India's Aid and investment to foreign countries : News and Discussions

Ashwin said:
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India will give financial assistance of $1.4 billion to the Maldives, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday, the biggest aid yet to the Indian Ocean island nation that is grappling with debt from a Chinese building spree.

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Maldives President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi shake hands ahead of their meeting at Hyderabad House in New Delhi, December 17, 2018. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi

Modi made the announcement after talks with Maldives’ new president, Mohamed Ibrahim Solih, who defeated the pro-China strongman Abdulla Yameen in a surprise election result in October and is trying to reset ties with India.

During a five-year construction boom in the Maldives, China built a sea bridge connecting the capital, Male, to the main airport and is developing the airport itself, as well as building housing on land reclaimed from the sea.

But the fast-paced building activity has stoked fears that the Maldives has loaded up on debt that could be anything from $1.5 billion to more than $3 billion.

Solih’s administration has said it is trying to find out just how much the country of 400,000 people owes China.

Modi said India stood ready to help the Maldives as a close friend and neighbour.

“For Maldives’ social and economic development we are providing a financial assistance of $1.4 billion in the form of budgetary support, currency swap agreements and concessional lines of credit,” he said during a brief media appearance with Solih.

Both India and China have been trying to build regional influence in the Maldives and other Indian Ocean countries such as Sri Lanka that lie along vital shipping lanes.

Soon after he took over last month, Solih said state coffers had been looted over the past few years and warned that the country was in financial difficulty after racking up debt with Chinese lenders.

Solih said the Maldives and India had signed agreements to cooperate on trade, health and defence. India would help improve Maldives’ security through joint patrols as well as aerial surveillance, officials said.

India’s big worry has been that China’s expansive diplomacy in the region was aimed at securing an outpost on an island in the Maldives.

Modi said he had discussed regional security with Solih and both had agreed not to allow each other’s territory to be used against the other.

Modi gives $1.4 billion aid to Maldives amid worry over its China debt | Reuters
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We are sinking money in to a sink hole.... Pigs don't deserve a penny..😠😠😠
 
China is playing debt diplomacy in both the Maldives and the Philippines. Just like the ECB and IMF, once a country is indebted to you enough, you can start writing their policies for them.
 
suryakiran said:
Actually, they are quite nice people. Pro-India and provide employment to Indians and Bangladeshis in their tourism sector. The current ruckus due to one section of the politicians should not be taken as a bad thing.
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Yeah and Modi admin played the game well....didnt knee jerk for military intervention etc etc (when lot of indian defence voices were calling for it)....Maldivians are appreciative of all of it.

Now they will always think twice about Chinese schmooze....and also keep them (and Chinese lackeys) at arms length on any security matters, which was really India's primary concern.
 
India's fourth tranche of aid for Bangladesh on December 24
For the first time though, the Indian assistance will be distributed to not only the refugees but also among the local population whose lives have been severely impacted by the refugee influx. The assistance which will be given by the Indian high commission includes 2,25,000 blankets, 2,00,000 woollen sweaters and 500 solar street lights.
India's fourth tranche of aid for Bangladesh on December 24 - Times of India
 
India offers full paid scholarships to 400 Syrian students
India has offered full paid scholarships to 400 Syrian University students to study at various universities across the country as Syria is getting back to normalcy after seven years of counter-ISIS operations.

ET has learnt that most Syrian students for under-graduate and post-graduate courses have arrived in India as part of the initiative. This decision, first of its kind, was designed and conceived to develop closer bonds between India and Syria as the Assad government has successfully thwarted the ISIS.

The Indian government provided the flight tickets to the students as a goodwill gesture. India has been offering capacity building courses to students and professionals of developing countries for over five decades now.

"This was a special gesture which was extended due to Indo-Syrian political ties. India has stepped up its engagement with Damascus as the situation is returning to normalcy in most parts of Syria," a person familiar with the West Asian developments told ET.

Delhi, which supported the Assad government in its fight against ISIS, is seeking to relaunch its economic and soft power engagement with Syria. High-level political engagements are in the offing between Delhi and Damascus over the next few months.

India has extended its strong support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria, which on its part, has supported India on the Kashmir issue on all international forums, including Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, and believes India has the full right to take action it deems fit following any cross-border strike.

Nearly 100 Indian companies participated at an industrial fair that was hosted in Damascus last year. Apollo International had moderinsed a steel plant under an Indian government’s Line of Credit (LoC) facility of $25 million even under difficult circumstances, while Bhel is executing a project in Syria under another LoC. Damascus is also willing to offer phosphate blocks to India in the Syrian desert zone.

The European Union has estimated that Syria would require $245 bn to revive its war-torn economy. India, it has been learnt, is eyeing major reconstruction projects across housing, power, textile and food sectors in Syria.

India had made two significant investments in Syria in the oil sector in the pre-conflict days. First, ONGC and IPR International signed an agreement in January 2004 for exploration of oil/natural gas in Block 24 near Deir-ez-Zour in northern Syria.

Second, ONGC India and CNPC China invested to jointly acquire 37% stake of PetroCanada in the Syrian Al Furat Petroleum Company. The conflict and subsequent sanctions have slowed down ONGC’s operations in Syria. A team of ONGC-Videsh visited Syria to assess the feasibility of projects under consideration.


India has also set up centres for IT excellence and biotechnology in Syria.
India offers full paid scholarships to 400 Syrian students
 
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India all set to take over ops in Myanmar's Sittwe Port after Chabahar
India after Chabahar Port in Iran is all set to take over operations of Myanmar's Sittwe Port that will enable to counter-balance China's BRI in the Indo-Pacific region.

In a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha, Minister of state for Shipping, Road transport and chemical & fertilizer Mansukh L Mandaviya informed that the "infrastructure at Sittwe Port in Myanmar, constructed with India’s assistance, is ready for operation."

The construction of Sittwe Port is part of the Kaladan multi-modal transit transport project and its objective is to create a multi-modal sea, river and road transport corridor for shipment of cargo from the eastern ports of India to Myanmar through Sittwe port as well as to north-eastern part of India via Myanmar.

The construction of Sittwe Port is part of the Kaladan multi-modal transit transport project and its objective is to create a multi-modal sea, river and road transport corridor for shipment of cargo from the eastern ports of India to Myanmar through Sittwe port as well as to north-eastern part of India via Myanmar.

India and Myanmar signed a bilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on 22nd October, 2018 for operationalisation of the port at Sittwe and Inland Water Transport (IWT) Terminals at Sittwe and Paletwa. Once fully operational, the project would encourage investment and trade and also open up alternate routes for connectivity to India’s north-east region.

The development comes even as India took over the operations of a part of Shahid Beheshti Port, Chabahar in Iran during the Chabahar Trilateral Agreement meeting that was held on December 24th, 2018.

The heads of Indian, Iranian and Afghanistan delegation jointly inaugurated the office of the Indian SPV - India Ports Global Chabahar Free Zone (IPGCFZ) at Chabahar. The physical take-over of the terminal area, cargo handling equipment and Office building was completed by December, 29th last year.

Commercial operations began at IPGCFZ with the arrival of a vessel. A Cyprus registered bulk carrier had arrived at Chabahar with 72458 MT of corn cargo. The vessel MV MACHERAS berthed at the terminal a few days back on December 30th.

According to the ministry of shipping, "this step marks the beginning of a long journey. India has written history with its engagement in Chabahar and is now leading the regional cooperation and joint efforts to support landlocked Afghanistan."

Interestingly, this is the first time India will be operating a port outside its territories. India started interacting with Iran on Chabahar Port around 2003 but a major push was received in the second half of 2014, resulting in the signing of an MOU between the two countries for the development of Chabahar Port in May 2015.

This MOU translated into a formal 10-year contract for equipping and operating the Chabahar Port, which was executed on May 23rd, during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Tehran.

The US has already provided a wavier to India on the port as well as the railway line from the port to Afghan, after Delhi stood firm on its engagement with Tehran.
India all set to take over ops in Myanmar's Sittwe Port after Chabahar
 
India signs 11 MoUs worth $9.5 million with Afghanistan
Notwithstanding the recent terror attack targeting Indian nationals in Kabul and US efforts to cut a deal with Taliban, India has signed 11Mo-Us worth $ 9.5 million with the Afghan government this week.

The MoUs were for infrastructureNSE -1.64 %, public services such as health clinics and governance-related projects.

These projects include construction of classrooms, orphanages, health clinics, canal protection walls and enhancing economic opportunities for women for seven provinces of Afghanistan-- Balkh, Ghor, Herat, Kabul, Bamyan, Badghis and Kapisa. "The projects will help local communities in education, employment and livelihood generation and capacity building,” an official here said.

These projects are part of the 577 development projects funded by India for 2005-2021 worth $120 million. “These projects come under the ambit of community-based Small Development Projects (SDP), which are aimed at building capacities and capabilities of Afghan nationals and institutions for governance and delivery of public services, developing socio-economic infrastructure, securing and promoting livelihood options," Indian Embassy in Afghanistan noted in a statement.

The development comes days after US President Donald Trump mocked India's development assistance in Afghanistan and questioned the use of the “library” India built in the country. Trump in 2019’s first cabinet meet had said, even though he gets "along very well with India and Prime Minister Modi", PM Modi "is constantly telling me, he built a library in Afghanistan" but he "does not know who’s using it (the library) in Afghanistan". Later during a phone call, Trump and PM Modi discussed the way forward in Afghanistan as US readies to withdraw its troops and enter into a deal with Taliban.

India says its projects in Afghanistan speak for itself and Delhi will continue to stay on course in the landlocked country. Since 2001, India has undertaken projects worth over $2 billion in Afghanistan.
India signs 11 MoUs worth $9.5 million with Afghanistan
 
India increases significant contribution to Maldives; BIMSTEC to get similar funds as SAARC
The interim Budget saw India increase its contribution substantially to the Maldives while bringing support to SAARC and BIMSTEC Secretariat at the same level.

According to Budget estimates for 2019-2020, Maldives got Rs 400 crore grant and Rs 175 crore loan from India making New Delhi's contribution to the Indian ocean country at Rs 575 crore. It is five- times increase from the sum India contributed in FY 2017-2018 which was just Rs 109.24 crore.

In the case of Maldives, even the revised estimates for the financial year 2018-2019 saw a massive increase. In last year's Budget, India had announced a contribution of Rs 125 crore, it was revised at Rs 440 crore.

It comes after Maldives President Ibrahim Solih visited India in December of 2018, his first foreign visit to any country after taking charge in November last year. During the visit, India had announced an assistance of $1.4 billion to Male.

Clearly, the change in regime in the Maldives has had an impact. The previous regime under Yameen had junked pro-India policies for a pro-China strategy.

For Afghanistan, a country in which India is building a number of infrastructure projects, the interim Budget gave Rs 325 crore. Last year also it was as much but in the revised estimates released on Friday, it increased to Rs 470 crore.

Bhutan, which is India's close partner and gets substantial budgetary support saw a grant of Rs 2,115 crore and a loan of Rs 500 crore. With Rs 2,615 crore, it is the maximum support India gives to any country. Nepal got Rs 700 crore, Myanmar got Rs 400 crore, Bangladesh got Rs 175 crore & Sri Lanka Rs 150 crore in the interim Budget 2019-2020.

The Budget estimate for Chabahar port, India's key connectivity plan with Afghanistan and central Asia remained unchanged from the previous year at Rs 150 crore.

India also provides support to international and regional organisations. The amount given for SAARC and BIMSTEC Secretariat stands same at Rs 8 crore. Interestingly, BIMSTEC funds saw an increase from Rs 5 crore last year to Rs 8 crore this year.

The 2016 SAARC summit in Islamabad was cancelled after India along with regional countries like Bangladesh, Bhutan, Afghanistan boycotted the summit due to Islamabad's support to terrorism. BIMSTEC has seen a new push from New Delhi especially after the summit in Nepal last year.

India funds two universities also - The South Asian University and Nalanda International University - which saw Indian support worth Rs 380 crore and Rs 220 crore in the interim Budget.

For 2019-2020, India announced Rs 265 crore for United Nations, last year it was Rs 258 crore which revised estimates being increased at Rs 307 crore. This is excluding the contribution to its various bodies - like UNESCO and UNCTAD.

India will also give a membership contribution of Rs 0.70 cr to FATF under the interim Budget estimates.

Indian Ocean and Africa

Two Indian ocean countries - Mauritius and Seychelles, who have been getting aid historically from New Delhi, got Rs 700 crore and Rs 75 crore. Mauritius PM Pravind Kumar Jugnauth was on an 8-day long India visit only last week and was the chief guest at the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in Varanasi.

India also increased its support to African countries with the Budget announcing Rs 400 crore this year. Last it was Rs 200 crore and before that, it was Rs 175 crore. This is an increase in line with New Delhi's Africa policy which has seen an increase in engagement with the African continent.

India also provides support to Mongolia. This year it has announced Rs 5 crore, which is same as last year.
Budget 2019: India increases significant contribution to Maldives; BIMSTEC to get similar funds as SAARC
Budget 2019: India increases significant contribution to Maldives; BIMSTEC to get similar funds as SAARC
 
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Nepal: India extends financial grant for building educational campus
Government of India has extended financial grant of 35.5 million Nepalese rupees for the construction of an educational campus in Nepal.

The newly constructed building of Siddheshwar Education Public Campus in Ramechhap district was inaugurated on Friday.

The new three story building comprises of 12 class rooms, faculty room, principal room, library, laboratary room, a meeting hall and toilets for girls and boys.

The newly built infrastructure will not only boost learning environment of students but also enhance access to education to needy, poor and marginalized students of Ramechhap District and adjoining area.

Education creates building blocks for the process of nation-building and is the first step towards the development of any country. As part of Development Partnership Programme, the Government of India is providing assistance to institutions at all levels from primary schools to universities in Nepal.
http://ddnews.gov.in/international/nepal-india-extends-financial-grant-building-educational-campus
 
Agreement signed for US$800m line of credit from India
An agreement was signed between the Maldives finance ministry and India’s Export-Import Bank on Monday for a US$800 million line of credit to finance the new administration’s infrastructure projects.

The concessional loans will be used to provide water and sewerage services on several islands, Finance Minister Ibrahim Ameer told the press after signing the agreement with EXIM Bank Chief General Manager Sudatta Mandal.

It will also finance other projects such as the relocation of the Malé commercial port to the nearby Thilafushi industrial island. Detailed proposals for water and sewerage projects on 30 islands have been shared with the EXIM Bank, he added.

Bid announcements were made on Monday for sewerage projects on eight islands and water projects on 11 islands.

The EXIM Bank loans come with a 1.75 percent interest rate and a 15-year repayment period after five years.

The credit line was part of US$1.4 billion worth of finance assistance secured during President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih’s state visit to India in December.

After Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended his inauguration in November, Solih’s visit was hailed as the beginning of a “new era” of relations after historically close ties were strained under the pro-China former administration.

Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj attended Monday’s agreement signing ceremony before concluding her two-day visit.

During bilateral talks with his counterpart, Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid reiterated the longstanding ‘India-First’ policy and assured that the Maldives would “remain sensitive towards India’s security and strategic concerns,” according to a joint statement.

Three deals were signed during Swaraj’s first visit since the new administration took office: an agreement on exempting diplomatic and official passport holders from visa requirements; a Memorandum of Understanding for collaboration on renewable energy; and an MoU on grant assistance for “high impact community development projects through local bodies.”

Swaraj also announced the Indian government’s decision to renew the quota for essential commodities, including river sand and stone aggregate, for three years with effect on April 1.

The Maldives is largely dependent on India for construction material. In 2013, several harbour projects were suspended after India revoked the special quota in the wake of the eviction of Indian infrastructure giant GMR. The restrictions were lifted after former president Abdulla Yameen assumed power in November 2013, ending a period of prolonged political turmoil.

Other issues discussed by the foreign ministers included a visa facilitation agreement that came into force last week, plans to hold a Maldives-India Business Forum this year, and providing a plot of land in Hulhumalé for the new Indian Embassy.

The Maldives also assured support for India’s candidature for a permanent membership of an expanded and reformed UN Security Council.

The Indian delegation agreed to “positively consider” a request for assistance in building a cricket stadium.

On Sunday, Swaraj visited the Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital and dedicated its renovation to the Maldivian people. The hospital was completed in 1995 as a gift from the Indian government.

Prior to her departure, Swaraj also paid courtesy calls on President Solih and Speaker of Parliament Gasim Ibrahim.
Agreement signed for US$800m line of credit from India
 
India ups the ante on infra projects in Africa
Once seen as slow in delivering on its development partnership commitments, especially in comparison to its strategic rival China, India has now fine-tuned its processes to ensure projects committed to, meet their timeline.
A case in point: New Delhi fulfilling its promise to revive a textile factory in Kenya in record time -- less than three years, under a line of credit extended during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit in 2016. This comes amid murmurs of protest on the African continent over China’s terms of engagement with countries while extending loans for infrastructure projects.

The Rift Valley Textiles factory in Kenya was shut down in 2000 and during Modi’s visit, a line of credit worth $ 29.95 million was signed to revive and modernise the factory. The contract to upgrade the factory was awarded to an Indian private company -- Lakshmi Machine Works (LMW) Limited which completed the project in June. The renovated factory, with a cotton processing capacity of 83 bales a day – up from 8 bales a day previously – was inaugurated in the third week on June by Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta in the presence of Indian High Commissioner to Kenya, Rahul Chhabra, two people familiar with the developments said.

The output capacity has also been ramped up from 1.7 million metres per annum to 15 million metres per annum, one of the people cited above said.

“LMW has also provided training to technicians, operators and trainers in India as well as in house. Modernization of the factory is expected to revive the textile industry of Kenya and as the factory becomes fully operational, direct and indirect impact of the factory revival will be enormous; ranging from direct employment to growth in incomes of cotton growers in 22 counties, along with strengthening of forward and backward linkages," the first person cited above said.

Besides the textile project, India promised the renovation of Mahatma Gandhi Graduate Library at University of Nairobi under a grant of $ 1 million. This too has been completed on time, say officials. "These projects are an example of how Indian assistance is making a difference to the economy and lives of people in African countries. The speed of our project delivery has also been appreciated," said T.S. Tirumurthy, secretary, Economic Relations, in the Indian foreign ministry.

Some of the big ticket projects delivered by India in recent years in Africa include the presidential office in Ghana, the National Assembly building in Gambia and the Kosti Power plant in Sudan. Africa is a key development partner of India, garnering a sizeable portion of India’s lines of credit assistance of $ 28 billion extended in 2018-19.
New foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, in one of his first public statements after taking office in May, said project delivery would be a key focus area for him. At an event in New Delhi, Jaishankar said he would hold monthly reviews of India’s development projects, in a bid to ensure timely delivery. In the past, there have been complaints of time and cost overruns – giving India the reputation of being a well- meaning partner but one whose efficiency in delivering on time was questionable.

India upping its game comes against the backdrop of China emerging as the single largest financier of African infrastructure, financing one in five projects and constructing one in three, according to a paper by Deloitte Africa dated March 2019.

“To date China has participated in over 200 African infrastructure projects. Chinese enterprises have completed and are building projects that are designed to help add to or upgrade about 30,000km of highways, 2,000km of railways, 85 million tonnes per year of port throughput capacity, more than nine million tonnes per day of clean water treatment capacity, about 20,000MW of power generation capacity, and more than 30,000km of transmission and transformation lines."

But there has been some backlash against China in Africa with Britain’s Telegraph newspaper reporting that Tanzania had suspended a port project and Kenya halted construction on a coal power plant.
The port in the Tanzanian town of Bagamoyo was worth $10 billion and would have been the largest in east Africa. But financing terms presented by China were “exploitative and awkward," John Magufuli, Tanzania’s president, was quoted as saying by the Telegraph.

Analysts say that while India has a long way to go in catching up with China vis-a-vis undertaking big ticket infrastructure projects, there is some realisation in Africa that Beijing’s terms of engagement are may be less than desirable – which could present India with an opportunity.
 
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