India has kept Rs 2031.93 crore for international organizations under the budget for the financial year 2020-21 announced on Monday. The United Nations organization will get Rs 400 crore under the budget provision of the Ministry of External Affairs.
The BIMSTEC secretariat got Rs 25 crore, while SAARC secretariat got Rs 12 crore. Interestingly, in last year’s Budget, BIMSTEC got Rs 20 crore, but it was revised budget and only Rs 9.28 crore was used. As for SAARC, it got Rs 8 crore, but the revised budget stood at Rs 12 cr, showing an increase.
New Delhi plays an important role in both the groupings, but has seen an increased focus on BIMSTEC. Last year, at the oath-taking ceremony of the PM Modi for the second term, all BIMSTEC leaders were invited. SAARC, due to Pakistan’s obstructionism has seen little activity.
To UNICEF, which comes under the domain of ministry of women and child development, India has budgeted Rs 5.60 crore, while to WTO, which comes under…