At ₹2,068 crore, Bhutan gets lion’s share of India’s external aid portfolio
The external affairs ministry was allocated ₹22,154 crore, while its actual expenditure in 2023-24 was ₹29,121.88 crore, according to the budget documents
Bhutan again garnered the largest share of the Indian government’s external aid portfolio with an outlay of ₹2,068 crore in the budget for 2024-25, which also retained an allocation of ₹100 crore for developing Iran’s Chabahar port.
The external affairs ministry was allocated ₹22,154 crore, while its actual expenditure in 2023-24 was ₹29,121.88 crore, according to the budget documents.
In keeping with the government’s “Neighborhood First” policy, Bhutan was allocated ₹2,068 crore from the total external aid portfolio of ₹4883.56 crore, including soft loans and grants, for foreign countries and projects. Earlier this year, India announced it would double its financial support for Bhutan’s five-year plans from ₹5,000 crore to ₹10,000 crore.
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The outlay for foreign countries included ₹700 crore for Nepal, ₹400 crore for the Maldives, ₹370 crore for Mauritius, ₹250 crore for Myanmar, ₹200 crore each for Afghanistan and African nations, ₹120 crore for Bangladesh, ₹245 crore for Sri Lanka and ₹40 crore for Seychelles.
The allocations in the current budget for Nepal, Sri Lanka and Seychelles were significantly higher than the outlays for these countries in the previous budget. Nepal was allocated ₹550 crore in 2023-24 and it was provided ₹650 crore in the previous fiscal. Similarly, Sri Lanka was provided aid worth only ₹60 crore in the last fiscal, while Seychelles was provided ₹9.91 crore.
India played a crucial role in helping Sri Lanka tide over its worst financial crisis in decades by providing financial aid worth almost $4 billion, including credit lines for emergency purchases of food, fuel and medicines.
The outlay of 100 crore for Chabahar port reflected the importance of the facility in regional connectivity efforts.
In May, India and Iran signed a 10-year pact on operations at Shahid Beheshti terminal of Chabahar port, where an Indian state-run is responsible for operations.
Besides a commitment to invest $120 million to acquire equipment for port operations, India offered a credit window of $250 million for developing infrastructure around the deep-sea port in the Gulf of Oman.
The total development assistance for regions such as Latin America and Eurasia in the budget for 2024-25 was pegged at ₹50 crore.
The external affairs ministry’s total outlay includes expenses on embassies and missions, passport and emigration, external aid for countries and projects abroad, and contributions to bodies such as the Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR) and the South Asian University.
