India

In June 2009, the Norwegian government adopted a new India strategy where political dialogue, private sector cooperation, climate change and environment as well as civil society development, higher education and culture are the main areas of cooperation. From the Norwegian side, the focus is on finding ways of linking development projects to the political dialogue. Norway and India also share an interest in promoting a stable and democratic Afghanistan.

Norway's bilateral relations with India date back to the middle of the last century. The Aid Fund for Underdeveloped countries, also known as the India Fund, was established by the Norwegian Parliament in 1952 and NOK 10 million was allocated to the fund. Norway's direct involvement began with the Kerala fishery project in India. Norwegian bilateral cooperation soon spread to include other countries in South Asia, and in 1962 it expanded to East Africa.

Today the gap between the rich and poor in India continues to grow. According to a government report, the 36 richest people in India owned a total of NOK 1146 billion in 2005. In comparison, a number of India's working people live on less than NOK 3 a day. In poor families there is a fragile balance between survival and tragedy. If people living under such difficult conditions are stricken by disease or lose their job, their small margin of survival may quickly disappear. Norway's focus is therefore very much on maternal health and the fight against child mortality.

Health

In 2006, the Norwegian–Indian partnership initiative (NIPI) was launched by the Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg and Indian Prime Minster Dr. Manmohan Singh. The initiative was described as new and innovative, and very different from traditional development cooperation. The goals were ambitious. Half a million children under the age of five were to be saved every year from 2009 onwards, the vaccination rate of 80 per cent was to be maintained or increased from 2007, the health sector was to be improved, and well-functioning procedures in the fight against child mortality were to be developed.

This is NIPI:

• Acronym for Norwegian–Indian Partnership Initiative.
• Up to 2015, Norway will contribute NOK 500 million to this programme, aiming to provide catalytic and strategic support and assistance to the implementation of India's National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), particularly focusing on women and children.
• The five NIPI states, which are Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Orissa, have a total of 500 million inhabitants.
• In these areas 1.4 million children die every year as a consequence of diseases that could have been treated.

Half way through the project period, however, the initiative was criticized in a review conducted by a group of Norwegian and Indian researchers in cooperation with the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad). The review concludes, among other things, that the project is too ambitious.

Women's revolution

It is called the biggest social experiment in the world – and a women's revolution. Indian law stipulates that 50 per cent of the representatives in municipal councils, so-called panchayatas, has to be women. During 2010, 1.5 million Indian women participated in decision-making processes in political bodies.

Together with the UN organisation UNIFEM (now UN Women), Norway is supporting various measures implemented through a project aiming to promote women's participation in political bodies throughout South Asia. The total Norwegian allocation to the project is NOK 60 million over a three-year period. The goal is to build up the competence of elected female representatives, and to build regional centres for the training of South Asian women.

The Indian part of the project is organized in cooperation with The Hunger Project and The National Institute for Rural Development (NIRD). Women receive training in legal matters and rights issues, and establish women networks to support each other. The plan is to extend the project to elected female representatives in Bhutan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan after an initial phase in India.

Environmental dialogue

The establishment of a centre for biodiversity policy and law in Chennai in India is a good example of a positive outcome from the environmental dialogue between India and Norway. Important tasks for the new centre will be to provide advice and training to the Indian public officials in their work of protecting biodiversity. The aim is to build up expertise on policy and law making in this field. The work will focus on the targets in the UN Convention on Biological Diversity. From the Norwegian side, the Norwegian Directorate for Nature Management and the Fridtjof Nansen Institute will participate in this specialist collaboration.

Renewable energy

An extensive Indo-Norwegian cooperation has been established in the field of solar energy. Scatec Solar is now implementing the "Public Private People Partnership" initiative, mainly financed by Norad and the Indian Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE). The project utilizes solar energy to provide electricity to 30 villages in four Indian states.

Media

During 2010 the Norwegian Embassy in Delhi worked to increase cooperation with Indian media in order to promote Norwegian views and interests. This has produced positive results in the form of press coverage and contact with journalists.

Fisheries agreement

Norway and India have entered into an agreement on cooperation in the areas of fisheries and aquaculture. This agreement provides the institutional framework conditions for cooperation between Norway and India in the field of aquaculture. India is one of the world's ten largest producers of seafood, and half of its production takes place through farming.

Culture

Strengthening the cultural cooperation with India is a priority for Norway. A main objective is to strengthen the long-term institutional cooperation. An annual Ibsen Festival and cooperation in the field of music and modern art constitute the priority areas in this cultural cooperation.