New Delhi: Though the Union Budget 2024-25 presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday has allocated for the External Affairs Ministry that is higher than what was made in 2023-24, it still falls short of the revised estimate of the previous financial year. This year, Sitharaman has proposed an allocation of Rs 22,124.67 crore to the External Affairs Ministry, which is higher than the Rs 18,050.00 crore allocated in the Union Budget of 2023-24, but is short of last year’s revised estimate of Rs 29,121.88 crore.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar congratulated Sitharaman for presenting a budget, which he said advances the goal of Vikshit Bharat (Developed India). “It (the Budget) responds to the aspirations of the people, who have given the NDA Government a third successive mandate,” Jaishankar posted on X. “The 9 priorities highlighted by the Finance Minister will contribute to India’s Comprehensive National Power. It will enhance our profile on the international stage. The Budget provides Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) resources to execute key policies, including Neighbourhood First, Act East, Global South and facilities for Indians travelling abroad.”
This time, the budgetary allocation under the head ‘Aid to Countries’ is lower compared to the 2023-24 Budget. The amount allocated under this head in the Union Budget 2024-25 is Rs 4,883.56 crore compared to Rs 5,408.37 crore in the last financial year. This head provides for India’s multilateral and bilateral aid and assistance programmes to neighbouring and other developing countries. This assistance is provided to immediate neighbouring countries and also to the countries of Africa, Central Asia, South Asia and Latin America. It also caters for aid for disaster relief and humanitarian aid. The provision also includes aid assistance to Bhutan, Myanmar and Afghanistan.
As usual, Bhutan is the biggest beneficiary under the head ‘Aid to Countries’. This time, the amount allocated for Bhutan is Rs 2,068.56 crore, which is, however, lower than Rs 2,400.58 crore allocated in fiscal 2023-24. Nepal is the second biggest beneficiary with an allocation of Rs 700 crore, up from Rs 550 crore last year.
Though India’s ties with the Maldives had gone south following the election of new President Mohamed Muizzu, known for his pronounced anti-India and pro-China stance, aid for the Indian Ocean archipelago nation has remained unabated. The development aid allocated for the Maldives is Rs 400 crore, the same as last year.
Sri Lanka, a country that faced a huge financial crisis a couple of years ago and for which India played an important role in providing debt relief, has been allocated a development aid fund of Rs 245 crore. This is higher than the Rs 150 crore provided last year. Bangladesh, one of the biggest beneficiaries of India’s development aid partnership, has been allocated Rs 120 crore, lower than the Rs 200 crore provided in the last budget.
Myanmar, another of India’s eastern neighbours, which has been facing a violent resistance movement against the ruling military junta, has been allocated Rs 250 crore, down from Rs 400 crore last year. Though India is not maintaining any official diplomatic relationship with the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, New Delhi has nevertheless allocated a development aid amount of Rs 200 crore, the same as last year.
With India seeking to increase its footprint in the western Indian Ocean under New Delhi’s Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR), development aid funds for countries in the region have also been increased. While the amount allocated to Mauritius is Rs 370 crore, slightly higher than last year’s revised estimate of Rs 300 crore, the amount for the Seychelles is Rs 40 crore compared to just Rs 10 crore last year. These apart, a combined amount of Rs 200 crore has been allocated as development aid funds for other African countries, which is slightly higher than last year’s revised estimate of Rs 180 crore.
A total amount of Rs 369.85 crore has been set aside for autonomous bodies functioning under the External Affairs Ministry. These include the Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR), the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA), the Society for Research and Information System for Non-Aligned, Other Developing Countries (RIS) and the India Centre for Migration. The expenditure caters for grants-in-aid salaries and grants-in-aid-general.
Apart from the autonomous bodies, under the ‘Other Central Sector Expenditure’ head, an amount of Rs 9,676.02 crore has been allocated. This caters to the discretionary expenditure, Commonwealth Secretariat, international organisations, UN organisations, South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Secretariat, and construction of South Asian University and Nalanda International University. This also caters to
maintenance cost of aircraft of Air India for VVIP travel, demarcation of boundaries, celebration of Pravasi Bhartiya Divas, Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, Indian Society of International Law, support for Institutes of Chinese
Studies, Centre for Land Warfare Studies Centre for UN Peacekeeping and Expenditure on Foreign Service Institute.
Apart from these, this head also includes funds provided to the Exim Bank against the invocation of Government of India guarantees for loans to other countries, which are considered doubtful debts.
