In a question to Andrew Mitchell MP, Secretary of State for International Development today, Gosport MP, Caroline Dinenage, asked about the level of aid Britain still gives to India.
Caroline raised the concerns of her Gosport constituents by asking “What the Government’s plans were for future levels of development aid to India?”
Given attempts by the Indian Government to establish itself on the world stage through heavy spending on defence, space, and even foreign aid programmes of their own, Caroline Dinenage asked what was being done to “encourage the Indian Government to spend their own money on the things they should be, rather than those they wanted to”.
In response, the Secretary of State agreed that the Government had been most accommodating in its support to India, and was pleased to announce that funding levels would be frozen at the existing rate for five years.
Caroline said “although there is no doubt that regions of India suffer from severe and desperate poverty, it’s important to ensure that the UK fulfils its international responsibilities while encouraging countries to use their own resources in the interests of their people”.