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 Institute of Foreign Trade’s WTO studies centre to the Tata Institute of Social Sciences and the National Institute of Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development.

Embassy and ministry material has cited roughly 10,000 fully funded in-person training opportunities each year. Earlier years saw higher numbers, with around 12,000 scholarships in 2019 and over 14,000 cited in 2021. For decades ITEC meant travelling to India for training.

The programme’s core is still fully funded in-person courses, but it has branched out. On the 55th ITEC Day in October 2019, the External Affairs Minister launched e-ITEC, ITEC Onsite and ITEC Executive, along with a new logo.

A review before this had added about 27 new partner institutions and seven private-sector institutes selected through open tender, and widened the course mix to emerging fields and traditional knowledge such as yoga and Ayurveda. e-ITEC delivers training from Indian institutes to partner countries online in real time. The first course, run by IIT Madras, reached around 157 candidates from four countries. Its advantage is cost and reach, since no travel is needed. Participants do not receive a stipend, but institutes issue certificates to those who complete the requirements.

ITEC Onsite moves the classroom to the partner country, with Indian trainers deputed there for a short period for customised programmes. It suits cases where a significant number of participants from one country need training on a particular subject. The partner country approaches the Indian mission with the subject, minimum numbers and classroom facilities.

ITEC Executive targets senior policymakers, with workshops, study visits and delegation visits to understand Indian systems, typically anchored by a premier Indian institute. A fourth strand, ITEC-Expert, sends Indian specialists abroad in fields such as IT, audit, medicine, English teaching, telecommunications and agricultural research.

For participants, ITEC can offer more than instruction. A course may combine classroom teaching with case studies, practical exercises, institutional visits and exchanges with Indian counterparts. This gives officials a chance to see how systems work in practice, compare approaches with peers, and build professional contacts that may continue after they return home.

A public finance course can help strengthen budgeting and accounting practices; digital government training can introduce tools for public service delivery; agriculture or renewable energy courses can share technical knowledge relevant to local development. The courses are free of tuition, and in-person participants are covered by the Indian government. For mid-career officials from smaller economies, that is a rare route to training that would otherwise be unaffordable.

Alumni have made their mark in politics, diplomacy and other fields back home. Beyond skills, ITEC builds networks. ITEC Day on 15 September is marked in partner countries, where alumni share experiences and build networks. The programme has also grown alongside India’s economy, and training provides a platform for sustained contact with officials and institutions in partner countries.

Alumni may carry professional connections and familiarity with Indian institutions into later roles, supporting cooperation across government, education and business. It also gives India a way to contribute expertise drawn from its own development experience, while learning from the priorities and perspectives of its partners.

ITEC’s strengths are its low-cost relative to diplomatic returns, its demanddriven design, and its flexibility across four delivery modes. Online and onsite formats let it scale without proportionally scaling funding or travel, and Executive courses place India in the room where partner governments shape policy.

With demand rising for training in AI, cybersecurity, climate and digital governance, ITEC is well placed to deepen its footprint. As India’s capabilities continue to develop, ITEC offers a way to share that experience while building long-term professional relationships across the Global South.

Views expressed are personal.