§ Mr. Elystan Morganasked the Minister of Overseas Development (1) how much aid to date has been given by Her Majesty's Government to India and, in particular, to the inhabitants of Bihar since 1st January, 1967;
(2) what specific programme of aid for India and, in particular, for the inhabitants of Bihar, Her Majesty's Government have prepared for the next six months;
(3) whether Her Majesty's Government will accelerate aid to India and, in particular, to the famine area of Bihar, in view of adverse effect upon the flow of aid which has been caused by the closure of the Suez Canal.
§ Mr. BottomleyBritish financial aid to India takes the form of interest-free loans to the Indian Government and is not provided direct to individual States26W of the Indian Union. Between 1st January and 31st May this year disbursements of financial aid to India totalled nearly £14½ million.
We have so far promised, as an advance instalment of our 1967 pledge, £19 million of new aid for the current financial year, including £12 million for general purposes. A non-project loan for the balance of £7 million was signed on 19th June.
In deciding both how much aid we can pledge or disburse to India in total and in what form it should be provided I naturally take fully into account all the relevant factors including those relating to the food situation.