India extended 308 Lines of Credit aggregating more than USD 32.02 billion to partner countries
external affairs ministry announced that, as part of its development assistance programme, India has extended 308 lines of credit aggregating to $32.02 billion to partner countries over the years.
Of this, about $17.06 billion has been extended to Asia, $12.15 billion to Africa and $2.81 billion to others, it said.
Around 600 projects have been taken up and executed in several sectors, including infrastructure, power, connectivity, agriculture, education and health, the minister of state for external affairs V Muraleedharan informed the Rajya Sabha on Thursday.
He said grant assistance projects are concentrated primarily in India’s neighbourhood in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bhutan.
“India’s developmental projects are based on the needs and aspirations of the partner countries. The main instruments of support include lines of credit, grants-in-aid as well as capacity building programmes.
India’s development projects are spread across Asia, Africa, CIS, Latin America, Caribbean and Pacific Islands,” the minister said, “In addition, India works closely with international organisations / fora such as UNDP, ASEAN, etc. to finance joint projects and capacity building programmes in partner countries.”
India provides capacity building assistance under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation Programme (ITEC) to partners in the global south, the minister said.
About 160 countries avail these scholarships annually, he said.
More than 14,000 training slots are offered each year for both civilian and defence courses. Apart from ‘in person training’ at Indian institutions, support is provided through deployment of Indian experts to partner countries, onsite training capsules, online
