Figure for 2010 above $443 m in ?04, says Global Health Strategies
India?s foreign assistance budget has grown to $680 million in 2010 from $443 million in 2004. This implies an annual growth of over 7% in the aid that India doles out to other countries, according to a report by Global Health Strategies initiatives.
However, these figures fade when compared to China?s contribution of $3.9 billion. China is the world?s second largest economy which boasts of a GDP bigger than all other BRICS counterparts combined. On a comparable basis, China?s assistance budget grew at an annual rate of 29% between 2004 and 2009. However, health sector has not been a major beneficiary.
Both India and China prefer bilateral arrangements to disburse aid over multilateral platforms. ?India does not systematically report foreign assistance figures making it difficult to quantify annual commitments and disbursements,? says a report. It however adds that such assistance from India typically includes technical cooperation, grants, contribution to international organisation, soft loans and Export-Import Bank lines of credit with subsidised interest rates. Lines of credit are designed to be repaid by the recieving countries, with the ministry of commerce covering the difference between actual and subsidised rates.
In terms of geographic focus, the majority of India?s assistance continues to be for neighbours, including Bhutan and Nepal. The country has, in recent years, also attempted to build a stable relationship with Afghanistan towards which its bilateral contribution and lines of credit now totals upwards of $1billion. This makes India Afganistan?s fifth largest donor. ?… the recent exponential growth in Indian assistance to Afghanistan is also driven by regional politics, including India?s strained relationship with Pakistan,? the report concludes.
The report notes that the foreign assistance emanating from BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) is growing rapidly since last four to five years. Despite that, it remains small in comparison to what the US or the Western European countries dole out. In 2010, the US?s aid stood at $31 billion, while Germany, France and Japan contributed in the range of $13-14 billion, each. The performance of Brazil and Russia on this account hovered between $400-500 million.