Re Devaluation Costs Govt Dear

Devaluation of rupee has cost the government dear.

The budget provides for a payment of Rs 1,457.24 crores to International Monetary Fund arising as a result of revaluation of Fund's holding of Indian currency.

This has been shown as a non-plan capital outlay in the budget documents.

There is also a sharp reduction in the non-plan investments in international financial institutions, which has been pegged at Rs 24.39 crores against 132.86 crores in the revised estimate of 1997-98.

This is mainly because there is no allocation for International Board for Reconstruction and Development against an allcotion of Rs 93.19 crores which was made in the revised estimates of last year for subscription to the capital stock of IBRD and maintainance of value claims.

Neither is there any allocation under the non-plan head for International Finance Corporation which had been alloted Rs 25.29 crores last year.

At the same time, non-plan allocation for Asian Development Bank has gone up from Rs 5 crores last year to Rs 15 crores this year.

Grants and loans to foreign governments, both plan and non-plan, has gone up from Rs 559.29 crores in the revised estimate of 1997-98 to Rs 833.40 crores in the 1998-99 budgetary estimates, an increase of Rs 284.11 crores.

A huge amount of Rs 659 crores has been placed at the disposal of the external affairs ministry for grants and loans to foreign governments, both under plan and non-plan heads. This includes a plan allocation of Rs 250 crores which has risen from Rs 60 crores in the revised estimate of 1997-98.

Grants and loans to foreign governments under the plan head has shot up from Rs 60 crores in the 1997-98 revised estimates to Rs 250 crores in 1998-99.

The rise of grants and loans under non-plan head has risen from Rs 499.29 crores to Rs 583.40 crores. This includes an amount of Rs 409 crores, against Rs 357.74 crores last year, which has been placed at the disposal of the external affairs ministry for allocation to different foreign governments, mostly poorer countries.

Contribution of the Indian government to international organisations has risen slightly from Rs 150.19 crores last year to Rs 162.13 crores this year.

This includes the normal contribution to United Nations Organisation which has risen from Rs 13.52 crores last year to Rs 16 crores this year.

An important increase is in United Nations women and child development programme, in which the government will be contributing Rs 10.49 crore this year against Rs 6.90 crores last year. Contribution to UNESCO has risen from Rs 4.98 crores last year to Rs 6.30 crores this year.

The government has decided to spend Rs 80 crores for construction of office buildings for embassies and missions abroad.

This is a much larger allocation than Rs 47 crores spent last year.

However, there is a marginal decrease from Rs 21 crores last year to Rs 20 crores this year in acquisition or construction of residential buildings for embassies and missions abroad.