Diversity in Donorship: The Changing Landscape of Official Humanitarian Aid

The lead agency in India’s assistance strategy is the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). The MEA is directly responsible for assistance to Bhutan, Nepal and Afghanistan, and advises the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), a department within the Ministry of Finance (MoF), regarding assistance packages to other countries. However, other ministries are also involved in the process, each in consultation with the MEA. Given that boosting trade is a key consideration, the MEA co-ordinates with the Ministry of Commerce in relation to lines of credit. Similarly, the Ministry of Water Resources is involved in financing hydroelectric projects in Nepal and Bhutan. The focus of this assistance is explicitly related to economic and political concerns, rather than direct humanitarian assistance. Following the Indian Ocean tsunami in December 2004, the decision to provide rapid assistance using the air force, army and navy – primarily to Sri Lanka and the Maldives – was taken at the prime ministerial level. The leading role taken by the prime minister stemmed from the scale of the disaster, as well as the spending limits accorded to ministries.