Aid for Nepal slashed, funds for Myanmar hiked

New Delhi, February 1

The allocation for the Ministry of External Affairs for 2020-21 has remained constant though there have been some changes in grants to neighbouring countries. The aid for Nepal has been cut from Rs 1,200 crore during the current fiscal to Rs 800 crore while that for Myanmar has been increased from Rs 170 crore to Rs 300 crore.

The total allocation to the MEA for the next fiscal is proposed at Rs 17,346.71 crore against Rs 17,372.27 crore as per the revised estimates this year. The government has proposed Rs 100 crore for the Iranian port of Chabahar, which will allow Indian goods to go to Afghanistan, bypassing Pakistan. Bhutan gets a higher allocation, from Rs 2,674.51 crore in this fiscal to Rs 2,884.65 crore but the aid for Maldives has been slightly reduced by Rs 75 crore to Rs 1,025 crore in the next fiscal.

The aid for African countries is Rs 350 crore, Rs 200 crore each for Bangaldesh and Sri Lanka, Rs 140 crore for Seychelles, Rs 20 crore to Latin American countries and Rs 2 crore to Mongolia. — TNS