NEW DELHI: The United Kingdom's Department for International Development (DFID) has announced a grant of Rs. 2,000 crore (£250 million) to India for improving access to healthcare services for the poor and the marginalised sections and for achieving the Millennium Development Goals.

The funds will be utilised for the Reproductive and Child Health (RCH)-II programme, the National Aids Control Programme (NACP)-III and other schemes being run at the State level for improving women's health. Groups with a high risk of contracting AIDS such as commercial sex workers and injecting drug users will benefit from funds for expanding awareness programmes, Fiona Louise Lappin, acting head, DFID-India, told reporters here on Wednesday.

Of this amount, Rs. 816 crore has been earmarked for NACP-III to deal with HIV/AIDS infection between 2007 and 2012. Madhya Pradesh will receive Rs. 480 crore for a new health programme (2007-2012), Orissa Rs. 400 crore for a similar purpose (2007-2012) and Andhra Pradesh Rs. 320 crore (2007-2010).

Apart from the Rs.2, 000 crore grant, the centrally-sponsored Mahila Samakhya programme for empowerment of women will get Rs. 280 crore for the next seven years and Rs. 360 crore will go to Madhya Pradesh for its Rural Livelihoods Programme-II during 2007-2011. Most of the funding will go directly to Orissa, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh.

Hike in budget

The announcement comes as the DFID launches a public debate on how the UK aid can be spent better. Britain's aid budget for India is set to rise to £300 million for 2008-2009 for improving healthcare, primary education and poverty reduction. The DFID has its largest bilateral aid programme in India to fight poverty. It works at the national level as well as the State level with Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal as its focus States.

"The DFID is now looking at Bihar because of extreme poverty and low human resource indicators," Ms. Lappin said.

The DFID also announced consultations on its plan to work with India, which is going global, is developing and has one-third of the world's poor people. It sought suggestions from stakeholders till September on how to support India in translating its growth into poverty elimination and development for all.

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