UNITED NATIONS: India has pledged about $10.95 million for development activities across UN bodies for the coming year. First Secretary in India's Permanent Mission to the UN, Mahesh Kumar said, "India has been a regular contributor to the UN since its founding. India believes that the UN should have the necessary resources to finance, in an appropriate and balanced manner, the activities and programmes of its three main pillars; Peace and security, Development and Human Rights."
Speaking at a Pledging Conference for Development Activities, Kumar said as a developing country, India has its own plate full of developmental challenges that need to be addressed, but it stil has always contributed to increase the availability of core resources for the development activities of the United Nations system. India announced pledges of contribution totalling about $10.95 million for development activities for 2017, including $4.5 million for the UN Development Programme, $1.92 million for the World Food Programme, $1.25 million for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Near East and a million dollars towards UN Women. It also pledged resources to UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), UN Population Fund (UNFPA), the world body's Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), Commission on Human Settlements Programme (HABITAT), Environment Programme (UNEP), Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and towards the Voluntary Fund for Technical Co-operation.
Kumar said India is also processing contribution for the Voluntary Trust Fund on Contemporary Forms of Slavery and for the Victims of Torture and UN Volunteers.
