New Delhi: In the Union Budget 2024-25, India cut development assistance to Maldives by 22 percent of what it spent last year, as per the revised estimates, at a time when bilateral relations have turned rocky as newly-elected Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu appears to be moving deeper into China’s orbit.
The government has allocated Rs 600 crore in grant assistance to Maldives compared to the Rs 770 crore it spent last year (as per the revised estimate). It should be noted that last year’s initial budget estimate for assistance to Male was Rs 400 crore.
Development assistance to India’s other neighbours like Seychelles, Mongolia and Iran’s Chabahar Port have remained roughly the same year-on-year.
India and Iran have been working towards signing a long-term contract for the Chabahar Port to expand trade but this is yet to be finalised.
This year, India has reduced its grant to Bangladesh by Rs 10 crore from Rs 130 crore in Budget 23-24 (revised estimate).
As per the decision of the United Nations (UN), Bangladesh is set to graduate out of the group of least-developed countries (LDCs) this November.
Bhutan, which historically receives the highest developmental assistance out of India’s neighbours, saw its allocation drop by over 13 percent.
The government allocated a total of Rs 2,068 crore to Bhutan — Rs 1,078 crore (grant) and Rs 989 crore (loan). This is less than the Rs 2,398 crore allocated to the Himalayan country — Rs 784 crore (grant) and Rs 1,614 crore (loan) — in Budget 2023-24 (revised estimate).
Nepal, Afghanistan, African countries get slightly more
Nepal saw a slight increase — from Rs 650 crore last year (revised estimate) to Rs 700 crore this year — and so did African countries, from Rs 180 crore last year (revised estimate) to Rs 200 crore.
Like last year, India has once again cut development assistance to Myanmar, which saw a military coup in February 2021 and continues to be run by the junta.
Under Budget 2024, India has allocated Rs 250 crore in grants to Myanmar compared to Rs 370 crore last year.
This was a 32 percent decrease in assistance, roughly the same as last year’s cut.
This year, India has cut its total allocation of aid to countries by 10 percent from Rs 5,426 crores in the revised estimates for 2023-24 to Rs 4,883 crores in this year’s budget.
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