KATHMANDU, Feb 2 : Over INRs 16,000 crore has been earmarked for the India's Ministry of External Affairs in the Fiscal Year 2019-20 budget of the Indian government, an increase of more than INRs 1,000 crore from the previous fiscal, with a massive jump in aid allocation for Maldives and African nations.
The total aid to countries has increased by about INRs 902 crore, from INRs 5,545 crore to INRs 6,447 crore, according to Indian media reports.
The aid allocation for Nepal rose by about INRs 50 crore to INRs 700 crore in 2019-20, while for Myanmar it increased from INRs 280 crore to INRs 400 crore, according to Press Trust of India.
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The aid allocation for African countries doubled from last fiscal to INRs 400 crore in the 2019-20 budget. However, revised budget numbers indicate that India spent nearly INRs 330 crore as aid to African nations in 2018-19.
Aid allocation for Maldives jumped from Rs IN125 crore in 2018-19 to a whopping INRs 575 crore. The revised budget numbers indicate that India spent nearly INRs 440 crore on aid to the island nation in 2018-19. The aid for the strategically important Chabhar Port remained at INRs 150 crore — same as in 2018-19. A sum of over INRs 2,615 crore has been allocated for aid to Bhutan, a slight dip from INRs 2,650 crore earmarked for it last year.
The aid set aside for Afghanistan (INRs 325 crore), Bangladesh (INRs 175 crore), Sri Lanka (INRs 150 crore), and Mongolia (INRs 5 crore) for the 2019-20 fiscal corresponds with last year’s budgetary allocations.The aid allocation for African countries doubled from last fiscal to INRs 400 crore in the 2019-20 budget. However, revised budget numbers indicate that India spent nearly INRs 330 crore as aid to African nations in 2018-19.
Aid to Mauritius also doubled to INRs 700 crore in the latest financial plan. The revised budget numbers indicate that India spent nearly INRs 660 crore on aid to Mauritius in 2018-19. The establishment expenditure for the ministry was earmarked at INRs 5,137.95 crore. The revised budget for 2018-19 showed that INRs 420 crore was spent last fiscal for maintenance of aircraft of Air India for VVIP travel. The total allocation to the ministry in 2019-20 is INRs 16,061 crore — an increase of INRs 1,050 crore over last fiscal’s INRs 15,011 crore. The revised budget numbers indicate that the ministry spent 15,582 crore.
