Aid to Maldives in Interim Budget 22% lower than what was spent; but higher than last year’s allocation
Grants to other foreign nations also see a drop. The government has reduced its overall allocation for aid to foreign countries for the forthcoming fiscal year by 10 per cent. According to Budget proposals, Nepal, Afghanistan, Africa get modest raise.
However, 'Development Assistance' to Seychelles, Mongolia & Iran's Chabahar Port remain roughly the same year-on-year.
Of course, new Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu has sought to antagonise India. But New Delhi preferred to give mixed signals. While the new Maldives President, who is likely to face impeachment, appears to be moving deeper into China’s orbit; Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman gave a sort of mixed signals.
Her announcement meant aid to Maldives to drop by 2 'than what was spent'; but higher than last year’s allocation.
The Modi 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. 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 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).
India has allocated Rs 250 crore in grants to Myanmar compared to Rs 370 crore last year.
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.
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.
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.
Interim Budget indicates 'high political confidence in BJP's tone'
The announcements in interim budget reflected the ruling BJP's mood for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, S&P Global Market Intelligence said.
It maintained that different from the run-up to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, this year's interim budget announcement indicated not only high political confidence in the BJP's tone but also underscored 'policy continuity' and expansion for the post-election budget announcement in July 2024.
In fact, the agency said, yhe budget speech of Nirmala Sitharaman was framed as a 'report card' on government performance, with particular emphasis on social welfare expansion and infrastructure development.
Despite the modest amount of voter-friendly spending ahead of the general elections, the government has signaled its continuous focus on capital investment and infrastructure spending with a goal to crowd in private investment, sustain high economic growth, and improve India’s competitiveness.
** Ranjit Barthakur, Chairman of FICCI Northeast Advisory Council, said the Interim Budget is clear and focused on the outcomes.
*** Joydip Gupta, Co-chairman of FICCI Assam Council, lauded the Budget's emphasis on rooftop solarisation, and said “This could be a transformative initiative and besides substantial savings for households, this will go a long way in ensuring India’s energy security”.
Moreover, a whooping Rs 10,369 crores allocated for Railway infrastructure projects in North-East
Minister of Railways, Ashwini Vaishnaw, said that the Gross Budget Allocation for Railway infrastructure projects in North-East for the FY 2024-25 is Rs 10,369 crores.
It is 388% higher as compared to average budget allocation of Rs. 2,122 crores during 2009-14.
Other highlights:
** Cabinet approves extension of sugar subsidy scheme for poor by 2 years
** Hailing Finance Minister's announcement of plans to upgrade 40,000 regular bogies to Vande Bharat standards, mobility solutions provider Jupiter Wagons MD, Vivek Lohia, said it is a dynamic move in the right direction.
** The Interim Budget gave a major thrust to stepping up value addition in the agricultural sector and boosting farmers’ incomes. It also seeks 'self reliance' in oilseeds.
A significant feature for Bengaluru in Budget is the proposal for establishment of a corpus for research and innovation.
** Blue Economy 2.0: Five integrated Aqua Parks to be set up
** Rs 1 lakh crore Corpus to provide long-term, interest-free financing for the youth in the technology sector is a positive measure. This will boost innovation and growth in sunrise industries like manufacturing.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the budget presented in Parliament on Thursday, saying that it is not merely an interim budget but an inclusive and innovative budget.
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