The Asia Foundation provides support to Indian institutions working to address important issues regarding international relations, the environment, women’s participation, information technology, and philanthropy. The Foundation’s engagement with India dates back to the mid-1950s, when it provided project support for government, nonprofit, and civil society organizations and leaders. The Foundation maintained a resident office in New Delhi from 1962 to 1968, and has continued a non-resident program of support for selected activities since then. In the early years, the Foundation provided books to local libraries, supported fellowships and scholarships for Indian students, and supported research and conferences on India’s democracy. In the early 1980s, the Foundation arranged and funded short and longterm study programs in the U.S. for several hundred Indian specialists, including many senior government officials. More recently, the Foundation enabled more than 50 Indian environmental leaders to share experiences with counterparts in the United States through shortterm fellowship programs.
India
In India, the Foundation has continued its cooperation with the Ministry of External Affairs through the placement of a fourth Regional Security Fellow at an American think tank. Other programs in India included a training program and study tour in the U.S. for young diplomats, study tours by select Afghan officials to India, and a first shipment of books to India through the Foundation’s Books for Asia program, which benefitted nine universities in the Northeast.