Hello friends............
India on Wednesday rejected an offer by the United Arab Emirates government to give 700 crore to a special fund as aid for Kerala state after its floods which killed more than 350 people.
We all are concerned about why India turned out foreign assistance. Let me proceed to discuss the matter.
The foreign ministry said , “In line with the existing policy, the government is committed to meeting the requirements for relief and rehabilitation through domestic efforts,” in a statement explaining their move.
The National Disaster Management Plan (NDMP), finalised in May 2016, says, “The Government of India does not issue any appeal for foreign assistance in the wake of a disaster. However, if the national government of another country voluntarily offers assistance as a goodwill gesture with the disaster victims, the Central Government may accept the offer.”
The government has been following the policy on disaster aid, decided in 2004, when then PM Manmohan Singh said, “We think we can cope with the situation on our own ability and we will take their help if needed.” Since then, India has decided to follow a foreign policy of not accepting aid from foreign governments.
India had already become a “less indebted country” in the IMF ranking. There were some doubts whether such a move would be perceived as a rude gesture in diplomatic circles. Besides this, the External Affairs Ministry was bothered since its explicit compliance was not sought — it had to deal with the countries bilaterally, and manage the fallout of an sudden change in aid receiving policy . Nevertheless, a political stand was taken wisely riding on strong macroeconomic fundamentals.
The Government had decided to negotiate external assistance from multi-donor agencies viz ADB , World Bank and UN agencies for long term rehabilitation and reconstruction for mainland States/UT of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Pondicherry. Bilateral assistance could also be accepted if it routed through the multi-donor agencies. The negotiations for US $465 million for Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry had been accepted and completed with the World Bank and assistance of US $200 million had been approved by the ADB for Kerala and Tamil Nadu. If there is any shortfall, after final negotiations with the multi-donor agencies, will be met from internal resources.”
The NDMP guidelines of 2016 also say, “If there is any offer of assistance from UN agencies, India will accept the offer only if the government considers it necessary, based on various factors . If it is accepted, Government of India will issue directions to the respective Ministry or State Government to coordinate with the concerned UN agency.
So there is no such barrier to accept financial assistance of any World Organisation or International NGOs.
Please share your opinion regarding Indian's stand to reject financial assistance from any foreign governments on the comment box .
You can also read on clicking below links:
https://steemit.com/flood/@bindas/aid-and-help-coming-around-the-globe-for-kerala-india
https://steemit.com/flood/@bindas/kerala-flood-tragedy-partly-man-made-madhab-gadgil
https://steemit.com/donation/@bindas/donate-for-kerala-flood-victims