Little is known about UNDP whose stellar achievements have been overshadowed by political and other activities at the United Nations. Set up in 1966, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), financed by voluntary contributions from its members, is a pre-eminent, universal and neutral organisation which provides Grants-Aid in the form of Technical Assistance to developing countries to foster institution building, capacity building, sustained human development, and eradication of poverty, especially in low income and least developed countries.

This book provides a simple, coherent and richly rewarding narrative of UNDP’s evolution since its inception. It explains major changes in policies and trends in performance. It highlights strong head winds encountered in resource mobilisation from major donor countries and discusses how these have transformed UNDP today. This pioneering book is an indispensable guide to comprehend the history of UNDP.

The present volume is a sequel to the author’s much acclaimed earlier work, United Nations Development Aid: A Study in History and Politics, published in 2008 by Academic Foundation, New Delhi.

In the second volume of his monumental study of the history and politics of United Nations Development Aid, Digu Bhouraskar provides a unique and well researched perspective on the policies and performance of the UNDP during its early years until 2010. Discussing successively its mission, resource structure, performance and effectiveness, he builds up, with rigour and statistical detail, a well defined and authoritative picture of the Programme as it has evolved over the years. Direct and readable, it brings out clearly the changing vision of successive administrators as they strove to meet the complex demands of donor and recipient economies amidst the vast transformations taking place in the global political and strategic landscape. A tour de force!!
— Ambassador Vijay Nambiar
    Special Adviser to the Secretary-General  of the United Nations,
    and former Chef-de Cabinet to the Secretary-General of the UN.  

This book provides an instructive and interesting account of the role and operations of UNDP financed from voluntary contributions. It should make a good contribution to understand UNDP's wide range of activities and serve as a reference to practitioners and researchers.
— Rafeeuddin Ahmed
    Special representative of the World Tourism Organization to
    the United Nations and Former Associate Administrator of UNDP

"The role of technical assistance in promoting development, especially in Africa, is hotly debated today. Proponents argue that it is the missing ingredient, especially in resource- or commodity-rich countries; critics claim that TA suits donors' interests and rarely builds capacity. This eminently readable and scrupulously researched book tells the story of the United Nations Development Programme, the UN's technical assistance arm. By describing the accomplishments and challenges, the coalitions and tensions of UNDP's first fifty years, Digambar Bhouraskar sheds valuable light on contemporary issues facing technical assistance. No matter which side of the debate you are on, the book provides lessons on making development aid more effective in the future."
— Shantayanan Devarajan
    Chief Economist, Africa Region, The World Bank

Economic and Social Development has been a main activity of the United Nations since its beginning in 1945. Digu Bhouraskar traces the twists and turns of the often long and tortuous debates between governments as the structures and policies for UNDP were put in place. Bhouraskar has provided a well-documented account, step by painful step.
— Sir Richard Jolly
     Prof. Institute of Development Studies, Sussex. Co-Director of
     the UN Intellectual History Project.

Dr. Digambar Bhouraskar set himself to write two important books on this fascinating subject of United Nations development assistance. The first book, in 2008, covered the story of UN aid from 1946 to 1966. This current book presents developments and changes which took place from1966 to 2010. The reader will immediately realize that the author writes on this important subject and examines the issues, not only with thorough knowledge based on long-time inside experiences, but also with profound dedication and involvement.I strongly believe that his books and efforts would be greatly appreciated not only by large group of readers at present but also in posterity"
— Uner Kirdar
     Former Director of the Secretariat of the UNDP Governing Council
     and of External Relations, UNDP

Digambar Bhouraskar worked in the United Nations in New York for thirty-two years (1957-1989). He held several senior positions including  Director of the Development Administration Programme in the Department of Technical Cooperation. He was closely associated with several aspects of UN development aid and was responsible for managing a sizable programme of aid. He served as Financial Adviser to the Government of Jamaica (1989-1990). He was a Fellow at the Center for Management of Baruch College, CUNY, in New York (1991-1993) and was Adjunct Professor  of Economics at Baruch College (1993-1998). He also served as consultant to UN and UNDP. Dr Bhouraskar holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Bombay. He was also a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at Princeton University, NJ, USA. He published "United Nations Development Aid: A Study in History and Politics" in 2008 (Academic Foundation, New Delhi).