Budget 2019 : Foreign Outreach

The Union Budget 2019 has made separate provisions for foreign neighbors of India.

What has been done for them?

• The Union Budget has allocated a total budget allocation of Rs 17,884.78 crore for our foreign neighbors.
• Bhutan has got Rs 2,801.79 crore. It is an increase from the previous year’s allocation of Rs 2,510 crore.
• Nepal has been given Rs 1,050 crores.
• Mauritius has been allocated a total of Rs 1,100 crores.
• Afghanistan has been allocated a total of Rs 400 crores which is a bit lesser than Rs 470 crores allocated last year.
• The Indian government has allocated Rs 45 crore as the building outlay for the port of Chabahar, Iran. This is a significant reduction as the previous year s allocation was Rs 150 crore.
• The Latin American region has been allocated only Rs 15 crore for diplomatic outreach.
• MEA s passport and emigration-related work have been allocated Rs 1,620.95 crore which is more than the previous allocation of Rs 1,059.06 crore.
• Contribution to the United Nations has been reduced to Rs 275 crore from Rs 307 crore.
• The South Asian University(SAU) in New Delhi will receive Rs 317.50 crores and Nalanda University in Bihar will get another Rs 220 crore.

Chabahar Port, Iran

The Chabahar port is a major regional initiative from India. It will provide a secure route for India to Afghanistan. The port has received a waiver from the anti-Iran sanctions of the U.S enabling India to continue its work.

South Asian University

South Asian University (SAU) is an international university established by the eight member nations of the South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (SAARC).

It had started its operations from the academic year 2010 and now offers post-graduate and doctoral programmes in various disciplines like Economics, Computer Science, Biotechnology, Mathematics, Sociology, International Relations and Law. SAU attracts students from all member nations and its degrees are recognized by all the eight SAARC countries.