India's financial aid to Bangladesh remains unchanged

India's financial assistance to Bangladesh, as proposed in the annual budget for financial year 2025-26 presented in parliament today, remains unchanged at last year's level of Rs 120 crore ($13.84 million).

The latest Indian budget enhanced the assistance by 28.5 percent to the Maldives to Rs 600 crore from Rs 400 crore in the previous budget.

The 2025-26 budgetary assistance to Bhutan has been pegged at Rs 2,150 crore, a decrease from Rs 2,543.28 crore in the last budget.

The new budget provides for Rs 100 crore for Afghanistan with whom India's relations have of late seen an upward trajectory.

India's assistance to its two other South Asian neighbours Nepal and Sri Lanka in the latest budget has been retained at last year's levels of Rs 700 crore and Rs 300 crore respectively.

The budget for 2025-26 provides assistance of Rs 350 crore to Myanmar.

Meanwhile, a major chunk of the budget's total allocation of Rs 2,33,211 crore for the Home Ministry has gone to the central armed police forces (CAPFs) that are responsible for internal security, guarding borders and securing vital installations. This is an increase from the revised estimate of Rs 1,05,647.19 crore in 2024-25 and will go towards better infrastructure, sophisticated weapons and training.

The budgetary allocation for border infrastructure saw a sharp 87% rise — from Rs 2,794.57 crore to Rs 5,237.93 crore. This will be spent on the check posts along the international border and setting up surveillance infrastructure.