India is among 18 countries taking the lead in evolving the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF). It has been developed as a framework for assistance to Government of India’s development programmes. It is intended to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of UN operations by bringing about greater synergy in action. The development of the UNDAF has also set in motion a process of further strengthening UN collaboration in India by forging critical partnerships and promoting collective action.

An inter-agency UN Task Force was established in December 1997. The Planning Commission, Government of India, was designated early on in the process as the Government’s lead partner for the UNDAF.

Nine UN Inter-Agency Working Groups covering different thematic areas, already in existence, were invited to provide inputs for a Common Country Assessment. This was supplemented by a series of periodic consultations and discussions with development partners including representatives from government, NGOs, bilateral agencies, the private sector, civil society organisations, media, political parties, researchers and activists.

The Common Country Assessment highlighted the many achievements as well as the challenges that India faces. From a human development perspective, there is still much that needs to be done to end human deprivation in a number of areas including health, basic education, environment, food and nutritional security, and child survival.

The overarching goals of the UN system in India are to (1) work towards the elimination of human poverty and inequalities, and (2) promote sustainable human development. Both these goals are consistent with the priorities spelt out in the country’s Ninth Five-Year Plan (1997-2002), and with India’s global commitments.

The empowerment of women is one of the principal objectives of India’s Ninth Five Year Plan. The framework of empowerment that UNDAF in India seeks to establish is one that emphasizes the importance of enhancing women’s capabilities, correcting gender imbalances especially in health, nutrition, and education, and promoting wider participation of women in economic and political decision making processes. The UN system with its wide spectrum of mandates offers a multilevel and multidimensional approach to initiatives towards the empowerment of women.

The 73^rd and 74^th Constitutional Amendments enacted in 1992 have created an enabling framework for decentralisation. It has since become mandatory to hold local government elections every five years. One-third of all seats are reserved for women. As a result, elected representatives are becoming increasingly responsible for local governance and implementation of development programmes. Supporting the processes of decentralisation and improving the decision-making capabilities of locally elected representatives, therefore, become critical. It also becomes necessary for the UN system to find new and effective ways of addressing development challenges at local levels.

Regular inter-agency interactions under the UNDAF process have led to a further streamlining and strengthening of on-going collaboration. There are several examples of inter-agency collaboration particularly in the field of basic education, water and sanitation, HIV/AIDS, and child labour. Strengthened collaboration among UN organisations was also reflected in the functioning of the Disaster Management Team to work in the cyclone-hit state of Orissa. The UNDAF process has also led to the formation of a new Inter-Agency Working Group to develop a common database for information sharing and for tracking follow-up to World Conferences.

The UNDAF process is also promoting new partnerships with bilateral agencies and civil society organisations. For instance, the UN Inter Agency Campaign for the Elimination of Gender Based Violence saw the coming together of a wide cross-section of civil society to advocate public action to end violence against women and children.