Announcement of Consortium Communique on Aid to India on May 26, 1964

Jt\JTERNATIONAL BANK FOR • RECONSTRUCTIOf\l ,1\ND DE\/ELOPMENT 1818 H STREET, N.W., WASHINGTON D. C. 20433 TELEPHONE: EXECUTIVE 3-6360 Bank Press Release No. 64/20 IDA Press Release No~ 64/7 Subject: Consortium Communique Tuesday, May 26, 1964 on Aid to India The Consortium of governments and institutions interested in develop- ment assistance to India held its tenth meeting in Washington on May 26, 1964, under the chairmanship of the World Bank. The meeting was attended by representatives of the Governments of Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States and by representatives of the World Bank and 'Lhe International Develop- • ment Association (IDA). The International Monetary Fund sent ar: observer • The purpose of the meeting was to discuss aid for India during 1964/65., the fourth year of Indiat s Third Five-Year Plan. The Consortium had held p~eliminary discussions on the same subject in Paris on March 17 and 18. At the beginning of the Third Plan the Government of India assess,ed the total requirement of external assistance from all sources, including non- Consortitun countries and private foreign investment, at $5.sh60 mi1lionc Again.st this, the members of the Consortium have already pledged $3,L,17 million of aid to India for the first three years of the Third Plan. At the meeting just concluded, they undertook to make additional aid availab2.e for commitment during the fourth year of the Plan in the amount of about $1,028 million, subject as appropriate to legislative action or other necessary authorisation. The new pledges for 1961..i/65 are as follows: •  n // - 2 - Countries Austria 1. Pledges by Co1.mtries U.S. $ million eguivale~,t l l! • Canada 41 (! France 20 Germany 95 Italy 36 Japan 60 Netherlan,ds 11 United Kingdom 84 United _States 435 World Bank and IDA 245 \! Ji ;/ Total 1,028 Members of the Consortium considered it important that a substantial , · part. of the, aid to be extended to India during the coming year should be in () the torm of non-project aid which could be used to finance :i,mP~~J··~~9.~~red .· for the maintenance of the Indian economy. Approximately half of,. the aid pledge~ at the meeting is .,expected to be in this form. ii • The following table sets out the aid pledges ma.de by members of the Consortium in each of the first four yea.rs of India's Third Five-Year Plan: 1\ ($ million equivalent) 4-Year 1961/62 1962/63 1963/64 1964/65 Tatel Austria 5 7 1 13 Belgium 10 10 20 Canada 28 33 3~ 41 13~ France 15 45 20 20 100 Germany 225 139 99! 95_ 55~ Italy. 53 45 36 134,, Japan 50 55 65 60 230· :, Netherlands 11 11 11 33 United Kingdom 182 84 84 84 434 United States 545 435 435 435 1,850 World Bank and IDA 250 200 245 245 940 Total 1,295 1,070 It was a.greed that the Consortium .should meet again early in 1965. 4,445 •