Announcement of Consortium Conmrunique on Aid to India on Wednesday, April 21, 1965

lNTERNATJONAL BANK FOR • RECONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT J818 H STREET, N.W., WASHINGTON D. C. 20433 TELEPHONE: EXECUTIVE 3-6360 Bank Press Release No. 65/20 Sut>j ect: Consortium Conmrunique IDA Press Release No. 65/6 on Aid to India Wednesday, April 21, 1965 The Consortium of governments and institutions interested in development assistance to India held its twelfth meeting in Washington on April 21, 1965, under t.he 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. The International Moneta.r., Fund sent an observer. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss aid for India during 1965/66, the • fifth and final yea:r of India's Third Five-Year Plan. The Consortium had held preliminary discussions on the same subject in Paris on March 16 ,~d 17. The members of the Consortium have already pledged $4,445 million of aid to India for the first four years of the Third Plan • .~t the meeting just concluded, they undertook to make additional aid available for commitment during the fifth and final year of the Plan in the amo~t of about $1,027 million. This under- taking is predicated on the asswnption that continued progress will be made with re~pect to India's key development problems, and subject to the availability of suitable programs and projects for financing and subject also, as appropriate, to legislative action in the aid-giving countries or other necessary authorization. The new pledges for 1965/66 are as follows: Countries u.s. $ million equivalent Austria 5 Belgium 4 Canada 41 'France 20 Gsr,many 86 Italy 36 60 • Japan Netherlands ll United Kingdom 84 United States 435 World Bank and/ -IDA 245 Total $1,027  - 2 - Members of the Consortium considered it important that a substantial part of· the aid to be extended to India during the coming year should be in the • form of non-project aid which could be used to finance imports required for~ maintenance of the Indian economy. Up to one half of the aid pledged at the meeting may be in this form. Stress was laid at the meeting on the need for a continuous iinprovement in the terms of aid. Two thirds of the aid pledged for 1965/66 will consist of grants and low-interest loans with a life of 25 years or more. The following table sets out the aid pledges ma.de by members of t:te Consortium for each year of India's Third Five-Year Plan: • ($ million equivalent) 5-Year ~961/6? 1962/63 1963/64 1964/65 1965/66 Total ~.':1\\1,:.T/ Austria 5 7 1 5 18 Belgium 10 10 4 24 Canada 28 33 30\ 41 41 1 173% France 15 45 20 20 20 ·' 120 Germany 225 139 99ii 95 86 644\ Italy 53 45 36 36 170 Japan 50 55 65 60 60' 290 Netherlands 11 11 11 11 44 United Kingdom 182 84 84 84 84 518 United .States 545 435 435 435 435 2,285 World Bank and IDA 250 200 245 245 245 1,185 1,295 1,070 1,052 1,028 1,027 5,472 •