"Our future partnership with India will build in Department for International Development's (DIFD) proven strengths and work with the three faces of India - Global India, Developing India and Poorest India," Douglas Alexander MP, International Development Secretary said last night while launching the Plan in the Parliament House.

Noting the UK and India shared a unique history, Alexander said: "the launch of this Plan marks our desire to look to the future together as allies in the fight against global poverty. It is because a third of the poor people in the world live in India and this has been DFID's largest country programme for more than a decade."

"In a country of this size it is a bold ambition to give every mother the healthcare she needs to give birth in safety and raise a healthy child, to give every child a chance to learn and enough food to eat. This strategy represents a roadmap for how we will work in partnership with the Government of India to get close to these goals," he said.

"We also recognise that India now has a massive contribution to make to the elimination of poverty worldwide. It will be a privilege to work alongside India as it does so,

and this strategy sets out that intention," he said, adding the two countries have a real opportunity to reduce global poverty and move the world closer to meeting the MGD commitments by 2015.