ABSTRACT
This chapter compares Indian and Australian aid through an analysis of volumes, recipients, modalities, and objectives. Australia follows the Organisation for Economic Development and Co-operation (OECD) definitions in determining what constitutes aid; India does not. In 1980-1981, Papua New Guinea accounted for 64 per cent of Australia's top ten recipient aids, giving it a status similar to Bhutan's in the Indian aid programme today. The Indian government created the Development Partnership Administration (DPA), housed within the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). The Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) announced that the aid portfolio would merge with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). The heavy reliance on multilateral aid also acts as a form of untying; Australian firms and non-governmental organisations (NGO) receive no special privileges in relation to that aid. India, by contrast, shows little interest in trying to fix governance, build institutions, or transform countries.
