US aid to India drops during economic crisis

The US aid to India has dropped by over 25% since 2010, as the country goes through a grave economic crisis but the Obama Administration has adopted a new model of assistance to focus on poverty alleviation and addressing security challenges like terrorism.

The US aid to India has dropped by over 25% since 2010, as the country goes through a grave economic crisis but the Obama Administration has adopted a new model of assistance to focus on poverty alleviation and addressing security challenges like terrorism.

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From a total assistance of $126.7 million in 2010, the proposed US aid to India for the year 2013 has dropped to $98.3 million. It stood at $121.6 million in 2011 and $108 million in 2012.

State department spokesperson, Victoria Nuland, told reporters that there is no plan for the US change its assistance to India.

"I don't see – I don't have any change in our India assistance to announce today, but obviously in every budget cycle, we look at all the priorities across the planet, and we have to make tough decisions in consultations with those governments in terms of what's effective," Nuland told reporters in response to a question on the British decision to end its aid to India by 2015.

"The United States is increasingly looking to India as a source of development innovations that can provide effective and sustainable solutions that address not only the needs of India's poor but also have the potential to improve the lives of those living in poverty globally," the state department said in its Congressional Budget Justification report for the year 2013.

Noting that India's dramatic growth has lifted millions out of poverty, it said much of this growth can be attributed to India's leadership and experience in developing products, processes, and service delivery models that benefit vulnerable populations, thus giving justification for reduction in US assistance to India.

But the aid will not end in the near future, it indicated.