Bhutan gets lion's share in external aid allocation

India's close partner Bhutan once again garnered the largest share of the government's external aid portfolio, with an outlay of ₹2,150 crore in the 2025-26 Budget, which also retained ₹100 crore to develop Iran's Chabahar port.

- Rezaul H Laskar

NEW DELHI:

The external affairs ministry was allocated ₹20,516.61 crore, lower than its revised estimate of ₹25,277 crore and its allocation of ₹22,154 crore in 2024-25, according to budget documents.

In keeping with the government's "Neighbourhood First" policy, Bhutan was allocated ₹2,150 crore from the total external aid outlay of ₹6,750 crore, including soft loans and grants, for foreign countries, cultural and heritage projects and support for international training programmes.

Last year, India announced the doubling of its financial support for Bhutan's five-year plans from ₹5,000 crore to ₹10,000 crore. The overseas development portfolio of ₹6,750 crore accounted for a third of the ministry's overall budget. This is an increase of nearly 20% over last year's allocation of ₹5,667.56 crore and in line with foreign policy objectives and an expanding development partnership footprint, officials said.