N. V. GALISHCHEVA

Candidate of Economic Sciences

India Keywords:, official development assistance, South Asia, Africa

In the last two decades, new major creditor countries such as China and Brazil have emerged in the global financial market. It is noteworthy that they are not members of the Development Assistance Committee of the Club of Developed Countries - the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). India, which until recently was primarily a recipient of foreign aid in the form of loans, plays a very prominent role among new lenders. However, since the late 1990s. India is gradually transforming into a major financial donor to developing countries.

Such a change in India's status is primarily due to the success achieved through well-conducted liberal economic reforms: a noticeable increase in its economic power, a rapid increase in the volume of gold and foreign exchange reserves, etc. Today, India is the 5th largest donor to Afghanistan, and an important source of aid to its neighbors in the region - Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, as well as to African states, to which the volume of Indian loans has increased annually by an average of 20% in ^the.

LONG ROAD FROM RECIPIENT TO DONOR

The economic development of India in the first decades after independence was largely based on foreign loans, which was dictated by the need to find monetary resources to finance the creation of basic industries. Due to the lack of domestic mobilization funds, the Indian Government was often forced to resort to a policy of deficit financing, which inevitably led to an increase in the rate of inflation. On the other hand, periodic borrowing in the domestic market led to an increase in the volume of the domestic component of public debt.

Foreign aid in the form of loans proved to be the" lifeline " that India firmly clung to, especially in 1951-1979. Its share in the total amount of funds raised for the development of the Indian economy ranged from 10% to 30% in different years. At the same time, India's per capita growth rate was much lower than that of other developing countries.

To optimize the mechanism of granting foreign loans and grants in August 1958. The World Bank (WB) has established a Consortium of assistance to India, consisting of the WB Group (its subsidiary) and 13 countries - Austria, Belgium, Great Britain, Denmark, Italy, Canada, the Netherlands, Norway, the United States, Germany, France, Sweden and Japan. Loans under the Consortium were provided on the basis of bilateral agreements for special development projects. India has actively used this channel to finance its five-year development plans. Although the Consortium's funding for the Indian economy has been gradually declining, reaching $3.4 billion in the 1980/81 fiscal year (April-March), $2.8 billion in FY2000 / 01, and $2.1 billion in FY2009 / 10, ² it is still India's leading donor. Only in 2004 -2010. The consortium sent $25.27 billion to India. (more than 72% of the total amount of foreign aid it received)³.

Among the countries, Japan remains the largest Indian donor. At the same time, Japanese aid provided to India in 2004-2010 under soft loans is estimated at $11.2 billion, and under grants - $0.6 billion.⁴

The second most important donor in the late 1950s and mid-1960s. there was the United States, whose share in the total amount of foreign aid received by India reached 9%. After the Indo-Pakistani armed conflict in 1965, due to the cooling of political relations between India and the United States, American funding declined sharply and, until the early 1990s, averaged about 0.6-0.7% of the total amount of loans and grants received by India from outside. At the same time, Washington allocated funds mainly on the terms of grants for the purchase of American food and financing advisory services in the energy, steel industry, and currently in the field of high technology. Despite the improvement in bilateral relations over the past decade, these funds amounted to only $75.3 million (0.2% of the total external funding used by India) in 2004-2010, and only on the terms of grants.⁵

The most important non-Consortium donor to India was the USSR, which accounted for more than 16% of its aid in 1947-1988. After a brief hiatus in the 1990s, this

the practice was resumed in 2004-2010. India received about $1.4 billion from Russia on concessional loans.⁶

Although India is still a net recipient of foreign aid, the trend is clear: loans and grants totaled $4.87 billion in FY 1980/81, $3.98 billion in FY 2000/01, and $3.17 billion in FY 2009/10.⁷ This source of financing is no longer as important for the development of the Indian economy as it was before. In the 2000s, its share in India's gross domestic product (GDP) averaged about 0.2%.

After India tested a nuclear weapon in 1998, a number of countries (Austria, Denmark, Canada, the United States, Germany, Sweden, Japan) imposed economic sanctions against it, significantly reducing the amount of funding. However, this did not significantly affect India's economic growth, and by 2003, after many years of borrowing, it had become a net lender to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP). Moreover, after the 2004 tsunami, the 2005 Kashmir earthquake, and the worst monsoon floods in 2006, the Indian Government refused to receive foreign aid at all, offering to transfer it to its neighbors in the region.

Modern India is making significant efforts to reduce its dependence on foreign loans, especially those granted on a bilateral basis. To this end, in recent years, loans from minority donors have been repaid ahead of schedule and debts to large donors have been reduced.

In this regard, back in 2003, the Indian government announced its readiness to pay off its bilateral obligations with 15 countries (74.9 billion rubles, or $1.6 billion), as well as with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the World Bank ($3 billion).⁸. To date, while remaining a fairly large borrower to ADB and the WB Group, India has already repaid them the most impressive loans.

In accordance with the new borrowing policy, it was also announced in 2003 that henceforth India intends to receive only unconditional financial assistance and only from 5 countries (Great Britain, Russia, the United States, Germany and Japan) and the EU. Later this list also included Italy, Canada, France and the Scandinavian countries. The remaining 22 bilateral donors to India were encouraged to continue providing loans and grants through the UN system, multilateral financial institutions and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

All this was done at the same time as the announcement of the "Indian Development Initiative", which aims to promote India's strategic economic interests abroad, coupled with a significant increase in Indian aid to other countries.

Interaction mainly with large donors was caused by the desire of the Indian government to reduce administrative costs and increase the efficiency of foreign funding, and the curtailment of cooperation with minority donors was caused by the intention to reduce the influence of foreign countries on India by reducing the number of least important donors. At the same time, India prefers to receive aid on a multilateral basis rather than bilateral, and on terms of concessional loans rather than grants.

SCOPE OF INDIAN AID

India itself began to provide aid back in the 1950s and early 1960s, primarily to neighboring countries. The first recipients of its assistance were Nepal, which received 100 million rupees ($21 million at the then exchange rate of ⁹) on grants, and Burma (since 1989 - Myanmar) - 200 million rupees ($42 million) on concessional loans.¹⁰

By successfully moving towards economic liberalization in the 1990s, India was able to significantly increase its aid to developing countries, bringing its annual volume in the 2000s to an average of $0.5-2 billion. (table). The current Indian strategy for providing such assistance is determined by both economic factors (ensuring access to raw materials and finding promising sales markets among recipient countries) and political ones (strengthening India's geopolitical influence both among developing countries and globally within the Group of 20, the Group of 77-the largest interstate organization of developing countries operating in the world). within the framework of the UN, - etc.).

In Indian statistics, foreign aid refers to the implementation of development projects, the provision of various educational and advisory services, as well as the provision of trade subsidies and the opening of credit lines through the Export-Import Bank of India (EXIM Bank). Through its advisory and expert services, India contributes to addressing the problem of poverty and stimulating the economic development of a number of developing countries, mainly in South Asia and Africa.

Indian aid is provided through grants and concessional loans on a bilateral basis, as well as through contributions to international organizations and financial institutions.

Aid to foreign countries is allocated mainly on a bilateral basis, and the lion's share of it is so-called "linked" aid, most of which is spent within India itself (educational programs for foreigners) or on the purchase of Indian goods by recipient countries, mainly pharmaceutical and mechanical engineering products.

In recent years, there has been a steady increase in the share of grants. If in 2004 it was at the level of 71%, then in 2010 - 84%. Obviously, this provides security in the recipient states.-

Table

Foreign aid provided by India in 2004-2010 (RUB billion*)

D / O - assistance provided on a bilateral basis; M / N - intergovernmental assistance provided to recipient countries; EXIM - preferential bilateral trade loans through EXIM Bank; M / O - assistance provided on a multilateral basis.

Source: calculated by the author from: http://indiabudget.nic.in

We have created favorable economic and political conditions for the future.

While OECD countries provide assistance mainly for solving social problems, including financing projects in the field of health and education, India - for the development of infrastructure projects, mainly in the field of transport and energy. Thus, India has found its niche in the industry-specific help app.

By allocating small amounts of aid, India often allows recipient countries to determine their own priority areas of application, for example, when selecting training programs under The Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) program.

At the same time, in recent years, the role of large state-owned companies, which also provide assistance to Asian and African states, has begun to strengthen. Among them, RITES stands out, which since 1974 has been engaged in providing engineering services and developing projects in the field of transport both in India and abroad. RITES has significantly diversified its operations, implementing more than 30 projects outside India in the field of leasing, repair and maintenance of railways under concession terms.¹¹

To date, the Government of India has concluded 76 agreements with 24 countries to open credit lines through EXIM Bank in rupees worth more than 5.74 billion rupees.* (about $128 million) and $455 million ¹². As a rule, credit lines cover 90% of the cost of exporting capital-intensive goods, consumer goods or advisory services.

Since 2003, credit lines have been financed from EXIM Bank's own resources. At the same time, if before the beginning of the 1990s credit lines were opened mainly in rupees, then later-in dollars.

Due to the shortage of skilled labor in developing countries, and especially technical personnel, India has begun to provide assistance in training them. To coordinate efforts in this area, the ITEC program was established in 1964 under the auspices of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of India. In the last decade, the annual budget of ITEC is about 500 million rupees ($11.1 million)¹³, with 40% of the budget spent on training foreign specialists. To date, the Indian government has spent about $5 billion on ITEC activities. 2 billion ¹⁴.

Within the framework of ITEC, the following activities are carried out: implementation of development projects and provision of advisory services, as well as implementation of joint research projects, supply of necessary equipment, especially agricultural equipment, annual funding for training about 5 thousand foreign specialists in India, and provision of humanitarian assistance in connection with natural disasters.

In FY 2004/05, 3,600 programs of varying duration (on average, from 6 weeks to a year or more) were taught in 42 universities in India, mainly in English, agricultural disciplines and information technology (IT), and small and medium-sized businesses. To date, more than 40 thousand students have been trained. foreigners.

* $1 is equal in n. v. to approximately 45 ind. rup.

Training specialists is also important for India, as graduates of educational institutions remain invisible links with the country that gave them their education. By 2011, technical and humanitarian personnel from 158 countries had been trained in India.

After becoming a lender to the IMF in May 2003, India (one of the few countries that has gone from being a borrower to a lender to the organization) provided $ 205 million to the IMF. SDR* ($308 million). In June 2003 and late February 2005. India contributed a further total of $ 235 million. SDR ($353 million), and also contributed to the IMF's Emergency Relief Fund, which provides support to States during post-conflict reconstruction and natural disasters. In 2008 and 2009 India increased its quota to the IMF by 30.7 billion rupees ($682.2 million) and 67.6 billion rupees ($1.5 billion), respectively ^.15 In addition, the Indian government is consistently engaged in writing off external debts. For example, India wrote off 1 billion rupees ($22.2 million)as part of a debt relief program launched by the IMF and the World Bank in 1996 for the world's least Developed countries Ghana, Guyana, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia ¹⁶.

Since the beginning of 2000, India's contribution to the UN system has increased markedly, from 185.9 million rupees ($3.87 million) in 2002 to 279.9 million. rup. ($6.22 million) in 2004 ¹⁸

India's transition to the position of a foreign aid donor has also clearly taken place in its relations with WFP. While India has been a recipient of food aid for 4 decades since the beginning of the 1960s, receiving about $1 billion in aid, ¹⁹ by the early 2000s, as a result of successful economic reforms, it had become one of the largest donors of food aid. India currently provides loans to a number of developing countries, including

Afghanistan, Iran and Iraq, and food aid distributed through WFP. Some of this assistance is also sometimes provided on a bilateral basis. For example, in August 2004, India allocated 20 thousand tons of wheat to Sudan.²⁰

India avoids over-reliance on traditional donors and international financial institutions to provide aid, while trying to maintain the benefits of engaging with recipient States in a bilateral format. However, given the special geopolitical significance of Nepal, in December 2004, India participated in the Nepal Development Forum and joined Australia, the United States and Japan in the emerging group of Nepal's creditors.

India also participates in a number of development-promoting institutions, both regionally - the SAARC Development Fund, and globally - the Commonwealth Technical Cooperation Fund, the Global Network of EXIM Banks and Development Finance Institutions, and the Development Cooperation Forum. The Development Cooperation Forum, etc.

AND WHO ARE THE RECIPIENTS?

The geographical distribution of Indian aid is clearly visible in several areas based on historical ties and strategic interests: South Asia, primarily Nepal, Bhutan, Afghanistan, where India is very successfully strengthening its influence; African countries with which India has close ties in the Non-Aligned Movement and the Commonwealth of Nations; South-East Asia (SEE) and Central Asia (CA), with which cooperation has intensified over the past two decades.

India has very close ties with Nepal, which is predetermined by their territorial proximity, common historical past, similarity of cultures and religion (80.6% of Nepalese people profess Hinduism).

Since the 1950s. India was the main and, in some sectors of the economy, often the only donor that helped Nepal develop. Only during the implementation of Nepal's first 3 five-year economic development plans (1956-1970), India provided it with about 900 million rupees ($189 million)²¹. Indian grants were used by Nepal primarily for the construction of roads (East-West highway, etc.), a post office and an airport in Kathmandu, creation of an energy base, development of irrigation, as well as conducting telegraph and telephone communications.

In addition to building infrastructure and industrial facilities, India also provides assistance for projects in the areas of education, health and sanitation.

Aid to Nepal is mainly provided on the basis of grants, and to date has exceeded $1 billion.

Currently, Indian aid is directed to finance about 400 Nepalese projects with a total cost of 35.6 billion rupees ($791.1 million).²². Among the largest projects are the construction of a medical center worth 2.19 billion rubles ($48.7 million) and a school ($11.1 billion). Rui - $246.7 million) in Siangya District, located in central Nepal, construction of a network of roads in Terai ²³ (7.76 billion rui - $172.4 million), as well as a railway line and 4 border points (3.2 billion rui - $71.1 million) ²⁴. In the foreseeable future, about 80 more projects with a total cost of 8 billion rubles ($177.7 million) are being prepared for launch. However, political instability in Nepal hinders the timely implementation of a number of projects.

It is noteworthy that by providing assistance to Nepal in the construction of irrigation systems and power plants, India has been able to improve the water and electricity supply of a number of Indian territories, primarily

* SDR (SDR - Special Drawing Rights) -special drawing rights that were issued by the IMF for the Fund's member countries as a special international currency for settlements between states.

states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. And the development of road and aviation infrastructure in Nepal contributes to the growth of bilateral trade and economic cooperation. The political component of the aid is expressed in consolidating India's leading position in the region.

Nepalese citizens are awarded 1,500 scholarships each year to study in Indian universities.

The Indian Government began providing aid to Bhutan in the 1960s, fully funding its 1st and 2nd five-Year plans (1961-1965 and 1966-1970). It was from this time that India became a key donor to the Bhutanese economy.

The total amount of Indian aid to Bhutan has now reached 100 billion rupees. (over $2.2 billion). Over the past 15 years, Bhutan has traditionally accumulated about a third of all aid provided by India to foreign countries. It is allocated on the terms of both forfeits and soft loans. Delhi itself determines the projects it intends to participate in from the list of projects implemented in Bhutan during its current five-year plans. Although there has been a significant shift in the structure of aid to Bhutan in recent years towards implementing social projects in the areas of health, education and human development, infrastructure projects remain among its priorities.

Providing assistance to Bhutan for the construction of hydroelectric power plants is mutually beneficial, since part of the electricity generated by them goes to India. Some of the most ambitious projects in Bhutan implemented with Indian assistance include The Chukha Hydel Project (336 MW; 70% of its energy is exported to India), The Kurichhu Project (60 MW), The Tola Hydroelectric Project (1020 MW) and the largest one currently under construction in Bhutan Punatsangchhu Hydroelectric Power Station (1096 MW).

The Indians have built Bhutan's only airport in Paro ²⁵, almost all the helipads and 15 thous. km of highways.

Since the 1970s, India and Afghanistan have enjoyed very close economic ties. New Delhi also provided aid, which, however, was suspended in the 1990s. With the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001, aid resumed, and by 2008 it had exceeded $750 million, ²⁶ making India one of Afghanistan's leading donors.

At the same time, the aid has both economic goals (creating infrastructure for the development of the Afghan economy, providing Indian businesses with access to the Afghan market) and political goals (helping the Afghan government to stabilize the situation in the country, striving to strengthen Indian influence there).

The bulk of aid to Afghanistan is provided on a forfeit basis and mainly on a bilateral basis, which is due to lower administrative costs in India, as well as shorter time to coordinate technical assistance issues.

In the 2000s, among other things, grants were allocated for the construction of the 218-km Zaranj-Dilaram highway ($70 million), for telephone communication in 11 administrative centers of Afghanistan ($12.5 million), for the construction of the I. Gandhi Kabul Institute of Children's Health ($4 million), for the restoration of The Habibia High School ($5 million)²⁷ schools in Kabul, as well as a soft loan for the construction of the Afghan Parliament building ($25 million). In addition, India donated 3 airbuses, which are actively used by the Afghan national carrier-Ariana Afghan Airlines, as well as 420 vehicles for various purposes for the Afghan army.

In addition, India is also involved in a number of international projects to assist post-conflict reconstruction of countries. For example, in the 2000s, it contributed $52 million to WFP for Afghanistan and Iraq and $200,000 to the Afghanistan Reconstruction Fund. ²⁸ India is a traditional donor to Sri Lanka, providing assistance mainly on the terms of related soft loans, for example, for the purchase of Indian goods.

Assistance in the elimination of the consequences of natural disasters, allocated in the form of forfeits, also plays an important role. In particular, a grant of 1 billion rupees ($22.2 million) was allocated to restore the island's infrastructure after the devastating tsunami in December 2004, as well as 2 vessels for clearing the waters of the port of Trincomalee, 2 Il-76 aircraft for delivering mobile hospitals and 7 helicopters.²⁹

The sectoral distribution of aid varies from the construction and reconstruction of a thermal power plant to the solution of humanitarian problems. So, in August 2010 India has provided a soft loan of 5 billion rupees ($111.1 million) to help victims of the Sinhalese-Tamil armed interethnic conflict that ended in May 2009. India also expressed its readiness to build 50,000 homes for refugees in the Northern Province of Sri Lanka and allocate 500 tractors to Sri Lankan farmers.³⁰ In November 2010, a $416 million credit line was opened to restore rail service in the north-east of ^the Island31.

One of the recipients of Indian aid was the Maldives. Multi-faceted cooperation with the island State began in 1988 after the Indian armed forces, at the request of the President of the Maldives, M. A. Gayoom, prevented a military coup in the country during Operation Cactus, organized by members of the Tamil separatist organization Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, who arrived from Sri Lanka. ³² At that time, the Indian Armed Forces were able to prevent the-

riod has also started providing economic assistance to the Maldives.

By now, it has invested heavily in the development of Maldivian infrastructure, including transport (especially civil aviation), healthcare (the Gandhi Hospital in Male was built), telecommunications, and training for government and military service. Most of the doctors, engineers and IT professionals in the Maldives are educated in India.

Significant assistance was provided to the Maldives in 2004-2005 in connection with the aftermath of the devastating tsunami. At the same time, India became the first country to provide such assistance, allocating 50 million rupees (more than $1.1 million) on a bilateral basis, a tanker with drinking water, 4 rescue planes, and 2 vessels as mobile hospitals. ³³ In addition, India sent 200 tons of medicines and medical supplies to the Maldives through international organizations. basic necessities, 4 vessels and 4 helicopters to deliver the necessary cargo, several vessels to work at a depth of ³⁴ meters.

Assistance to African States in the form of loans has been provided since the 1960s. At that time, large Indian companies began to explore new markets abroad, and assistance programs helped them successfully conduct business on the African continent, supplying very competitive prices and well-adapted to the conditions of the tropics of light engineering products (for example, trucks from Tata Motors Ltd.), as well as consumer goods, etc.

The structure of Indian aid to African countries is as follows: 60% of aid is spent on training qualified specialists, 30% - financing loans for the purchase of Indian goods, and 10% - implementing development projects with the invitation of Indian specialists. Thus, unlike the recipient countries of South Asia, where India mainly focuses on infrastructure, health and education development, in Africa, priority is given to training qualified specialists for business and public service. To date, India has trained technical and humanitarian personnel in many African countries, including about 50% of civil society. and the military establishment of Botswana, 25% - Tanzania, etc.

Competition in Africa with the European Union, the United States, and China for influence and access to natural resources, including energy, and markets is forcing India to step up its economic policies. A complex combination of commercial and political interests is ensured, among other things, thanks to the assistance provided.

At the same time, the conditions of Indian aid to African countries are radically different from those on which it is received by the countries of South Asia. Here, the share of grant-based aid is extremely small, and India's allocation of cash is almost non-existent due to the high level of corruption in the African continent.

Indian assistance is also provided through EXIM Bank. The share of Africa in the total volume of loans granted to them in the 2000s was consistently about 60%, including sub-Saharan Africa-more than 40%. It is noteworthy that more often credit lines were opened to countries with significant Indian diasporas (Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, etc.).

In the present day India is also seeking to improve its economic and political ties with West Africa, creating favorable conditions for Indian companies to enter the mineral and energy markets there. In this regard, the G-9 was established in 2004, which, in addition to India, included Burkina Faso, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Mali and Senegal. In recent years, $500 million has been allocated to these countries under credit lines.³⁵

In addition, in 2008 India has extended a $110 million long-term loan to Senegal for the purchase of 500 buses from Tata Motors Ltd.³⁶ In this case, such assistance can be interpreted as a kind of export subsidy scheme for Indian products.

Major state-owned Indian companies operating in Africa include RITES, which provides rail services in Angola, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Ethiopia, and ONGC Videsh Ltd., which operates in the oil sector in Egypt, Libya, Nigeria and Sudan.³⁷ In particular, in 2008, India provided Angola with a loan of $40 million, which was used for the construction of railways by RITES.

In the 2000s, India implemented various projects on the African continent totaling about $2 billion. Among them: the opening of an IT training center in Lesotho, rural electrification in Mozambique and Ethiopia, the construction of a parliamentary complex in Ghana, the repair of railways in Mali and Sierra Leone, the construction of a cement plant in the Congo, etc.

One of the largest Indian aid projects implemented in 47 African countries since 2007 is the $125 million Pan-African Internet Project. The project provides a wide range of Internet services in the field of distance learning, telemedicine, cartography, meteorology, etc. ³⁸

The volume of Indian aid to Africa, in comparison with other donors, is noticeably smaller. However, the number of Indian projects has been growing in recent years.

At the 2nd summit of the Africa - India Forum, held in Addis Ababa on May 24-25, 2011, Indian Prime Minister M. Singh announced the Indian Government's plans to provide $5.7 billion in aid to African states by 2014 (both on the terms of concessional loans and grants). for the implementation of various development projects. Among them: $700 million - for the opening of new educational institutions.-

education programs, $300 million for the construction of a railway connecting Ethiopia and Djibouti, and $2 million for the construction of the African Union Mission in Somalia ³⁹.

Taking into account the needs of African States, India has significantly increased its assistance for technical projects and promoting human development.⁴⁰ Thus, during 2011-2014, representatives of the African continent will be provided with an additional 22,000 scholarships for studying in Indian universities and 2,700 places in ITEC courses.

In addition, the Indian-African University for Life and Earth Sciences (The India-Africa University for Life and Earth Sciences), The Indian-African Distance Learning University (The India-Africa Virtual University), and the Indian-African Meteorological Center for Medium-term Forecasting (The India Meteorological Center) are planned to open in Africa in the next 3 years with the participation of India.- Africa Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting).

WHAT DOES THE COMING DAY HOLD?

In the 2000s, with the strengthening of economic power, India has become one of the most influential centers of the modern world economy. At the same time, increased aid to developing countries has become, among other things, an important element of stimulating bilateral trade and a means of ensuring that Indian companies enter promising markets.

A well-established system of grants and concessional loans reduces the risks associated with the entry of Indian companies into new markets, as well as reduces the cost of creating the infrastructure necessary for their effective operation. It is obvious that the Indian business sector has become a kind of continuation of the donor mechanism, and donor programs are part of the strategy to promote Indian companies to the markets of developing countries.

In order to provide the growing Indian economy with mineral and energy resources, the volume of assistance to states that have their reserves has increased (the Group-9 quota has been increased in ITEC, etc.).

At the same time, India, to a certain extent distancing itself from other donors and taking advantage of interaction in a bilateral format, is trying to occupy its niche in the economy of the recipient states. It is noteworthy that the relatively small amount of aid (compared to other donors), as well as the slowness and prudence in allocating it, allow India to make fewer mistakes.

Thus, the Indian policy of providing assistance to foreign countries has proved its effectiveness and viability, despite some bureaucratization of the mechanism for providing it. A noticeable expansion of the geography of aid not only regionally, but also globally allows India, with the assistance of recipient countries, to successfully defend its economic and political interests in the international arena.

^{Jayawickrama Sherine.} 1 Foreign Aid as "Soft Power" (in India, Brazil and China), http://housercenter.org/iha/2010/10/20/foreign-aid-as-soft-power-in-india-brazil-and-c hina/

² Economic Survey 2009-10. Government of India, Ministry of Finance, Department of Economic Affairs, Economic Division. Oxford University Press. February 2010. P. A109. Data for FY2009 / 10 are calculated for April 2009-January 2010.

³ Ibidem, p. A106, A113.

⁴ Ibid., p. A109.

⁵ Ibid., p. A113.

⁶ Ibid., p. A114.

⁷ Ibid., p. A106.

^{Price Gareth.} 8 Diversity in Donorship: the Changing Landscape of Official Humanitarian Aid. http://www.odi.org.uk/resources/download/302.pdf

⁹ The exchange rate of the rupee to the dollar in the 1950s-1960s was $1-4. 7619 ind. rup.

^{Jayawickrama Sherine.} 10 Op. cit.

¹¹ http://www.rites.com/web/index.php

^{Agrawal Subhash.} 12 Emerging Donors in International Development Assistance: the Indian Case - http://idrc.ca/uploads/user-s/12441474461Case of India.pdf

¹³ Ibidem.

¹⁴ Ibid.

^{Price Gareth.} 15 Op. cit.

¹⁶ Ibidem.

¹⁷ The exchange rate of the rupiah to the dollar in 2002 was about $ 1-48 rupiah.

^{Price Gareth.} 18 Op. cit.

¹⁹ Ibid.

²⁰ Ibid.

^{Sedov I. A.} 21 Economic relations of India with developing countries of Asia and Africa. Moscow, Nauka Publ., 1971, p. 166.

^{Price Gareth.} 22 Op. cit.

²³ Terai - the southern regions of Nepal that are most closely connected economically with India.

²⁴ http://foreignaid.nepalko.info/2010/04/india-constructs-school-and-health-centre-in-n epal/

²⁵ In present-day Bhutan has air links with only 4 countries - Bangladesh, Thailand, India and Nepal.

^{Price Gareth.} 26 Op. cit.; Agrawal Subhash. Op. cit.

²⁷ http://meakabul.nic.in/ir/2006/02/02ir01.pdf

²⁸ India's Foreign Aid Program - Playing Like The Big Boys -http://desicritics.org/2007/02/05/124942.php

^{Price Gareth.} 29 Op. cit.

^{Reddy B.Muralidhar.} 30 Nirupama Rao to Assess Indian Aid to displaced Tamils - http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/article602278.ece

³¹ http://www.lankabusinessonline.com/fullstory.phpVnid-747701 790

³² http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India%E2%80%93Maldives_relati-ons

^{Price Gareth.} 33 Op. cit.

^{Bijoy C.R.} 34 India: Transiting to a Global Donor - http://www.euro pe-solidaire.org/IMG/pdf/India_-from_Debtor_to_Donor_-_Case_Study_C-R-Bijoy_ 1_.pdf

^{Price Gareth.} 35 Op. cit.

³⁶ http://leftwrite.wordpress.com/2008/04/15/foreign-aid-and-india/

³⁷ http://www.ongcvidesh.com/

³⁸ http://www.panafricanenetwork.com/

³⁹ Website of the Ministry of External Relations of India. India. MEA. Ministry of External Affairs. Address by PM at the Plenary Session of the 2nd Africa-India Forum Summit. May 24, 2011 - http://meaindia.nic.in/mystart.php?id=501017661&flg=1

⁴⁰ http://expressbuzz.com/nation/africa-to-support-indias-unsc-permanent-seat/277773.h tml

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