JOIN USBritain has committed to providing £280 million aid to India until 2015, a figure that has come under criticism at a time when cuts threaten several public services in the country.
Reports that hundreds of millions of pounds of British aid have been allegedly squandered on schools in India have provoked another round of angry responses from readers and others, including members of the coalition government.
According to a report in the Daily Mail, Britain has provided £388 million to the Indian education system over the past eight years.
But an investigation has revealed that much of the money has been wasted and that standards of reading, writing and arithmetic have dropped. Conservative Tory MP James Clappison said: “This casts doubt on the efficacy of the role of UK aid in India. Perhaps that money should be spent at home or sent to poorer countries. Some of these countries can help themselves more.”