In particular DFID is committed to achieving the UN Millennium Development Goal of halving the number of people living in extreme poverty in the world by 2015.

In India, DFID is working in partnership with the state governments of Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh on a variety of programmes.

The PACS Programme was conceptualised to help the very large number of poor people living in other regions of the country.

To achieve maximum long-term impact over a large area in an effective and manageable way, the PACS Programme focuses on strengthening the awareness and capabilities of poor people, so that they can demand and exercise their rights - political, economic, social and human - to improve their own lives. In other words, the programme focuses on the demand side, rather than on supply side activities such as building infrastructure.

Focused on 108 of the poorest districts of India, the PACS Programme seeks to build the capacities of poor people to:

• influence policies, and
• demand services and entitlements that can improve their lives.

This is the primary objective of the programme. The programme seeks to achieve these goals through a network of civil society organisations (CSOs). CSOs have been deliberately chosen as agents of change. In many of the poorest areas they have a far more effective reach than governments or market forces.

The secondary objective of the programme is to strengthen the capacity and role of Indian civil society and CSOs working for the poor. This will ensure that the benefits of the programme are sustained over the medium term.

The long-term goals of the programme are:

• supporting the poor to help themselves as well as demand their rights
• influencing government to adopt successful methods for reducing poverty
• making government at all levels more effective and accountable, and
• making society more responsive to the problems and aspirations of the poor.