The central government has refused to accept several hundreds of crore in aid money offered by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to flood-ravaged Kerala state.
The foreign affairs ministry has communicated this decision to the fire gin governments that have offered financial aid to Kerala, which was hit by the worst floods in a century.
In a dramatic announcement on Tuesday, UAE-based NRI businessman MA Yosuf Ali communicated to Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan that the Gulf emirate was raising the substantial amount to help Kerala. Later Vijayan said Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, had offered the aid to Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself.
The UAE generosity was celebrated in social media, where memes soon appeared comparing the Rs 500 crore emergency aid announced by Prime minister Narendra Modi earlier this week to the UAE's larger offer.
However, towards evening on Tuesday, it became clear that there were policy issues that would prevent Kerala from accepting the offer of aid from the oil rich gulf emirate, where hundreds of thousands of Keralites work.
Putting an end to speculations, the union government decided on Wednesday that the states stricken with natural calamities shall not receive financial aid from foreign agencies and governments.
Capable of facing contingencies
The centre has taken the stand that accepting foreign aid will be a break from a policy that has been in place for the last 15 years. The government reiterates that India is capable of facing contingencies on its own and that relief and rebuilding will be undertaken with its own funds. However, it has made it clear that that foreign rulers can contribute to relief in their personal capacity.
Since the 2004 tsunami, India hasn't accepted foreign aid whenever it was hit with natural calamities. The decision to reject the largesse from the Gulf will put Kerala's efforts to fast-track relief and rebuilding in trouble. There has been already a demand from the state that the centre should pump in funds if it was rejecting foreign aid.
Apart from UAE, Qatar, Japan and Maldives had offered financial aid. The centre had rejected foreign financial assistance when Uttarakhand was ravaged by floods in 2013, killing more than 4,000 people.
The centre's decision to refuse funds from the UAE will rekindle debates on autarky. India is the fastest growing major economy in the world and is poised to become the second largest world economy in a few decades. In the political sphere, India aims to become a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).
