₹120-crore aid to Bangladesh remains unchanged: MEA to parliamentary panel
The ministry of external affairs does not expect to start new people-oriented projects in Bangladesh in FY26 amid the ongoing political situation.
India’s allocation of ₹120 crore in aid to Bangladesh has remained unchanged for FY24 and FY25 due to political and security related disturbances, the ministry of external affairs (MEA) told a parliamentary panel on Monday.
The ministry also does not expect to start new people-oriented projects in Bangladesh in FY26 amid the ongoing political situation, the panel’s fifth report on demand for grants revealed.
MEA said that before committing to any new projects, the situation in Bangladesh warrants a “consultative approach”.
“The severe political and security disturbances in that country in recent months have led to delay in execution of committed projects,” foreign secretary Vikram Misri told the committee on February 27.
A total of 33% or ₹6,750 crore of MEA’s ₹20,516 crore budget for FY26 is meant for giving foreign aid, in the form of loans, grants, capacity building, etc., to further India’s bilateral relations. This is a 20% increase over FY25 allocation of ₹5,667 crore.
For FY24, the Indian government reduced the aid to Bangladesh after “considering potential disruptions” that could be caused by Bangladeshi general elections that were scheduled for late 2023 to early 2024. The MEA told the committee that in the second half of 2023, as Bangladesh started preparing for its January 2024 general elections, “the entire period of political campaigning was marked by political and security related disturbances”. Between July and August 2024, “several political disturbances” again led to work disruptions.
“Hence, for major part of these years, local conditions and delay in execution of committed projects did not permit taking up of new projects, keeping the budget allocation unchanged,” the report noted.
The new projects that the MEA is not expecting to take in FY26 are called High Impact Community Development Projects (HICDPs), which are smaller-scale projects that the Indian government undertakes usually in friendly neighbouring countries to generate goodwill for India. These shorter-term projects are mainly in areas of rural infrastructure such as drinking water supply networks, irrigation canals, farm roads, basic health infrastructure, etc.
However, two ongoing projects are expected to be completed by May 2025 in the country, the MEA told the committee headed by Congress’s Shashi Tharoor. These include supplying ICT equipment, courseware, training and books to the Bangladesh-Bharot Digital Service and Employment Training (BDSET) Centre at a cost of ₹24.37 crore, and construction of a five-storey building for the Academy for A Better World (a branch of Brahmakumaris) in Dhaka at a cost of ₹12.14 crore.
The Akhaura-Agartala Rail Link Project, meant to connect India and Bangladesh, has “achieved 100% physical progress” and is now in the Defect Liability Period, set to end in June 2025.
The committee recommended that the MEA should continue to actively coordinate with Bangladeshi government to “insulate” such projects from the political and security related challenges.
The committee asked whether the funds allocated as aid to Myanmar ( ₹350 crore BE FY26 and ₹400 crore RE FY25) were adequate “in a situation where China has already made strategic inroads” into the country, MEA said that the current allocation is “commensurate” given the scope and pace of work under progress. “The utilisation is dependent upon the ensuing political situation and the security concerns in project areas,” the ministry said. MEA said that India’s relations with Myanmar are independent of Myanmar’s relations with third countries.
The committee noted “with concern” that allocation under “Welfare of Overseas Indians” has remained unchanged from the budget estimates of FY25. The committee wants MEA to seek additional fund in the next FY.
Accelerate integration of Passport Seva Programme with Aadhaar, PAN: Committee recommends
The committee recommended that the MEA should accelerate its ongoing process to integrate the Passport Seva Programme (PSP) system with Aadhaar, PAN, voter ID, and other documents. This integration, both the MEA and committee said, would make it easier to validate the authenticity of the documents submitted by passport applicants.
The MEA also told the committee that the lack of real-time integration with databases such as Crime Control Tracking Network System (CCTNS), birth certificates, residential proof and educational documents (required for ECNR passports), was a constraint in implementing PSP. Other constraints include the lack of integration of the mPassport Police app (to expedite police verification) with 12 states and UTs; longer police verification process in northeastern states and Jammu and Kashmir due to “non-readiness” of police IT infrastructure.
The committee noted that the passport database has been integrated with Bureau of Immigration and NATGRID, while the CCTNS integration is going on. “With the introduction of e-passports, which involve the storage of critical information on an embedded RFID chip, the committee is of the considered opinion that it is imperative that the ministry continue to prioritise data protection,” the report said.
In an e-passport, critical information is printed on the data page and it is also stored in the RFID chip embedded in the passport and an antenna embedded as an inlay, Misri told the committee. As of January 31, 2025, the government has issued about 145,000 e-passports as of January 31, 2025.
The MEA also told the committee that its external publicity division engaged more than 80 social media influencers from 19 countries “familiarisation visits” and to expose them to “different facets of Indian foreign policy, including visibility of India’s aid programs through interactions with senior officials of the MEA”. HT had reported in August 2024 that the MEA had brought 19 influencers from Nepal and Sri Lanka in April and about 15 influencers from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in August.
Despite this, the committee said that the MEA was not doing enough to amplify India’s aid programmes in recipient communities or in India and recommended that the MEA should publicise India’s international aid projects in both India and host countries to increase their visibility.
