West’s Aid To India In Critical Year

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28490, 21 January 1958, Page 11

West’s Aid To India In Critical Year

(N.Z. Press Association—Copyright)

(Rec. 9.40 p.m.) NEW DELHI, January 19.

The latest United States offer of a 225 million dollars (about £BO million) loan to India is expected to see India through next year, the critical year in her second five-year plan.

The United States offer—together with West Germany’s offer to defer repayment of 670 million rupees (about £5O million) —will allow India to meet the bulk of foreign exchange requirements for 1958.

The rest of these requirements will be met by drawing down sterling balances, and by negotiating deferred payments with other countries where possible.

India’s foreign indebtedness at present amounts to 6000 million rupees (about £450 million), while aid so far received or promised for the second five-year plan totals nearly 9,000 million rupees (about £675 million).

Western countries are contributing about two-thirds of the foreign aid toward the second plan, Eastern bloc countries are contributing about two-ninths, and the World Bank the rest. Western countries who have joined in the loans are the United States, Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, West Germany, Norway, France and Japan.

Communist Bloc countries assisting are Russia and Czechoslovakia.

Aid from the United States alone now totals nearly 4000 million rupees (about £3OO million), which is double the ’aid offered by the Soviet group. The second five-year plan, running from 1956 to 1961 at an estimated cost of 48,000 million rupees (about £3600 million), is intended to raise the per capita income in India by 18 per cent.