The Republic of India
Position for the Committee of African Development Bank
I. Furthering Private Sector Development For Economic Growth
The Republic of India views the African continent as one of the fastest growing areas in the world. We also see the need of financial investment in order to be the spark that will ignite the economic development and expansion across the continent is necessary to maintain economic growth. Colonialism and the meddling of superpowers has pinned down the African continent from reaching its true potential at the global economic level. It is then the right of this committee to unite together and formulate solutions to the economic problems facing the continent.
The African continent and the Republic of India have seen a huge expansion in relations with the arrival of the 21st century. Historically, large populations of Indians have lived in East and Southern Africa and likewise in India, which has shaped the relationship between these states and India. Business and investment have been the driving factor in connections between the Republic of India and the Africa. 2006 saw the first large scale African Investment by the Indian government with the 125 million dollar Pan-African E network which provided the African continent’s largest telecommunication network for the fields of medicine and education. Allowing Indian doctors to teach African med school students via fiber cables and satellites. In 2008, a platform for the relationship between the African Union and the Republic of India, the India-Africa Forum Summit (IAFS). The IAFS is held every three years and is held between Indian leaders and heads of state of African member states selected by the African Union. At the second summit in 2011, the Republic of India under Prime Minister Manmohan Singh pledged over 600 million in future investments in education facilities and training programs across the continent. Also included was the extension of over 5 billion in credit for African member states to borrow. As of 2015, India became the 4th largest trading partner with Africa, a relationship that has grown with the globalized economy. The Republic of India has invested over 60 million dollars into projects across Africa especially in Botswana, Ghana, Burundi and Uganda.
The Republic of India urges the African Development Bank (ADB) to push Public and Private Partnerships (PPP) through the investment and expansion of infrastructure to further economic growth. Creating a continent wide infrastructure investment bank that will allow both African and International member states, individuals and businesses to invest in projects across the continent. Through the ADB, and the African Union funds will be distributed to African Member States on a need basis. Partnerships between public and private institutions that focus construction and engineering will work together within member states who receive aid. Giving the necessary capital to spark investment by the private sector in order to advance and update the public sector. Creating a modern infrastructure network that will be able to compete with that of Europe and Asia. The Republic of India will include within these projects a central database through the Pan-African E network, which will provide education opportunities to African citizens in the fields necessary to build and maintain infrastructure. The overall long term goal is to lay the foundation for the growth of private sector development through infrastructure improvement. Improved infrastructure will provide the means for private sector businesses to open shop or expand due to the lowering of transportation costs or the ability to increase productivity. The investment in the slack left by the public sector, improving infrastructure, eliminates the hardest step towards the advancement of private sector development. The Republic of India wishes to work with BRICS and the Republic of Turkey as these outside member states currently have vested interests in the African continent. India would also like to see states on the continent join them in supporting this program especially Botswana and Uganda who currently hold a strong relationship with the Republic of India.
II. Enhancing Nutritional Programs to Improve Quality of Life
The Republic of India is home to a quarter of the world’s hungry and malnourished population, and has consistently ranked very low on the Global Hunger Index. Decreasing hunger within our own borders and other Member States is a priority for India. It is crucial that we build a future where everyone on the planet always has enough to eat, and to do so we need to open and expand our thinking on what can be done. India believes that all Member States need to adopt the common goals of agricultural growth and decreasing childhood malnutrition. When coming up with solutions, India has been adamant in the belief that law can be a start to the process, but the world needs a lot more than law to combat hunger. We need joint cooperation, and every Member State needs to be dedicated to ensuring the success of nutritional programs worldwide.
India has supported the United Nations Zero Hunger Challenge, and we avidly support the Sustainable Development goals. Most of our work has included creating programs that have allowed us to move away from being dependent on food aid. From 1950 to 2015, we were able to increase grain production from 50 million tons to 250 million tons each year. India became a leading global producer of livestock, cereals, cotton and sugarcane. In 2016, India also launched many government programmes aimed at doubling the income of farmers by 2022. The programs seek to increase agricultural productivity, especially in rain-fed areas. These programs include the National Food Security Mission and the development of a massive irrigation system. Alongside work to improve agricultural productivity, India has taken many steps to combat malnutrition. India introduced the Mid Day Meal Scheme in 1995 which provides meals for students every day at school. The recipients are mostly children in slum and rural areas, and the meals they receive are customized based on regional and local taste and government provisions. All mid day meals are at least 300 calories and are packed with fibers, vitamins, and nutrients. India also implemented a program to provide rations of food to pregnant and breastfeeding mothers in order to solve the problem of malnourished babies and the exclusion of women from programs aimed at increasing access to food. There are also many programs operating in India that subsidize meals for those below the poverty line through a public distribution system. Globally, there are still many women and girls that are unable to obtain food. India also has many problems with slowing agricultural growth, climate change, shrinking biodiversity, and large parts of the country becoming barren due to imbalanced or excessive fertilizer use, and we are greatly affected by the vast amounts wasted food each year. While India is still struggling with food insecurity, we believe that the programs enacted have been very beneficial. We would like to see similar programs in Africa. India’s relationship with Africa is based on a model of cooperation and is responsive to the needs of African countries. It is demand-driven and free of conditions. India has extended many lines of credit to Member States in Africa, and we are willing to extend more for the enactment of nutritional programs.
There are many problems that need to be solved to ensure access to food in Africa. India recommends that the African Development Bank (ADB) address the issue of excessive food waste as a first step. Around the world food is wasted from the time it is harvested or produced. India proposes that the ADB funds and oversees the expansion of the Robin Hood Army (RHA). RHA is a volunteer-based program already working within many Member States, and it has already had a great deal of success in India. The RHA is broken down into local chapters in various countries. Each chapter works with restaurants and food distributors to redistribute surplus food and any food that may expire soon to the less advantaged parts of the community. India would like to see the program expanded so that the RHA can work on a larger scale and redistribute the food that is likely to be wasted to African Member States. The program could salvage a lot of food by withdrawing it from the distribution network, aggregating it, and then redirecting it to those in need. Children and mothers being at the top of the list of who receives the allocated food. India proposes that while expanding the RHA, the app called No Food Waste which is also active in many underdeveloped areas is utilized. The app is designed to crowdsource data on hunger spots and take requests for donation of excess food. RHA local chapters in Africa could utilize the app to report information about food need, and manufacturers could use it to report excess food.