MEDIA RELEASE
Released By:
Downer
I am pleased to announce that Australia will expand its technical assistance
program with the Government of India, building on a very successful three-year
program of training and capacity building in India.
Through the Australian Government's overseas aid program, Australia will provide
a further $3 million, bringing the total value of the program to $15 million,
since it started in 1998.
This assistance will provide a range of training and capacity building initiatives
in the area of micro-finance, food distribution, health, education and the environment.
This will draw on Australia's considerable expertise in health training, human
resource development and environmental management.
Current projects include training for women in how to form micro-credit groups,
and set up their own small businesses. 18,000 support groups have been established
so far to enable women to access small loans and skills training to better their
lives.
In the area of education, Australian assistance is helping to integrate disabled
children into mainstream schools, by providing support for teachers and special
education workers. This will contribute to the Indian Government's program
to help integrate more than 16 million disabled children into the school system.
In environmental management, our assistance is helping communities in Himachal
Pradesh to better manage their forests to prevent forest fires. It is also
helping state institutions to construct low-cost passive solar housing for the
poor in rural areas.
Australia's technical assistance program is also helping the Government of
India to minimise wastage in the delivery and public distribution of food to
the poor. This will contribute to savings of up to 20 million tonnes of grain
for poor people who purchase subsidised grain through 'fair-price' shops in
India.