UK to Slash Us$448 Mil Aid to India by Half

 

LONDON  (NNN-Bernama) -- Britain will unveil plans this week to slash its 280 million pounds (US$448.74 million) annual aid to India by half amid criticism that its overseas assistance was not justified at a time of cut backs at home, local media said Sunday.

Justine Greening, Britain's International Development Secretary who is due to visit India shortly, will outline how the payments could be reduced amid claims that "India is too rich to need handouts".

Greening may cut the subsidies by up to half; Press Trust of India (PTI) quoted local news reports as saying.

The move comes amid mounting criticism that Britain's overseas aid programme -- set to reach more than 12 billion pounds (US$19.23 billion) by 2014 -- cannot be justified at a time of spending cuts back home.

However, reports said Greening would merely divert money sent to India to poorer countries, not cut the overall aid budget.

India has its own space programme and its leaders claim it does not need cash aid from the UK. It recently earmarked 52 million pounds (US$83.34 million) to send a probe to Mars.

Local media also revealed how the UK spent tens of millions of pounds on an army of consultants to tell India how to spend its cash aid

The Department for International Development has defended the subsidies, saying India is "still home to a third of the world's poor who survive on less than 80 pence a day".

Greening said last month she was in talks with India over turning off the aid tap.

She said last month: "We should recognise that as countries get richer, we need to be responsible about how we transition in our relationship with them from aid to trade.

"Those are the discussions that I am having with the Indian government at the moment." -- NNN-BERNAMA