Standing tall in its commitment to support Afghanistan, India allocated Rs.200 crore as development assistance to the war-ravaged nation in its financial year budget 2022-23 presented in the Parliament on February 01, 2022.
In addition to the above allocation, the Government disbursed Rs.100 crore for the Chabahar port project, India’s key connectivity project. An amount of Rs. 518.86 crore has been allocated for the International Cooperation, the Budget document stated.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Union Budget 2022-23 allocated a total of Rs. 17,250 crore (Revenue Rs.15833.77 crore; Capital Rs.1416.23 crore) to the Ministry of External Affairs with Rs.6292.30 crore to be dispatched for the development assistance of various countries with Bhutan getting a maximum outlay of Rs.2,266 crore.
Taking to the micro-blogging site, Afghanistan Ambassador to India Farid Mamundzay thanked New Delhi for their warm assistance.
“Today India allocated ₹200 crores as an aid for Afghanistan in its budget for 22-23, signaling New Delhi’s continuing commitment to the Afghan people, including an additional ₹100 crore for Chabahar port,” the Afghan Envoy to India said.
“Neighbourhood First- It is a signal that India is not switching off,” he added.
Rs. 6,292 crores to be dispatched for development assistance of countries
Apart from the allocation of Rs.200 crore to Afghanistan, the government proposed an allocation of Rs.2,266 crore for the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan versus Rs.1755.23 crore (RE 2021-22) last year. The Budget document saw an increase in aid provision for Nepal (Rs.750 crore), Sri Lanka (Rs.200 crore), Maldives (Rs.360 crores), Mongolia (Rs.12 crore), African Countries (Rs.250 crores), and Eurasian Countries (Rs.140 crores).
On the other hand, the Budget 2022-23 also saw an increase in allocation of Rs. 20 crore (total Rs. 320 cr) for the Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR) taking the total assistance to other Autonomous bodies at Rs. 354.90 crore. An amount of Rs. 3100.01 crore has also been earmarked for the Special Diplomatic Expenditure.
India sent three tonnes of medical aid to Afghanistan
It is pertinent to note that, since the fall out of Afghanistan in the hands of the Taliban, India emerged as Afghanistan’s major aid supporter.
In a humanitarian gesture, India recently on January 29, 2022, supplied the fourth batch of assistance consisting of 3 tonnes of essential life-saving medicines to Afghanistan. The medical supplies were handed over to the Indira Gandhi Hospital, Kabul.
