New Delhi. In the Union Budget 2026-27, India has increased the development assistance budget for several neighboring countries like Afghanistan, Mongolia and Nepal, while the allocation for Bangladesh has been cut by Rs 60 crore. India’s financial assistance to Bhutan has been increased to Rs 2,288.56 crore. The allocation for Afghanistan has been increased from Rs 100 crore to Rs 150 crore, indicating new development projects by India proposed there. A provision of Rs 800 crore has been made for Nepal, which is Rs 100 crore more than the previous budget. Rs 400 crore has been allocated for Sri Lanka, which was Rs 300 crore in the previous budget. The amount of assistance to Mongolia has also been increased from Rs 5 crore to Rs 25 crore.
At the same time, financial assistance for Bangladesh has been reduced from Rs 120 crore to Rs 60 crore. The allocation for Maldives has been reduced from Rs 600 crore to Rs 550 crore, while assistance for Myanmar has been reduced from Rs 350 crore to Rs 300 crore.
Additionally, India’s financial assistance to Eurasian countries has been reduced to Rs 38 crore, while assistance to Latin American countries has been increased to Rs 120 crore.
The total budget of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has also been increased in the latest Union Budget. The budget of the ministry has been increased from Rs 20,516.62 crore to Rs 22,118.97 crore.
Presenting the budget in Parliament on Sunday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman mentioned three ‘duties’ to boost the economy as well as empower the poor, the deprived and the weaker sections.
He said that in fulfillment of the government’s ‘Sankalp’ and this budget being prepared at ‘Kartavya Bhavan’, “we are motivated by three duties.”
—
Read this also – Click to read the news of your state/city before the newspaper.