With extensive funding and wide thematic coverage, India provides a key case for understanding the reach and limits of GEF support.

Selected for a country portfolio evaluation because of its size and diversity, India’s portfolio between 1991 and 2012 included major national projects, hundreds of small grants, substantial cofinancing, and participation in regional and global initiatives. Using portfolio analysis, desk reviews, interviews, and field verification, the evaluation assessed results, relevance, efficiency, and sustainability.

Most projects achieved satisfactory outcomes, with several fostering adoption beyond original sites. GEF support contributed to legal and policy reforms, including protected area management and renewable energy, and is broadly aligned with India’s sustainable development priorities.

Yet project preparation and completion delays were common, and monitoring and evaluation quality remains uneven.

The report recommends that GEF Agencies require contracts with executing agencies to ensure access for independent evaluations, that the Council consider India’s experience with country-focused programming in improving portfolio efficiency, that knowledge management be strengthened to track long-term impacts, and that India more fully integrate GEF support in the chemicals focal area into its collaboration with the GEF.