Govt forms channels to allocate foreign aid
NEW DELHI: Foreign aid coming to India to help the country cope with the raging second wave of the coronavirus disease is being transparently distributed , on the basis of a methodology to ensure their optimal use , primarily to the states with a high caseload and regional medical hubs, according to a top government official directly involved in channeling this aid.
Government documents, reviewed by HT, show that three channels have been set up each for government-to-government aid, private donations, and direct aid to the states.
Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said, “We are about 100% transparency on all foreign aid related to Covid-19.” According to him, the Niti Ayog, the government’s think tank, “has set up a portal in which donors can track the relief material, end-to-end, till it reaches intended beneficiaries.”
India has been receiving international donations of Covid-19 medical supplies and equipment since April 27 from countries including the US, UK, Russia, UAE, France, Thailand, Germany, Uzbekistan, Belgium and Italy. Between April 27 and May 5, India has received 1764 Oxygen Concentrators, 1760 Oxygen Cylinders, 7 Oxygen Generation Plants, 450 ventilators and at least 1.35 lakh Remdesivir vials.
The grants received directly from foreign nations, individuals or organisations are routed through the external affairs ministry. Some donors are willing to send materials directly to the states, and the government has asked each state to set up a nodal officer. In cases where the aid is not earmarked, the Centre has decided that these grants in aid must be allocated to high burden states or states with higher number of active cases and where the requirement for such equipment or medicines is more. This, the government said, would help in optimal utilisation.
On Wednesday, the government said in a statement that 38 institutions across 31 states and Union territories have already received (or will shortly receive) material. “Spreading such grant in aid thinly over a large number of states without any specific empirical criteria [such as number of active cases] may not bring forth the desired results. It will also lead to small packages travelling large distances, high turnaround times and possible wastage of resources,” a government note said, explaining the rationale behind the allocation.
Special focus is also on states that are considered medical hub of the region and where patients from other states come. “In some cases, resource low states such as North Eastern and hill states where tankers etc. don’t reach, can also be covered,” said a note, a copy of which has been reviewed by HT.