India and IFAD have launched an eight-year rural development strategy focused on climate resilience, sustainable livelihoods, women’s empowerment and strengthening grassroots institutions to support inclusive growth under the Viksit Bharat vision.
India and the International Fund for Agricultural Development have launched a new eight-year programme aimed at boosting rural incomes, strengthening climate resilience and expanding sustainable livelihood opportunities across the country.
The Country Strategic Opportunities Programme (COSOP) for 2026-2033 was unveiled during the IFAD-India Partnership for Rural Prosperity event at Bharat Mandapam, attended by senior government officials, IFAD leaders, development partners, private sector representatives and rural development practitioners.
Aligned with the Indian government’s Viksit Bharat@2047 vision, the strategy focuses on two key priorities: improving the social, economic and climate resilience of rural communities, and strengthening knowledge systems to scale successful development models within India and across the Global South.
Anuradha Thakur, Secretary of the Department of Economic Affairs under the Ministry of Finance, said the India-IFAD partnership stood out for both its longevity and close alignment with national priorities.
“IFAD’s programs in India have remained closely integrated with national priorities, supporting agricultural transformation, livelihood diversification, women’s empowerment and institutional strengthening,” she said.
Thakur added that the partnership had gradually evolved from basic poverty reduction efforts to building sustainable and market-oriented rural livelihoods capable of withstanding climate and economic shocks.
Donal Brown, Associate Vice-President at IFAD, highlighted the long-term institutional approach behind the collaboration.
“What we are building together is not a collection of projects, it is a system that connects institutions, finance, infrastructure and markets, and that delivers results for rural people long after any single investment ends. That is what makes this partnership uniquely valuable and uniquely replicable,” he said.
The newly launched COSOP places significant emphasis on strengthening grassroots institutions, including Self-Help Groups (SHGs), Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) and cooperatives. These institutions are expected to serve as key platforms linking rural communities with finance, technology, infrastructure and markets.
According to the organisers, IFAD-supported programmes in India over the past two decades have contributed to large-scale financial inclusion for women through SHGs, improved farmers’ market access through infrastructure support and promoted women-led enterprises through value addition and e-commerce integration.
The strategy also seeks to establish India as a global knowledge hub for rural development by sharing successful models in inclusive rural finance, cooperative governance, digital agriculture services and climate-resilient value chains with countries in Africa, Southeast Asia and Latin America.
On the sidelines of the event, IFAD and the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) signed a strategic partnership agreement aimed at strengthening rural finance systems and promoting innovation in agriculture and allied sectors.
India’s partnership with IFAD spans nearly five decades and includes 35 rural development projects implemented across multiple states, benefiting millions of rural households and contributing to inclusive economic growth.
Officials said the new COSOP reaffirmed India’s commitment to transforming rural livelihoods, improving resilience and using innovation to support sustainable development while strengthening global development cooperation.
