Big challenges, bigger opportunities: FES helps India make the most of transformative change

FES has been active in India for 40 years, with an office in New Delhi since 1981, building platforms of mutual trust for open debate and exchange of new ideas.

“Most of what we are doing is connected to India’s ‘Great Transformation’”, says Patrick Ruether, head of the FES country office. “Changes are already going full throttle, particularly regarding digital technology. It is going to affect everything, from energy transformation, to livelihood creation and the future of work.”

With 1 million young Indians hitting the job market each month, the future of work is critical for the country. FES is working with labour organizations to look into the future and safeguard decent work and working conditions. There are some examples to be followed nationally and internationally, and we build partnerships to exchange lessons learned where possible. But no one knows for sure how far these will apply to India, and the focus is on home-grown solutions.

"Our job is to help India find the best solution for its own circumstances" – Patrick Ruether 

To achieve this, FES is building platforms, to connect the right people to the right topics. There are vast resources of expertise in India, which have sometimes been overlooked in favour of opening up to imported investment and skills. We are trying to shift the narrative away from this foreign investment and towards job creation. India is more than capable of finding her own way, rather than copying models or drawing assistance from other countries. “Our job is to help India find the best solution for its own circumstances,” Ruether says.

An emerging part of the FES portfolio is sustainability, which is nowhere more topical than in India. A key part of this shift is renewables, which can boost economic development and rural access to electricity while meeting targets for sustainability.

“The old presumption that you can only grow a transition-stage economy with manufacturing and coal is changing,” Ruether says.

One success story has been the provision of solar panels for schools—this improves education facilities while surplus power can go to the local community. FES is supporting two groups in separate states on such projects, and is also active in bridging the gap in the governance between federal and local levels of administration. 

“Our expertise here is not technical, we leave that to the partners,” Ruether says. “Rather, we work on the social and organizational aspects of implementation, connecting expert partners, local people, and relevant official agencies and guiding them to find the best solutions.”

There is also a group of seed communities, a group of representative stakeholders who test ideas and come up with innovative solutions.

“The group was the source for the project of solar panels on schools. This process is entirely Indian-owned, FES just facilitates the network. The partners do the real work”, Ruether says.