India funds 600 infrastructure projects across Asia, Africa, minister tells Parliament

According to information presented to Parliament on Thursday by the Ministry of External Affairs, India has extended 308 lines of credit (LOC) totaling around $32.02 billion to a number of partners, including Sudan, Fiji, Bangladesh, Myanmar, and Nepal. According to V. Muraleedharan, Minister of State (MoS) for External Affairs, these monies have backed over 600 projects in areas like connectivity, power, infrastructure, and health. The minister was answering a query posed by BJP MPs Iranna Kadadi, Anil Jain, and Satish Chandra Dubey in the Rajya Sabha. The minister also emphasised India’s global capacity-building initiatives, stating, “India provides partners in the Global South with capacity-building assistance through the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation Programme (ITEC).” Approximately 160 nations receive these scholarships annually. There are more than 14,000 training spots available annually for both army and civilian courses. In order to address the requirements of developing nations like Afghanistan, Lithuania, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and others through technological collaboration, the ITEC is a bilateral assistance initiative that was founded in 1964. At the Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC) Summit in May of this year, India announced the Sagar Amrut scholarship for Pacific Island Countries as part of the project. The governments of the United States, Australia, India, and Japan jointly launched the QUAD Infrastructure Fellowship, which includes it as well. According to Muraleedharan, India has furthermore assisted partner nations such as Bangladesh in undertaking tasks including building the Titas and second Bhairab rail bridges with approach rail lines. Along with the connecting of the electrical grids between Mali and the Ivory Coast, the nation has contributed to the growth of Ethiopia’s sugar sector and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Bank for Investment and Development. Also, it assisted in the establishment of a combined-cycle power plant in Sudan, among others, the MoS informed the Parliament. The construction of the India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline (IBFPL) between Siliguri and Parbatipur, the construction of the Afghan-India Friendship Dam (Salma Dam), the restoration of the Thiruketheeswaram temple in Mannar, Sri Lanka, and power substations in Afghanistan are just a few of India’s grant assistance projects. The minister informed Parliament that, in addition to these programmes for financial aid, India has also created the e-VidyaBharati and e-ArogyaBharati Network Project (e-VBAB) to share telemedicine and teleeducation services across Africa. (With agency inputs)