New Delhi. In line with India’s ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy, Bhutan was on Tuesday allocated the highest ever development assistance of Rs 2068 crore in the Union Budget presented for the financial year 2024-25, while the amount to be spent on Maldives has been reduced to Rs 400 crore from Rs 770 crore last year.
The reduction in the amount to be allocated to the Maldives comes at a time when relations between the two countries have been strained since China-leaning Mohammed Muizzu became the President of the island country. In the budget, a total of Rs 22,154 crore was allocated to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) for the financial year 2024-25, while last year’s revised outlay was Rs 29,121 crore. The same allocation was made to the Ministry of External Affairs in the interim budget presented in Parliament in February.
In the interim budget, the amount of assistance to be given to Maldives under the development head was estimated at Rs 600 crore. According to the budget document, now the allocation made to Maldives is only Rs 400 crore. The amount allocated for Bhutan in the financial year 2024-25 is Rs 2068 crore, while last year this amount was Rs 2398. Continuing India’s special relations with Afghanistan, a budgetary assistance of Rs 200 crore has been set for that country. The outlay for Afghanistan in the year 2023-24 was Rs 220 crore.