The External Affairs Ministry got a total allocation of Rs 6,375 crore for the year 2010-11 in the General Budget, with Rs 2,337 crore earmarked for various welfare programmes for countries like Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, Afghanistan and Maldives.
The allocation to the External Affairs Ministry was increased by just Rs 42 crore over last year's allocation of Rs 6,333 crore.
Out of the total allocation, Rs 1,302 crore has been earmarked for embassies and missions abroad while Rs 382.77 crore has been kept for passport and emigration services.
The allocation on Haj expenditure has also been enhanced from last year's Rs 6 crore to Rs 9.80 crore.
With an allocation of Rs 1294 crore, Nepal has topped the list of countries granted financial assistance in the budget followed by Afghanistan.
A total of Rs 290 crore has been earmarked for various aid programmes to Afghanistan while Nepal has been allocated a sum of Rs 151 crore. Likewise, a total of Rs 100 crore has been set aside for aid to various African countries.
