Union Budget 2019-20: Bhutan gains, Chabahar loses in Budget share

Why is it in news?
  • Union Budget 2019-20 puts an outlay for the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
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  • Bhutan gains, Chabahar loses in Budget share:
    (1) The government has allocated ₹45 crore for India’s building activities in the port of Chabahar Iran. This is a reduction from the previous year’s allocation of ₹150 crore.
    (2) The outlay for the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has substantially hiked the allocation for Bhutan, one of India’s closest neighbours nestled in the Himalayas, and bolstered passport and emigration services.
  • Nepal and Mauritius: Both Nepal and Mauritius have maintained a high priority in allocation and have received Rs. 1,050 crore and ₹1,100 crore respectively.
  • Regional allocation:
    (1) In terms of regional allocation, Latin America, home of Brazil and Argentina among other countries, received the lowest of the MEA’s expenditure allocation with a meagre ₹15 crore.
    (2) Afghanistan’s allocation has also come down from ₹470 crore to ₹400 crore.
  • Passport work:
    (1) MEA’s passport and emigration-related work will receive ₹1,620.95 crore which is a major increment from the previous allocation of ₹1,059.06 crore.
    (2) The section on ‘Notes on Demands for Grants 2019-2020’ does not reflect any allocation for the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas.
  • Contribution to the United Nations: India has however cut its contribution to the United Nations to ₹275 crore from Rs. 307 crore.
  • Increased allocation for the BIMSTEC: It will increase allocation for the BIMSTEC regional grouping of the Bay of Bengal community to ₹8 crore, which is equivalent to the SAARC allocation.
Source
The Hindu




Posted by Jawwad Kazi on 6th Jul 2019
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