NEW DELHI: India took a diplomatic leap in Africa on Tuesday, with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh pledging $5 billion for the continent's development over the next three years. Spreading out the Indian presence from agriculture to information technology, tele-medicine to a virtual university, India now rivals China for top honours in the new Great Game in Africa.Hosting the second Africa-India Forum summit in Addis Ababa, the first to be held overseas, Singh said, "There is a new economic growth story emerging from Africa. Africa possesses all the prerequisites to become a major growth pole of the world... The India-Africa partnership is unique and owes its origins to history and our common struggle against colonialism, apartheid, poverty, disease, illiteracy and hunger... India will work with Africa to realize its vast potential.""We will offer $5 billion dollars for the next three years under lines of credit to help Africa achieve its development goals," Singh said. To put the figure in perspective, India's healthcare budget is around $ 5.9 billion. This credit would be apart from $700 million pledged for new institutions in Africa.And for all those who said only China builds infrastructure for Africa, India announced a railway line between Ethiopia and Djibouti at a cost of $300 million. The initial plan by the African Union was for a line running across the breadth of Africa, but the task of coordinating land acquisition through so many sovereign states was a challenge they weren't willing to take just yet.China has the biggest presence in Africa, churning out airport terminals and football stadiums at a breathtaking pace, in return for access to resources and minerals. Its bilateral trade with Africa in 2010 was $126.9 billion, as compared to just over $40 billion India-Africa trade. Earlier this week, India declared a target of $70 billion by 2015.India has had a long-standing relationship with African countries, particularly on the eastern seaboard, but it took a backseat when China strode into Africa with its deep pockets and insatiable demand for energy and resources. Since then, India has been playing catch-up. At the India-Africa summit in 2008, India signalled its seriousness about Africa. But this week, India announced that it will be playing in the big league here. India's interests in Africa are not very different from China's – with the added lure of 53 votes pushing for a reform of the UN Security Council But India prides itself on doing things differently from China. It sees itself as less extractive in its engagements and more inclined towards helping African countries improve their capacity. As a senior African diplomat observed, "China invests in our today, India in our tomorrow."African nations are not unhappy at being the centre of attention and largesse by India and China. Although China is more efficient in the way it processes aid in Africa, India has been actively invited by African leaders themselves as they seek to balance the Chinese presence.To that end, Singh announced a slew of new institutes in Africa on Tuesday – India-Africa Food Processing Cluster, Integrated Textiles Cluster, Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (India has donated a Param supercomputer to Tanzania), University for Life and Earth Sciences and an Institute of Agriculture and Rural Development. This is apart from a diamond institute and information technology and management institutes across the five regional groupings in the emerging continent.The Indian presence is also mainly in the private sector, unlike the state-driven presence of China. This makes the Indian engagement far less threatening in Africa. Having said that, Indian companies are increasingly getting into mining for coal, copper and more industrial-use metals in different African countries. Indian farmers are engaging in commercial farming in countries like Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda. In a recent agreement, Andhra Pradesh will send 500 farmers to become farming entrepreneurs in these countries.PM Singh declared that India would invite all African airlines to Indian cities over the next three years. That's because no Indian airline now flies to Africa even as Chinese airlines are increasing their flights to the continent.Singh will travel to Tanzania on Thursday for a bilateral summit – to a country where India has huge investments of over $1 billion, but also a country that, along with Mozambique, Mauritius and Seychelles, is forming part of India's security grid in the Indian Ocean.