UNDP India - Mid Term Review of the Country Programme Action Plan 2008-2012

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UNDP India - Mid Term Review of the Country Programme Action Plan 2008-2012

February 20, 2013

This report assesses progress across programmes and projects to ensure UNDP India remains well aligned to changes in the social, economic and political environment to help address the country’s development challenges.


UNDP will contribute to this UNDAF priority area through several interventions. UNDP will work with governments in the UNDAF focus states to facilitate design and implementation of pro-poor and inclusive livelihood promotion strategies in support of MDG 1 which aims to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger. It will also engage with flagship national poverty reduction programmes to strengthen their focus on inclusion of marginalized groups. The focus across the programme will be to work with the population groups such as women and men living below poverty line, people belonging to Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes, minority groups and involuntarily displaced people.

UNDP will support state-level strategies for addressing livelihood challenges in at least four UNDAF states. The focus will be on improving the livelihood security and employability of the poor women and men and marginalized groups in both rural and urban areas and expanding employment opportunities in disadvantaged regions. The state-led strategies will formulate demand driven livelihood strategies derived from a broad-based consultative process with participation by hitherto excluded groups, policy research and review of government programmes and delivery systems. Application of human development principles, viz. equity, efficiency, participation and sustainability will seek to enhance benefits for poor women and men and marginalized groups. The livelihoods and employment generation activities would necessarily integrate concerns and requirements of environmental sustainability.

Capacity development of public administration and elected representatives will focus on cross-sectoral planning for livelihood promotion and re-orientation of departmental schemes and programmes to address the needs of the marginalized groups and disadvantaged regions. District administration will be supported to foster public-private-community partnerships for livelihood promotion especially in sectors that expand opportunities for the excluded groups.

Financial inclusion will be promoted through support to a set of interconnected interventions involving: setting up of an innovation fund that supports design and delivery of pro-poor financial products and services (e.g. remittance transfers, collateral free housing credit; market based social security instruments such as micro pension and micro insurance; risk transfer instruments); developing and operationalizing communication strategies to improve financial literacy, particularly among the excluded groups; and capacity development of the poor women and men to demand and access financial services that strengthen their livelihood activities and reduce their vulnerability to risks. Particular attention will be paid to improving access of women to these services.

With respect to the various national level poverty reduction programmes, UNDP will provide technical support for strengthening their monitoring and evaluation systems to effectively track of participation of and accrual of benefits to the intended beneficiaries. Application of participatory and gender-sensitive monitoring tools in low HDI districts of UNDAF focus states will be used to elicit public feedback, especially from women and people belonging to Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes, on the implementation and impact of these flagship programmes and other interventions. The programme will also disseminate relevant knowledge and national/international good practices for improved design and implementation of inclusive poverty reduction and livelihood promotion strategies.

In support of MDG 6 combat HIV, malaria and other diseases, UNDAF’s first outcome also seeks to support Government of India’s efforts towards reduction in the HIV/AIDS prevalence rate amongst vulnerable groups and improved quality of life for positive people. The third phase of the National AIDS Control Programme of the Government of India has adopted mainstreaming of HIV in development responses as a strategy to address multiple facets and underlying causes of HIV prevalence in India. Given this context, UNDP’s programme on HIV and Development will support national efforts to mainstream HIV in India’s development responses. The Global Task Team’s Division of Labour has also assigned UNDP to lead the response for mainstreaming HIV and for addressing issues with respect to migration and HIV.

The programme will be operational in 25 districts across five low prevalence states (viz. Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh) with a focus on inclusion of People Living with HIV, poor households as well as vulnerable and high risk populations such as sexual minority groups, women, male and female migrants and trafficked persons. Systems will be strengthened through technical support to National AIDS Control Organization and State AIDS Control Societies for mainstreaming HIV in programmes and policies in selected states and districts. Establishment of mainstreaming units in selected central ministries, state councils on AIDS and District Action Groups will be supported to design and roll out action plans, gender-sensitive advocacy and communication strategies and operational guidelines for mainstreaming HIV in programmes, with a special focus on addressing the needs of vulnerable groups. UNDP will also support the joint UN programme on HIV and AIDS in the North - East region. ? Mainstreaming efforts will be harmonized with other partners and experience sharing will be facilitated. Increased collaboration between public sector and civil society organizations is envisaged for addressing the needs of vulnerable groups in selected states and districts. The programme will also foster formation of alliances among diverse stakeholders such as civil society organizations, networks of People Living with HIV, nongovernment sector, multi-lateral agencies and governmental departments