Round The World
New Delhi, 3 March 2015
India Aid
MODI, A
GOOD NEIGHBOUR
By Ashok B
Sharma
The world will be closely watching
the unfolding of the assurances given by the Modi government to its
neighbourhood and the developing world. And also the new emphasis in the
country’s foreign policy of maintaining friendly relations with countries for
attracting investments and boosting trade so as to make India a new centre of
the growth engine for the world. India is slated to emerge as a
security provider in the region.
Prime Minister Modi on assuming
office had said that his foremost priority is South Asia
and then the extended neighbourhood. Recall his swearing in ceremony, where he
had invited leaders of South Asia as a gesture
of goodwill and they responded favourably.
In the extended neighbourhood, Modi
diplomacy began its first debut with the changing of the ‘Look East Policy’ to
‘Act East Policy’ and roping in the remote Pacific Islands Forum to the level
of summit-level talks with India.
In the ASEAN bloc, the less developed countries like Cambodia,
Myanmar, Laos and
Vietnam (CMLV) particularly has been selected on priority for deepening
development cooperation.
Last week, the Union Budget of
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley amply focused on making India an attractive destination for investment
and Modi’s pet theme, ‘Make in India’
programme a success. Importantly, the budgetary proposals have gone beyond to
make the CMLV countries as “manufacturing hubs.” With a view to catalyze
investments from Indian private sector, a project development company through
separate special vehicles (SPVs) will set up manufacturing hubs in the CMLV
countries. Thus, this would be a new approach that can be conveniently called
‘Make by India’ in contrast
to ‘Make in India’.
However, development cooperation
with CMLV countries is not new. New
Delhi has been in the past helping out viz various
development programmes. This time around, an attempt is being made to be a
partner in their industrialization process in a defined and dedicated manner.
Vietnam is a friendly country
having strategic relationship with India. It has allotted oil
exploration blocks to an Indian public sector company in the South
China Sea, much to the displeasure of the Chinese. At its end, New Delhi has sought to
ensure that the two have stronger ties particularly by way of defence, trade
and economic agreements. In fact, both the countries are lining up in
particular against China in
the backdrop of the US
intensifying its “pivot to Asia” aimed at isolating Beijing and encircling it militarily with
strategic partnerships and alliances. While Cambodia
and Laos are also friendly
countries, they had taken a different view over Beijing’s
claim over South China Sea at the ASEAN meeting, which perhaps now New Delhi would like to
influence. And what better way than reaching out more subtly with a development
cooperation plan with the two.
Given that Myanmar is India’s
immediate neighbour and is the gateway to South-East Asia,
plans are afoot to have strong ties by ensuring land, rail and maritime
connectivity through this country to other regions of ASEAN. Undoubtedly, this
is the right time to deepen relationship with Myanmar when democracy is taking
roots there. The setting up of manufacturing hubs will also serve India’s
interest by helping its remote north-eastern States when full-fledged
connectivity is established and more trading points are opened at the border.
Thus, India has for starters
assured Rs 270 crore as aid to Myanmar
in the current fiscal year.
Among, India’s
immediate neighbour, Bhutan
would be the largest recipient of aid. Recall this was the first country in
South Asia Prime Minister Modi chose to visit after assuming office. While New
Delhi has consistently aided Thimpu and has already promised Rs 4,500 crore for
Bhutan’s 11th five-year plan (2013-18) and Rs 500 crore towards economic stimulus
package, the budgetary proposals for the year 2015-16 have earmarked a total
corpus of Rs 6160.20 crore as aid to Bhutan.
In terms of aid package, next comes
the war-ravaged Afghanistan
with a total of Rs 676 crore. India’s
engagement with Kabul is crucial India. The two
have strong ties based on historical and cultural links. New
Delhi has played a significant role in the reconstruction and
rehabilitation of Afghanistan
and wants it to become a source of regional stability. However, Pakistan seeks to play spoilsport, and among
others has denied land route access to Afghanistan. But that doesn’t deter
New Delhi, which has now planned to reach Afghanistan by using the Chabahar port in Iran. Further,
rail and road connectivity is proposed to connect to Afghanistan and beyond to the
Central Asian republics.
India is Sri Lanka’s
closest neighbour. However, over the past years the relationship has been
somewhat choppy given Colombo’s treatment of
Tamils of Indian origin in the northern and North Eastern Provinces and its
inching closer to China,
which has consciously made strategic and commercial investments in Sri Lanka. Modi
is expected to visit the island nation later this month, and New Delhi has been busy with the ground work.
It has committed Rs 500 crore aid which among others shall take into account
the rehabilitation of the war displaced Tamils. Indian public sector, IRCON is
executing five projects in the Northern
Province which includes reconstruction of railway
lines at an estimated total investment of $550 million.
Insofar as Bangladesh is
concerned, Modi’s coming to power and with it the issue of illegal migrants
from across the border raising its ugly head there has been growing
apprehension about the future of the relationship. In a way there is a bid to
assuage these feelings by continuing to extend a helping hand. New
Delhi has assured Rs 250 crore as aid to Dhaka.
This apart, IRCON is executing projects for construction of the second Bhairab Railway Bridge
with approach rail links at an estimated investment of $40.10 million.
At a time when India and Nepal
are reviewing and updating the Treaty of Peace and Friendship 1950, New Delhi has scaled up its assistance to Kathmandu to Rs 420 crore. Additionally, IRCON is
executing two prestigious projects for construction of new broad gauge railway
lines. The other countries getting aid packages include, Maldives, with
assistance hiked to Rs 183 crore, distant Mongolia getting Rs 2.50 crore and
Eurasian countries Rs 20 crore. In Malaysia, IRCON has recently
completed a double tracking railway project of 98 km on a turnkey basis
including electrification, signalling and telecommunication works at an
investment of over $1 billion!
Looking further beyond, India has hiked its aid assistance to Africa to Rs 200 crore and is rendering development
assistance through Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) programme.
The ITEC, which is pegged at Rs 180 crore, is also extended to countries in
Central Asia, SE Asia and Latin America.
Another area where New Delhi assists developing countries is
through the Colombo Plan and its contribution to this fund in the current year
is Rs 8.60 crore. Aid to other developing countries is pegged at Rs 83.44
crore, whereas for disaster relief Rs 25 crore is earmarked. Importantly, the
budget for total technical and economic cooperation with other countries and
advances to foreign governments has been pegged at a whopping Rs 9107.02 crore.
It goes without saying that with these agenda in place, Modi wants to make his
debut in the neighbourhood and in the developing world felt. --- INFA
(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance
|