Embassy of IndiaYangon, Myanmar

Press Release-ITEC Day 2015

Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) Day, 2015,

Celebrations at Hotel Max, Nay Pyi Taw on 01 December, 2015

          The Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) programme was started on September 15, 1964 as a programme of economic and technical assistance of the Govt. of India for developing countries. The chief architect of the ITEC programme was our Late Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. Many developing countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America, faced a herculean task of promoting social and economic advancement of their people that had   been seriously affected by colonization.  To meet the challenges of socio-economic development a cooperative approach by the developing countries was as important as assistance from developed countries and international organizations.  The ITEC programme of the Ministry of External Affairs of India is a sincere effort to share the experience of India's socio-economic development and technological progress with   other developing countries, in the spirit of South-South cooperation.  

          One of the major activities under ITEC is training or capacity building for government servant to improve governance and service delivery. Participants   from developing countries are offered training courses in a range of technical and other institutions in various parts of India.  Apart from offering training, the ITEC programme has the following components:

2. Deputation of Indian experts abroad;
3. Study tours;
4. Gifting/Donation of equipment at the request of ITEC partner countries; and
5. Aid for Disaster relief

          The ITEC programme was launched in Myanmar in 1996 with 30 slots.  Since 2000 more than 2200 Scholarships have been utilized under the ITEC/TCS schemes. Apart from the training participants are provided to and fro air tickets and gratis visas, a living allowance of Rs. 25,000/-  p.m and a onetime Book Allowance  of Rs.5000/-. The institutes also arrange study tours to various places and organizations to familiarize participants with Indian Culture and History. Emergency medical treatment is also covered. The ITEC scheme works in co-ordination with the slots provided under the Technical Co-operation Scheme (TCS) of Colombo Plan.

          The total numbers of slots for Myanmar have been more than doubled from 250 to 525 with effect from Honorable Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh’s visit to Myanmar in May, 2012.  The purpose is to be able to assist Myanmar in the capacity building of her government officials. For India, Myanmar is a historic and cultural neighbor and partner in its struggle for independence and development that has been engaged in close technical and development cooperation initiatives. Myanmar has been an efficient user of ITEC training slots utilizing all the allotted seats every year. In the year 2014-15 Myanmar has utilized 476 slots out of the 525 allotted. All the 525 slots would have been exhausted if some applications had not got rejected because of being received late due to various factors. The ITEC Programme covers about 225 short term, medium term and long term courses in a year.  About 56 prominent institutions all over India are involved in conducting these courses. ITEC programme covers a wide range of subjects divided into seven broad categories for easy identification viz. courses in Government administration, IT and Telecommunication, Management, SME/Rural Development, Specialized courses, Technical courses, Environment and Renewable Energy courses.  The most sought after courses are in the field of Information Technology and Linguistics (English).   Training is also imparted in areas such as Finance & Accounts, Audit, Banking, Education Planning & Administration, Parliamentary Studies, Crime Records, Management, Environment etc.

          As ITEC is a Government to Government cooperation programme, priority is given to the Government employees and the public sector employees who are nominated by the Government. From the Myanmar Government, the Ministry of National Planning and Economic Development is the nodal Ministry to select nominees for the courses, after getting the names from various Ministries after consider the various eligibility criteria and requirements. They then forward the names to MOFA which then sends the nominations to the Embassy for further action. Apart from the Government officials and public sector employees we have now been getting names also from the Myanmar Women’s Affair Federation (MWAF), Myanmar Women & Child Development Federation (MWCDF) and Myanmar Women's Entrepreneurs Association (MWEA).

          In the ITEC year 2012-13, Myanmar Parliamentarians also undertook 1 week special programme under ITEC conducted by the Bureau of Parliamentary Studies and Training (BPST) for providing hands-on knowledge of a functioning democracy like India. Thirty Parliamentarians have completed the programmes at the BPST with visits to the Indian Parliament also.  Similarly till now, more than 50 Parliamentary staff have been trained under the ITEC scheme at the BPST. Officers and staff from the Election Commission of Myanmar have also been trained in the management of election related Governmental processes at the India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management (IIIDEM). 

          ITEC courses are in a variety of areas that are of practical utility to public servants in various Government departments.  The courses for example are done on Promotion of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (PMSMEs), Promotion of Food Processing Enterprises for Women, Management of Rural Infrastructure Projects: Drinking Water & Sanitation, Management of Rural Infrastructures Projects: Rural Energy, Rural Development and Empowerment of Women, Natural Resource Management for Sustainable Rural Livelihoods, Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency, Accounting, Auditing, Election Management,  etc. A remarkable achievement has been that illiterate rural women from remote areas without electricity, above 50 years of age have been trained in the use and setting up of Solar energy equipment with emphasis on awareness of the use of Solar energy and water preservation through rain water harvesting.

          ITEC Programme of support forms a key element in the development partnership cooperation between India and Myanmar. Participants from almost all departments of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, Semi Govt. organizations, Myanmar Women’s Affair Federation, Myanmar Women & Child Development Federation  and Myanmar Women's Entrepreneurs Association (MWEA), are nominated for the courses in various fields. A review of the participation in 2014-15 from various Ministries and Departments would indicate the active utilization across various Ministries/Departments of Myanmar, as the following:- 

About 140 participants more from many other fields.

          We wish to expand the scope of the co-operative activities under ITEC so that courses tailor-made for Myanmar and such other countries can be developed. Apart from the above,Government of India offers more than 40 scholarships and fellowships to the Myanmar candidates wishing to study in India in various disciplines for Under Graduate courses and Post Graduate courses, Research work/courses (M.Phil/ Ph.D/ D.Lit), Under Graduate/ Post Graduate/Ph.D courses in Indian Traditional Systems of Medicine, i.e. Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha and Homoepathy and non-formal courses like religion, classical music, dance and crafts, etc. Various scholarships offered are the General Scholarship Scheme (GSS), Mekong Ganga Cultural Scholarship Scheme (MGCSS), Cultural Exchange Programme (CEP) andAyush Scholarship to BIMSTEC member countries. Special Courses for ASEAN Diplomats and Fellowship for Buddhist studies are also being conducted.

          In addition to training under ITEC and Graduate Scholarships, as part of Development Partnership in the field of Education, India has already committed US $ 2.24 Million for the construction of 21 primary schools in the Chin State (11) and Naga Self Administered Zone (10) of Myanmar. GOI has further committed US$ 1 million for the establishment of schools in four townships of Rakhine State as part of rehabilitation and national reconciliation. IIIT(B) of India is partnering with Ministry of Science and Technology of Myanmar for establishing the Myanmar Institute of Information Technology (MIIT) at Mandalay at a cost of US$ 31 Million, which is envisioned to be a national center of excellence offering graduate, post graduate and doctoral programs. India has already provided assistance for establishment of theMyanmar-India Entrepreneurship Development Centre (MIEDC) (US$ 0.3 Million) at the Yangon Institute of Economics (Hlaing Campus) which was set up in 2009 to facilitate the creation of viable and competitive enterprises and strengthen existing ones for global competition. The Centre has imparted training to 3000 participants since inception.

1. first centre was set up at Pakkoku in 2009 for a total cost US$ 2.5 Million, implemented by Hindustan Machine Tools (International) Ltd (HMTI) of India. Courses commenced from July 2010 and each year around 200 people are trained in one year courses on industrial subjects at the Centre. A second centre at Myingyan  set up at a cost of US$ 3.5 Million has been handed over to Myanmar in October 2013 and would impart one year courses on industrial subjects to batches of 200 participants each year.

Yangon

December 3, 2015