UNIDO was
set up in 1966 and became a specialized agency of the United Nations in 1985.
The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) is the only
worldwide organization dealing exclusively with industry from a development
perspective. It focuses its resources and expertise to support developing
countries and economies in transition in their efforts to achieve sustainable
industrial development. As a technical cooperation agency, it designs and
implements programmes focussed on three thematic priorities, which directly
respond to global development priorities. Through these thematic priorities,
UNIDO addresses some of the key UN Millennium Development Goals. UNIDO has at
present 172 countries as its Members and is headquartered in Vienna, Austria.
UNIDO is headed by a Director-General who is elected by the General Conference
of UNIDO for a term of four years. The current Director-General of UNIDO is Dr.
Kandeh K. Yumkella.
Focus Areas
The three areas of
current focus in UNIDO’s activities are:
Poverty reduction through
productive activities:
UNIDO seeks
to enable the poor to earn a living through industrial activities, thus to find
a way out of poverty. It provides a comprehensive range of services customized
for developing countries and transition economies, ranging from industrial
policy advice to entrepreneurship and SME development and from technology
diffusion to sustainable production and the provision of rural energy for
productive uses.
Trade capacity-building:
Developing
countries are benefiting from increasingly participating in the global trading
system. Thus, strengthening their capacity to participate in global trade is
critical for their future economic growth. Especially after their accession to
the WTO, their technical ability to enter into global production and value
chains is the key for their successful participation in international trade.
UNIDO is one of the largest providers of trade-related development services,
offering customer-focussed advice and integrated technical assistance in the
areas of competitiveness, trade policies, industrial modernisation and
upgrading, compliance with trade standards, testing methods and metrology.
Environment and Energy:
Energy is a
pre-requisite for poverty reduction. Still, fundamental changes in the way
societies produce and consume are indispensable for achieving global sustainable
development. UNIDO, therefore, promotes sustainable patterns of industrial
consumption and production. As a leading provider of services for improved
energy efficiency and sustainability, UNIDO assists developing countries and
transition economies in implementing multilateral environmental agreements and
in simultaneously reaching their economic and environmental goals.
The geographical focus of
the Organization’s activities is the developing countries, in particular the
least developed countries.
Policy
Making Organs
The main Policy
Making Organs of UNIDO are the General Conference, Industrial Development
Board and the Programme and Budget Committee. India is a Member of all these
three organs.
General
Conference (GC):
The General
Conference (GC) is UNIDO’s supreme policymaking organ where all Member States
meet once every two years. It determines the guiding principles and policies of
the Organization, approves the budget and work programme of UNIDO. Every four
years, the GC appoints the Director-General. The GC also elects the members of
the Industrial Development Board and the Programme and Budget Committee.
Industrial Development Board
(IDB):
The IDB
comprises 53 members, elected for a four-year term on a rotational basis from
all Member States. It reviews the implementation of the work programme, the
regular and operational budgets, makes recommendations to the GC on policy
matters, including the appointment of the Director-General. The IDB meets once
in General Conference years, and twice in other years.
Programme and Budget
Committee (PBC):
The PBC
consists of 27 members, elected by the GC for a two-year term. The PBC, which
meets once a year, is a subsidiary organ of the IDB and provides assistance in
the preparation and examination of the work programme, the budget and other
financial matters.
The geographical
focus of the Organization’s activities is the developing countries, in
particular the least developed countries. (http://www.unido.org/index.php?id=7840
)
India - UNIDO:
India is a
founder Member of the UNIDO. It is both a recipient as well as a contributor to
the programmes of UNIDO. India contributes to the regular budget of UNIDO,
which currently amounts to Euros 0.5 million or Rs.4.2 crore( approx.) annually
from Non-Plan provision. In addition, India also makes a voluntary contribution
of US $ 1.2 million (Rs.6.6 crore approx.) to the Industrial Development Fund (IDF)
of UNIDO annually from Non-Plan provision. This contribution has two
components;
a) A
General Purpose Component of US $ 0.1 million (approximately Rs.55.00 lakhs)
which is utilized by UNIDO for its technical cooperation activities in
developing countries.
b) A
Special Purpose Component of US $ 1.1 million (approximately Rs.6.0 crore)
utilized for implementation of projects in India.
UNIDO Regional Office in India
The UNIDO
Regional Office for South Asia, set up in New Delhi on 1st January
2000, covers seven countries – India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan,
Maldives and Afghanistan – and acts as a focal point to mobilize knowledge,
information, skills and technology to promote competitive industry, productive
employment and a sound environment by applying best practices and approaches to
common problems of the region.
The core
elements of UNIDO’s delivery of technical cooperation services in the South Asia
region are to focus its activities in harmony with national policy priorities
and development strategies; to build strong and long‐term partnerships with
donors; to increase UNIDO’ visibility and image in the region; and to focus its
assistance in a manner that addresses international development goals,
especially the UN Millennium Development Goals, of reducing poverty and
promoting implementation of national strategies for sustainable development. The
UNIDO activities in India are available in> http://www.unido.org/index.php?id=6822 .
Country
Programme of Cooperation between the Republic of India and UNIDO -2008-2012
Towards
inclusive growth: Strengthening the competitiveness and productivity of
industrial enterprises.
A Country
Programme of Cooperation between the Republic of India and UNIDO was signed in
Vienna in May 2008.
The US $ 42
million five‐year programme focused on :
1.
Environment‐friendly
technologies for raising the competitiveness and sustainable development of
industry;
2.
Social capital and
promotion of small and medium enterprises (SME) clusters; and
3.
South‐South cooperation.
It builds on
the recommendations of an independent evaluation of the preceding UNIDO country
strategy for India called the Country Service Framework 2001‐2006, based on
which both sides agreed to formulate a new five‐year country strategy
synchronized with and aligned to the objectives of the country’s 11th Five Year
Plan 2008‐2012 and the National Manufacturing Competitiveness Strategy, as also
the UN Development Assistance Framework for India – the India UNDAF 2008-2012.
The aim is
to enhance the productivity and competitiveness of industrial enterprises
through induction of clean technologies; promotion/transfer, commercialization
and diffusion of advanced manufacturing technologies; quality control; design
and IPR inputs; skill development programmes and investment promotion. This in
turn will augment the quality, turnover and exports of products manufactured by
industrial enterprises especially in the various small and medium enterprises (SME)
clusters. The enhanced productivity and competitiveness of enterprises is
expected to generate employment and contribute towards a balanced and inclusive
pattern of industrial development in the country, which would also serve as a
strategy for poverty alleviation. The Country Programme 2008-12 has been
completed and a new Country Programme, 2013-17 is being finalized.
UNIDO Centre for South-South
Industrial Cooperation (UCSSIC), New Delhi
The UNIDO
Centre for South-South Industrial Cooperation(Phase-I), a first of its kind in
the world, was launched in New Delhi on February, 15, 2007 with full support of
the Department of IPP for facilitating investment and manufacturing, trade
partnership among developing countries and map the potential for and
operational modalities of industrially more developed countries with benefit
accruing to other developing countries in general and least developed countries
(LDCs) in particular in a mutually advantageous partnership framework. The
Phase-I had terminated and now is on extended period upto 30th April,
2013. The project document for establishment of Second Phase of UCSSIC is
approved and ready for signing the document. (http://www.unido.org/index.php?id=o843030 )
International Centre for
Advancement of Manufacturing Technology (ICAMT), Bangalore
The
International Centre for Advancement of Manufacturing Technology (ICAMT) has
been established by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO)
with cooperation of Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, Ministry of
Commerce & Industry, Government of India, as one of the ten International
Technology Centres (ITC’s) of UNIDO. These centers are engaged in diffusing
technological knowledge and innovations into industrial processes and building
up technology partnerships among the developing countries in order to bridge the
technology divide.
The Centre
aims (i) to stimulate the diffusion of new technologies and innovations into SME
to enable them cope with the demands of competitive global markets and meet
quality and environment standards; (ii) to strengthen institutional and
technical capacity in India and other developing countries through enhancing
transfer of new technologies and innovations, their absorption and diffusion;
(iii) to assist the industry in enhancing their technological performance in
manufacturing, productivity, quality of goods and competitiveness through
diffusion of advancements of and appropriate manufacturing technologies and (iv)
to promote business alliances through technology dissemination and absorption.
The ICAMT is on project mode and its tenure would end in May, 2013. (http://www.unidoicamt.org/ )