US President Joe Biden has proposed to increase the developmental assistance to India in clean energy, digital economy, and also in combating increasing authoritarianism.

The proposed increase in India's developmental assistance from USD 25 million in 2021 to USD 66 million for the fiscal 2023 is part of the State Department's developmental assistance for the fiscal 2023, which was sent by the White House to the US Congress on Monday.

The funding increase for India supports India's role as a regional leader by increasing clean energy and other climate programming. Funds will also advance investments in the digital economy, said the State Department's portion of the budget.

Assistance will combat increasing authoritarianism, bolster human rights and strengthen civil society participation and democratic governance, the State Department said.

The Biden Administration has also proposed to increase aid to India on the health sector from USD 34.5 million in 2021 to 48.5 million in 2023.

Overall, the administration has proposed USD 302.2 million in developmental assistance for South Asia to promote sustainable development to resist harmful economic practices and unsustainable debt. Funding will also combat climate change by increasing investments in clean energy and adaptation to climate risks, it said.

The State Department also cited a program Treasury's Office of Technical Assistance (OTA) to India as one of its success stories. With OTA support, India's Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs made significant progress in its Smart Cities program to promote issuance of local project debt by cities, the State Department said.

Local debt issuance in its infancy in India helps to foster greater ownership and improved planning of infrastructure and development projects, which currently range from water treatment to improved local transportation, it said.

OTA previously worked with the Indian municipality of Pune to help facilitate its first bond issuance in 2017. Based on this success, OTA and the Ministry of Housing of Urban Affairs expanded collaboration to include six additional cities -- Vadodara, Pimpri Chinchwad, Rajkot, Faridabad, Mangaluru and Mysuru.

According to the State Department, OTA is working with the cities in coordination with the Ministry to help incorporate best practices and lessons learned from the US municipal finance system, enable better project vetting and monitoring, improve disclosure to investors, and lower the cost of capital for the regional capital improvement plan.

US President Joe Biden File Picture

Biden proposes USD 1.8 billion for Indo-Pacific Strategy

US President Joe Biden on Monday proposed a USD 1.8 billion to support his Indo-Pacific Strategy along with another USD 400 million to counter the malign Chinese behaviour.

Both are part of the USD 773 billion annual defence budget of the US for the year 2023, which was submitted by the White House to the Congress as part of its annual budgetary proposals.

In the Indo-Pacific, America is strengthening its role and expanding its cooperation with longtime allies and partners, including new diplomatic, defence and security, critical and emerging technology and supply chain, and climate and global health initiatives, while supporting stronger ties between our European and Indo Pacific allies, Biden said.

The President has prioritized strategic competition with China and worked with allies and partners to resist coercion and deter aggression from Beijing and Moscow, and has ended America's 20-year war in Afghanistan while removing all US troops, the White House said.

The budget, the White House said, promotes integrated deterrence in the Indo-Pacific and globally. To sustain and strengthen deterrence, the budget prioritizes China as the Department's pacing challenge.

To support American leadership in defending democracy, freedom, and security worldwide, the Budget includes nearly USD 1.8 billion to support a free and open, connected, secure, and resilient Indo-Pacific Region and the Indo-Pacific Strategy, and USD 400 million for the Chinese Malign Influence Fund.

In addition, the Budget provides USD 682 million for Ukraine, an increase of USD 219 million above the 2021 enacted level, to counter Russian malign influence and to meet emerging needs related to security, energy, cybersecurity issues, disinformation, macroeconomic stabilization, and civil society resilience.

According to the White House, Department Of Defence's 2023 Pacific Deterrence Initiative highlights some of the key investments the Department is making that are focused on strengthening deterrence in the Indo-Pacific region.

The Department is building the concepts, capabilities, and posture necessary to meet these challenges, working in concert with the interagency and US allies and partners to ensure US deterrence is integrated across domains, theaters, and the spectrum of conflict, it said.

PTI