India has spent £58 million sending a rocket to the moon and we have announced we are to increase aid by 70% surely this extra money would be better spent here, i am not saying we should stop foreign aid but if they have the money to fund space exploration they dont need aid they need to get their priorities in order they certainly dont need a 70% increase, that money could be spent here helping the NHS etc.
Critics say it is wrong to increase funding to the Asian country when it is wealthy enough to afford its own space programme
Britain is set to boost aid to India by 70 per cent, it has emerged, just days after the country launched a rocket into space.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), which distributes aid, sent India £33.4 million in aid cash in 2022/23.
But the FCDO’s annual report, published this week, reveals that the total is set to rise to £57 million in 2024/25.
This will be topped up by an as-yet-unknown amount from the business department, which usually gives more than £10 million.
The report also reveals that the department is funding the controversial Great Britain China Centre to the tune of £340,000 a year.
Funding for the centre, which is accused of having close links to the Chinese Communist Party, is set to rise to £350,000 next year.
Details of the huge amount spent on Indian aid come just days after the country launched a spacecraft to the far side of the moon.
Chandrayaan-3 will make India only the fourth country in the world to land an object on the lunar surface.
Critics say it is wrong that Britain is increasing its aid budget to the country when it is wealthy enough to afford its own space programme.
“Arbitrary spending targets have seen untold millions sent abroad to fund spurious projects in countries with larger economies than our own.
“To create a fairer deal for taxpayers, ministers should scrap the target and make aid available when truly needed.”
The huge increase comes as the UK and India try to reach a trade agreement. Kemi Badenoch, the Business Secretary, has been warned not to give too much away to the country in her eagerness to strike a deal.
In 2012, Pranab Mukherjee, the then finance minister of India, sparked anger when he described British aid money as “peanuts”.
In the same year, the British government pledged to end bilateral aid to India by 2016 as part of a move away from funding middle-income countries.
But despite ministers giving the impression that the country would receive no more money, millions have continued to flow into the country in the form of technical assistance, research grants and investments through the Government body British International Investment (BII).
The £2.3 billion of aid spending between 2016 and 2021 is made up of £441 million in bilateral aid, £1 billion of investments through BII, £129 million in FCDO investments, and £749 million through multilateral channels such as the World Bank.
The report highlighted one of BII’s investments in a midsize Indian bank, which it cannot name.
The investment body gave the bank £160 million between 2014 and 2020 to support microfinance lending - that is, lending to poor customers.
However, BII’s investments were not ring-fenced for microfinance and were instead used to fund the expansion of the bank’s entire business.
By March 2022, microfinance accounted for just 9.8 per cent of loans, and credit cards accounted for 36 per cent of loans.
“This is an example of an investment without a convincing link to poverty reduction,” the report said.
The Foreign Office was approached for comment.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politic...wealth and Development,57 million in 2024/25.
Critics say it is wrong to increase funding to the Asian country when it is wealthy enough to afford its own space programme
Britain is set to boost aid to India by 70 per cent, it has emerged, just days after the country launched a rocket into space.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), which distributes aid, sent India £33.4 million in aid cash in 2022/23.
But the FCDO’s annual report, published this week, reveals that the total is set to rise to £57 million in 2024/25.
This will be topped up by an as-yet-unknown amount from the business department, which usually gives more than £10 million.
The report also reveals that the department is funding the controversial Great Britain China Centre to the tune of £340,000 a year.
Funding for the centre, which is accused of having close links to the Chinese Communist Party, is set to rise to £350,000 next year.
Details of the huge amount spent on Indian aid come just days after the country launched a spacecraft to the far side of the moon.
Chandrayaan-3 will make India only the fourth country in the world to land an object on the lunar surface.
Critics say it is wrong that Britain is increasing its aid budget to the country when it is wealthy enough to afford its own space programme.
‘Foreign aid debacle’
John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “The foreign aid debacle has been allowed to carry on for far too long.“Arbitrary spending targets have seen untold millions sent abroad to fund spurious projects in countries with larger economies than our own.
“To create a fairer deal for taxpayers, ministers should scrap the target and make aid available when truly needed.”
The huge increase comes as the UK and India try to reach a trade agreement. Kemi Badenoch, the Business Secretary, has been warned not to give too much away to the country in her eagerness to strike a deal.
In 2012, Pranab Mukherjee, the then finance minister of India, sparked anger when he described British aid money as “peanuts”.
In the same year, the British government pledged to end bilateral aid to India by 2016 as part of a move away from funding middle-income countries.
But despite ministers giving the impression that the country would receive no more money, millions have continued to flow into the country in the form of technical assistance, research grants and investments through the Government body British International Investment (BII).
‘Aid impact score the second-worst available’
Last year the Independent Commission on Aid Impact gave the UK’s India aid programme a score of amber red - the second-worst available.The £2.3 billion of aid spending between 2016 and 2021 is made up of £441 million in bilateral aid, £1 billion of investments through BII, £129 million in FCDO investments, and £749 million through multilateral channels such as the World Bank.
The report highlighted one of BII’s investments in a midsize Indian bank, which it cannot name.
The investment body gave the bank £160 million between 2014 and 2020 to support microfinance lending - that is, lending to poor customers.
However, BII’s investments were not ring-fenced for microfinance and were instead used to fund the expansion of the bank’s entire business.
By March 2022, microfinance accounted for just 9.8 per cent of loans, and credit cards accounted for 36 per cent of loans.
“This is an example of an investment without a convincing link to poverty reduction,” the report said.
The Foreign Office was approached for comment.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politic...wealth and Development,57 million in 2024/25.
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i have been cancelled
