§ Mr. Molsonasked the Secretary of State for India (1) the cost to the British and Indian Exchequers, respectively, of the defence of India in each of the financial years of war; and the amount of the contributions to India from the British Exchequer in each financial year of war under the Garvan Award, the Chatfield Report and any subsequent wartime agreements;
(2) the total amount of Indian sterling indebtedness repatriated in each financial year of war, distinguishing Government and non-Government debt; the total amount of British investments in India requisitioned in order to enable the British Exchequer to meet its liabilities in India; and the estimated liability in the coming financial year of the British Exchequer to India?
§ Mr. AmeryIf what the hon. Member has in mind in speaking of the cost of 59W defence of India is the total expenditure of the Indian Defence and Supply Departments, this is divided between the United Kingdom and Indian Governments in accordance with the war-time arrangement announced in the House on the 29th February, 1940. Under this arrangement the sums recovered from the United Kingdom during the war years, largely on account of supplies to theatres of war outside India, are as follow:
£ 1939–40 2,000,000 1940–41 29,250,000 1941–42 137,750,000 1942–43 (approx.) 240,000,000 A total of £409,000,000 These figures do not include the cost of supplies sent by United Kingdom Departments to India. The sums borne by the Indian Exchequer during the war years, as compared with the pre-war budget of £34,000,000, are as follow:
£ 1939–40 … … 40,000,000 1940–41 … … 55,000,000 1941–42 … … 78,000,000 1942–43 … … 179,000,000 A total of £352,000,000 These sums allow for the receipt of the annual grant-in-aid made in accordance with the recommendations of the Garran Tribunal, which has been stabilised for the duration of the war at the 1939 level of £2 millions. In the course of the wartime development of the Forces in India, the modernisation measures recommended by the Chatfield Committee have, broadly speaking, been carried out and their cost included in the recoveries from the United Kingdom in the above statement. The Government of India have refunded to the United Kingdom £9,000,000 in accordance with the recommendations of the Committee.
The amounts of the sterling indebtedness of the Government of India repatriated during the last four financial years, and the portions of those amounts that were acquired under Vesting Orders issued in the United Kingdom, have been as follow:
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Year. Nominal value of sterling debt repatriated. Nominal value of sterling Stock acquired under U.K. Vesting Orders. £ millions £ millions 1939–40 17.3 — 1940–41 71.3 54.1 1941–42 99.4 77.5 1942–43 93 23 (approx.) (including redemption of 5 per cent Stock 1942–47 and 3½ per cent Stock. Vesting has been confined to stocks of, or guaranteed by, the Government of India. It is not known to what extent, if at all, non-Governmental concerns operating in India may have repatriated their sterling indebtedness, but the amount is not likely to be significant. It is estimated that payments to be made by His Majesty's Government to the Government of India during 1943–44 on account of recoverable war expenditure will amount to about £283,000,000 consisting largely of the cost of supplies for theatres of war outside India.