Written question asked by Lord Patten (Conservative), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Baroness Verma (Conservative) on Tuesday, 16 November 2010.

India

Question: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the total aid given to help the Dalits of India in 2010 and what is the projected aid for each of the years 2011 and 2012.

Answer: My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for International Development has launched a bilateral aid review of the Department for International Development's (DfID's) country programmes, including India, to ensure that we are giving aid where it is most needed to help the world's poorest people. Any decision on the future of the UK's bilateral programme in India will be made in close consultation with the Government of India. Currently, the UK does not have a specific aid allocation for Dalits but all UK development programmes are designed to benefit particularly the poorest and most excluded, including Dalits. For example, the Indian Government's Education for All scheme, which is supported by the UK, has helped bring the proportion of Dalit children in school into line with their proportion in the general population. The UK has also supported the Government of India to reduce maternal and infant deaths among Dalits and tribal people by training community health workers to provide health services in remote rural areas. Through our civil society programmes, the UK is also supporting excluded groups, including Dalits, in India's 120 poorest districts to access benefits and services.

Secondary information