November 3, 2006

Namaskar!  I am glad to be here today to see first hand, the excellent results of the $53,574 grant the United States government provided the Ramakrishna Mission to work to develop models for efficient rural development in villages of West Bengal.  It felt good to see the work of this project.  I am very happy.  This project will benefit many people.  The more efficient agricultural methods of farming that result from the project are likely to result in higher yields and thus incomes, and help develop methods of production that are more eco-friendly.  In addition, the health aspects of safe drinking water, hygienic sewage disposal, and cooking methods that are less polluting will help in better health. 

India and the U.S. share many common goals, perhaps the most critical being democracy and development. What is equally important to each is the commitment both countries have to civil society. The Small Democracy Grants Program supports the role that nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) play in community life in India.  We were happy that the Ramakrishna Mission was one of the beneficiaries of these grants.  

The grant program represents much more than a relationship between a donor and a recipient.  With the grants, we aim to support projects that develop a momentum of their own and, in turn, strengthen civil society.  Women’s empowerment, the eradication of poverty, child labor and illiteracy, and the promotion of democracy at the grassroots level, are some of the concerns addressed by the small grants program.  Several NGOs are working on these issues with our support.  

The U.S. Government encourages the protection of the environment with grants that further the protection of flora and fauna.  In 2005 more than $249,000 was awarded to 12 projects in Eastern India. Among them was a grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), under the Multinational Species Conservation Fund that provided more than $14,000 for anti-poaching kits in the Buxa tiger reserve, the rhino reserves of Gorumara national park and Jaldapara wildlife sanctuary in West Bengal.  In the health field as well, the U.S. National Institutes of Health have provided funds for collaborative research.  Approximately $28,476,685 has been allocated in Eastern India over the last few years alone.  Researchers from institutions such as the Indian Institute of Management, Institute of Molecular Medicine and the Indian Statistical Institute, West Bengal, the Ispat General Hospital, and the Post Graduate Institute of Paediatrics, Orissa worked with U.S. researchers at the National Bureau of Economic Research, Harvard School of Public Health, Massachusetts, the University of Maryland at Baltimore, Maryland, and the University of Berkeley in California, among others.  The office of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) has also provided computers, cameras, and other equipment for counter narcotics operations to states in Eastern India - Mizoram and West Bengal included.

Thank you.  See you again.