India's allocation of aid to Bangladesh for 2024-25 has dipped while that to Sri Lanka and Nepal has gone up, as per details shared by the government with a parliamentary panel. In 2023-24, India had budgeted ₹200 crore as aid to Bangladesh but could spend only ₹120 crore and for the ongoing financial year, it has made provision for ₹130 crore.
India more than quadrupled aid to Sri Lanka to ₹245 crore in 2024-25 compared ₹60 crore it could spend in 2023-24 against the budgeted allocation of ₹150 crore. Foreign secretary Vikram Misri's on Wednesday briefed the Parliamentary Panel on External Affairs, headed by Congress's Shashi Tharoor, on the ministry's demand for grants.
In case of Maldives, India allocated ₹400 crore as aid in 2023-24 but it ended up spending ₹770.90 crore. It again allocated ₹400 crore to the island nation for the current year.
The aid allocation to Myanmar has also come down significantly. Last year, India allocated ₹400 crore to its eastern neighbour and spent ₹370 crore. This year, it has allocated only ₹250 crore as aid.
Misri was also scheduled to brief the panel on India's ties with Canada and the changing equations with China, but it could not be taken up, sources said. An opposition MP expressed apprehension that it appears that ruling members tried to avert discussion on India-Canada and India-China issue.
Another opposition MP said these parliamentary panels play a useful role as it functions like a valve on the top of the pressure cooker to let off steam. People can ask tough questions and the government can give answers. "Refusal to discuss is much-much worse than not to discuss. Eventually, the ministry officials will discuss."
When contacted, Tharoor said an extensive discussion on the demand for grants was held. "We just do it to understand what the ministry is spending its money on... Lots of searching questions were answered by the members and very comprehensive answers were given by the foreign secretary," Tharoor told ET.
Source: The Economic Times
BDST: 1203 HRS, NOV 07, 2024
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