With 135 crore population…3 trillion-dollar GDP … India is one of the leading democracies in the world … Corona is worth the second wave. 3 lakh cases are being registered daily. The medical sector is haunted by a lack of infrastructure. Governments should take in the matter of medicine in the coming period. In the wake of the rising number of Covid cases in India, many countries are doing it. The United States, France, Germany, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, Canada, Britain and Bhutan have announced aid. Apart from these, some organizations and task forces have also announced assistance. America is a leader in this regard. Equipment and goods worth $ 10 billion from America are beautiful. Of these, 1,000 oxygen cylinders, 15 million worth of N95 masks, 10 lakh rapid diagnostic test kits and 20 million doses of the vaccine will be manufactured and shipped for India by AstraZeneca. The United States has said it will help build the vaccine. Other countries will provide technical assistance along with the supply of oxygen concentrators and ventilators. Recently, the United Nations also announced that it was ready to help India if asked. This was tweeted by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. No matter what these initiatives are, there are cases where India has received international assistance at this level in the past.
International aid after 16 years
When it comes to financing in times of crisis, India is ready to accept international aid after 16 years. To this end, some regulations have also changed. India, which in the last 16 years has been receiving assistance only in the areas of diplomatic assistance and defence equipment and technology, is now receiving assistance in the medical and technical fields. This acceptance of aid will also be country-wise and subject-wise. Pakistan has also announced that it will help India as news comes in that it has agreed to seek oxygen and medical kits from China. The Centre has yet to decide whether to accept assistance from Pakistan. On the whole, after Manmohan Singh became the Prime Minister after 2004, the UPA I government changed its policies regarding the acceptance of foreign aid. The issue of national defence, unless there are special circumstances, has changed the policies of not being able to take any help except international diplomacy. It must be said that foreign aid has not been received since then until recently. It has also increased surveillance over donations to charities and personal donations.
Many disasters
In 1991, a severe earthquake shook Uttarakhand (Uttara Kashi) in what was then Uttar Pradesh. Thousands died. Thousands of crores of rupees were lost. The quake in the Alakananda river basin left nearly 3 lakh people homeless. 1294 villages were affected. India then received financial assistance from abroad. The 1993 earthquake in Maharashtra claimed many lives, killing tens of thousands and injuring 30,000. The United States, Israel, Russia, Iran, Britain and France have all announced their support. An earthquake on January 26, 2001, in the Kutch division of Gujarat, killed at least 18,000 people and destroyed 4 lakh homes. The Bhuj area near the epicentre became a mound of corpses. Then in 2002, Bengal was devastated by a cyclone. In July 2004, Bihar was hit by floods. There was heavy loss of life and property. Internationally, India’s acceptance of foreign aid is the latest in a series of catastrophes.
Although many countries have come forward to help
The December 26, 2004 tsunami killed at least 2.3 million people in 14 countries. An estimated 10,000 people have died in India. During this time many countries came forward to provide international assistance but then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh refused international assistance. He said they would ask for help if needed and commented that their country was not ready to take international assistance at present. The policies were changed a few days later. India has not received foreign aid since then except in a few respects. The Kashmir earthquake in 2005, the Uttarakhand floods in 2013 and the Kashmir floods in 2014 were not even received. The UAE has stepped in to provide massive financial assistance of Rs 700 crore during the Kerala floods in 2018. The Government of Kerala has forwarded the information to the Central Government to this effect. However, due to the then policy, the Centre did not agree to it.
Changes in policies are as follows
So far, more than 20 countries have come forward to help India due to the situation in India. Bhutan, USA, Britain, France, Germany, Russia, Ireland, Belgium, Romania, Luxembourg, Portugal, Sweden, Australia, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, Thailand, Finland, Switzerland, Norway, Italy, UAE. However, these do not provide direct assistance. Must be submitted to a PM Cares Fund approved by the Government of India, or to the Indian Red Cross Society. In the case of medical assistance, the Central Government is required to work with the Department of Medical Health (Public Health). Imports can also be assisted only under central supervision as they remain within the central jurisdiction. On the whole, after 16 years, India had to face a worse situation.
