The Indian government used to receive foreign aid from various nations and international organisations.
In 2010, British newspaper The Guardian reported the aid received by India to be less than 1% of its GDP and has declined to take foreign aid recently. [1]
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) compiled and published a data in 2015 indicating that from the period 1946-2012, India has been the recipient of highest aid from United States. The amount of economic aid, adjusted to inflation then, was reported to be USD 65.1 billion. [2]
In recent times, the Government of India has on various occasions refused to take foreign aid for management of natural disasters like 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, 2013 Uttarakhand floods, 2014 Kashmir floods, and 2018 Kerala floods. [3] In year 2017, the Indian Government declared that India had been a net donor in 2015-16 and in the annual budget of year 2019-2020 ₹8,415 crore (USD 1.32 billion) were allocated (0.3% of the overall budget) for India's own foreign aid programme.
India is not a member of Development Assistance Committee, which includes the world's major donor countries. Despite that, India has recorded donations to various countries. India also provides non-monetary help in cases of natural disasters by means of sending supplies and manpower for rescue missions. [3] In 2017, General V. K. Singh, the then Minister of State for External Affairs informed that India had been a net donor in 2015-16 by donating ₹ 7,719.65 crore (US$920 million) as aid and receiving only ₹2,144.77 crore (US$260 million) from foreign countries and global banks. [4] India's major quantum of foreign aid is given to neighbouring countries. According to India's budget in 2021-22, its direct overseas aid stood at ₹18,154 crore (US$2.4 billion).
In the 2024 budget, the Indian government reduced its overall allocation for aid to foreign countries by 10%. For example, aid to the Maldives has been cut by 22% for the 2024-25 financial year. This reduction comes amid a diplomatic row between India and the Maldives, which has influenced the adjustments in aid allocations. Despite this, Maldives remains the third highest recipient of aid from India, reflecting the country's strategic importance to India. The budget also mentioned massive cuts in aid to Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, and Latin American nations, while allocations for Sri Lanka, several African countries, Mauritius, and the Seychelles have seen an increase. [5]
Tourism in India is 4.6% of the country's gross domestic product (GDP). Unlike other sectors, tourism is not a priority sector for the Government of India. Forbes magazine ranked India as the 7th most beautiful country in 'The 50 Most Beautiful Countries In The World' rankings. The World Travel and Tourism Council calculated that tourism generated ₹13.2 lakh crore (US$160 billion) or 5.8% of India's GDP and supported 32.1 million jobs in 2021. Even though, these numbers were lower than the pre-pandemic figures; the country's economy witnessed a significant growth in 2021 after the massive downturn during 2020. The sector is predicted to grow at an annual rate of 7.8% to ₹33.8 lakh crore (US$400 billion) by 2031. India has established itself as the 5th largest global travel healthcare destination with an estimated market size of around $9 billion in 2019, out of the total global travel healthcare industry of $44.8 billion(2019). In 2014, 184,298 foreign patients travelled to India to seek medical treatment.
Aid effectiveness is the degree of success or failure of international aid. Concern with aid effectiveness might be at a high level of generality, or it might be more detailed.
In international relations, aid is – from the perspective of governments – a voluntary transfer of resources from one country to another. The type of aid given may be classified according to various factors, including its intended purpose, the terms or conditions under which it is given, its source, and its level of urgency. For example, aid may be classified based on urgency into emergency aid and development aid.
From 1947 to 2017, the Indian economy was premised on the concept of planning. This was carried through the Five-Year Plans, developed, executed, and monitored by the Planning Commission (1951–2014) and the NITI Aayog (2015–2017).
Australian Aid is the brand name used to identify projects in developing countries supported by the Australian Government. As of 2014 the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) has been responsible for Australia's official development assistance to developing countries.
The economy of Kerala is the 9th largest in India, with an annual gross state product (GSP) of ₹9.78 lakh crore in 2020–2021. Per-capita GSP of Kerala during the same period is ₹257,711 (US$3,100), the sixth largest in India. In 2019–20, the tertiary sector contributed around 63% of the state's GSVA, compared to 28% by secondary sector, and 8% by primary sector.
Vibrant Gujarat, also referred to as Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit, is a biennial investors' global business event that is held in the state of Gujarat, India. The event is aimed at bringing together business leaders, investors, corporations, thought leaders, policy and opinion makers; the summit is advertised as a platform to understand and explore business opportunities in Gujarat. The summit's primary objective is to promote Gujarat as an attractive investment destination and to facilitate partnerships and collaborations across different sectors. Summit began in 2003 and is now held every two years.
Social security in India includes a variety of statutory insurances and social grant schemes bundled into a formerly complex and fragmented system run by the Indian government at the federal and the state level. The Directive Principles of State Policy, enshrined in Part IV of the Indian Constitution reflects that India is a welfare state. Food security to all Indians are guaranteed under the National Food Security Act, 2013 where the government provides highly subsidised food grains or a food security allowance to economically vulnerable people. The system has since been universalised with the passing of The Code on Social Security, 2020. These cover most of the Indian population with social protection in various situations in their lives.
India and Maldives are neighbours sharing a maritime border. India continues to contribute to maintaining security as well as providing financial aid on the island nation.
United States foreign aid, also known as US foreign assistance consists of a variety of tangible and intangible forms of assistance the United States gives to other countries. Foreign aid is used to support American national security and commercial interests and can also be distributed for humanitarian reasons. Aid is financed from US taxpayers and other revenue sources that Congress appropriates annually through the United States budget process. It is dispersed through "over 20 U.S. government agencies that manage foreign assistance programs," although about half of all economic assistance is channeled through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation Programme (ITEC) is a bilateral assistance programme run by the Government of India. It is a demand-driven, response-oriented programme that focuses on addressing the needs of developing countries through innovative technological cooperation between India and the partnering nation. Along with its corollary the Special Commonwealth Assistance for Africa Programme, ITEC covers 158 countries across Asia, Africa, Latin America, Central and Eastern Europe, and several Pacific and Caribbean nations. Since its inception, the programme has spent over US$ 2 billion and benefited thousands of students and professionals from around the globe and annual expenditure on the programme has averaged US$ 100 million per annum in recent years.
The military budget or defence budget of India is the portion of the overall budget of Union budget of India that is allocated for the funding of the Indian Armed Forces. The military budget finances employee salaries and training costs, maintenance of equipment and facilities, support of new or ongoing operations, and development and procurement of new technologies, weapons, equipment, and vehicles.
The defence industry sector of India is a strategically important sector in India. India has one of the world's largest military forces with a strength of over 1.44 million active personnel. The country has the world's largest volunteer military of over 5.1 million personnel. The total budget sanctioned for the Indian military for the financial year 2021 is ₹4.78 lakh crore. It has the third largest annual defence budget behind USA and China. It is the second largest defence importer behind Saudi Arabia making up 9.2% of global arms import. India has a domestic defence industry of which 60% is government owned. The public sector includes NTRO, CSIR, PRL, DRDO and its 50 labs, 4 defence shipyards, 12 defence public sector undertakings (PSUs). India has a new defence procurement, acquisition and manufacturing policy to reduce imports and enhance domestic manufacturing.
The 2015 South India floods resulted from heavy rainfall generated by the annual northeast monsoon in November–December 2015. They affected the Coromandel Coast region of the South Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. More than 500 people were killed and over 1.8 million people were displaced. With estimates of damages and losses ranging from nearly ₹200 billion (US$2 billion) to over ₹1 trillion (US$12 billion), the floods were the costliest to have occurred in 2015, and were among the costliest natural disasters of the year.
On 16 August 2018, severe floods affected the south Indian state Kerala, due to unusually heavy rainfall during the monsoon season. It was the worst flood in Kerala in nearly a century. Over 483 people died, and 15 went missing. About ten lakh people were evacuated, mainly from Chengannur, Pandanad, Edanad, Aranmula, Kozhencherry, Ayiroor, Ranni, Pandalam, Kuttanad, Malappuram, Aluva, Chalakudy, Thrissur, Thiruvalla, Eraviperoor, Vallamkulam, North Paravur, Chendamangalam, Chellanam, Vypin Island, and Palakkad. All 14 districts of the state were placed on red alert. According to the Kerala government, one-sixth of the total population of Kerala had been directly affected by the floods and related incidents. The Indian government had declared it a Level 3 Calamity, or "calamity of a severe nature". It is the worst flood in Kerala after the great flood of 99 that took place in 1924.
Indian foreign aid is the aid given by the Indian government to other governments. India's major quantum of foreign aid is given to neighbouring countries. According to India's budget in 2021–22, its direct overseas aid stood at ₹18,154 crore (US$2.2 billion). That apart, India also extended a direct line of credit worth $30.66 billion to several foreign countries for developmental projects. The way of providing a much larger share of aid in the form of concessional loans is quite similar to that of China. India has set up 'Indian Agency for Partnership in Development' as a part of Ministry of External Affairs (India) to channelize aid to recipient nations.
The 2020 Union Budget of India was presented by the Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman on 1 February 2020, as her second budget. This is the second budget of Narendra Modi-led NDA government's second term. The Economic Survey for 2019–2020 was released on 31 January 2020, a day before the budget. Before the budget speech the report of the 15th Finance Commission was tabled by the Finance Minister.
The Prime Minister's Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund was created on 27 March 2020, following the COVID-19 pandemic in India. Although it is named for the Prime Minister of India, and uses the State Emblem of India, it is a private fund, used at the discretion of the Prime Minister and the Fund's trustees, and does not form a part of the Government of India's accounts. The Fund was established for the purpose of redressing the COVID-19 pandemic in India, in 2020. While complete documentation for the Fund's establishment has not been made public, the Government of India has stated that the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, is the chairman of the fund, and that trustees include the Minister of Defence, Rajnath Singh; the Minister of Home Affairs, Amit Shah, the Minister of Finance, Nirmala Sitharaman, and several corporate leaders and industrialists, including Ratan Tata, and Sudha Murty.
From 15 June to October 2022, floods in Pakistan killed 1,739 people, and caused ₨ 3.2 trillion of damage and ₨ 3.3 trillion of economic losses. The immediate causes of the floods were heavier than usual monsoon rains and melting glaciers that followed a severe heat wave, both of which are linked to climate change.