As Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented her eighth consecutive budget on Saturday (Feb 1), her budget speech also highlighted on India's foreign aid to different countries, increasing aid for some of the nations, while reducing some for others.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) allocated a total of Rs 5,483 crores in aid to foreign nations, which majorly covers allocations for neighbouring and strategic countries.
India's aid to foreign countries has given primacy to its "Neighbourhood First", with more than 60 per cent of the budget assigned for immediate neighbours.
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Bhutan takes top spot
As per the budget, Bhutan continues to be India's largest foreign aid receiver, as it has been allocated Rs 2,150 crore in the 2025-2026 budget. The aid has been hiked from last year's allocation of Rs 2,068 crore.
Hike in Maldives aid
India has increased its budget for providing aid to the Maldives from Rs 400 crore to Rs 600 crore. The hike in Maldives aid marks great significance as it comes as Male tries to mend relations with Delhi.
Out of the total allocated budget, Rs 1,80,000 crore has been earmarked to the armed forces for capital expenditure that largely includes purchasing new weapons, aircraft, warships, and other military hardware.
Moreover, it has outlined Rs 6,81,210 crore as the defence outlay for 2025-26, higher than the current fiscal's allocation of Rs 6.22 lakh crore.
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Reduction in Afghanistan's aid
According to this year's budget, Afghanistan's aid has been reduced from Rs 200 crore last year to Rs 100 crore in 2025-26.
This marks a sharp decline from the Rs 207 crore allocated to the country two years ago.
For some time now, India has been cautious in dealing with the Taliban government, as it has limited its engagement to humanitarian aid and economic cooperation.
Hike in Myanmar's aid
Myanmar's allocation has increased from Rs 250 crore last year to Rs 350 crore for 2025-2026 as the country has been dealing with the ongoing turmoil.
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Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh
India has allocated Rs 700 crore for Nepal, while the allocation for Sri Lanka has seen a hike from Rs 245 crore to Rs 300 crore.
The aid to Bangladesh remains unchanged at Rs 120 crore amid the ongoing diplomatic row between the two nations.
Africa
Aid to African nations has been hiked to Rs 225 crore from Rs 200 crore last year.
Latin America
The aid for Latin America has also increased from Rs 30 crore to Rs 60 crore.
Meanwhile, the aid allocation for Chabahar Port in Iran stays the same at Rs 100 crore.
(With inputs from agencies)