amongst the highest in the world, and a rapidly expanding global imprint in information technology. At the same time the challenges India faces are becoming more complex and urgent as the global village raises expectations and as people are demanding their fair share in improving their economic and social fortunes. India’s overriding challenge for the first decade of the new millennium is to lift between two to three hundred million of its citizens out of poverty. All of India’s co-operation partners, including the EC, subscribe to this objective and are seeking to mobilise their particular