When the Indian Cabinet instituted the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) programme on 15 September 1964, it was set up as a bilateral programme of assistance of the Government of India. India was then a young republic with limited resources of its own. Yet it chose to share its skills with fellow developing nations, an idea rooted in the larger vision of “One World” that guided its early development cooperation policy.

Six decades on, ITEC is the Ministry of External Affairs’ flagship capacity-building platform and one of the most durable instruments of India’s soft power. The programme has trained more than 200,000 officials from over 160 countries, drawn from both civilian and defence sectors. Partner countries span Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe, Latin America, the Caribbean, and the Pacific and small island states. Nepal alone has sent more than 2,000 officials in the past 15 years, including 444 professionals in 2023-24.

The 2026-27 course planner lists more than 65 institutes and over 280 courses, including engineering, public administration, finance, agriculture, health, energy, information technology, management and English language. More recent offerings include artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, nanotechnology and digital transformation. Courses run from a few days to several months and are hosted by premier institutions, from the Indian........

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