India will always be reliable: Om Birla to Bhutan National Assembly speaker
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Monday said India would always be a reliable friend to Bhutan while noting the Rs 2,400-crore allocation for the neighbouring country in this year's Union Budget during a meeting with a Bhutanese Parliamentary delegation.
The Bhutanese delegation, led by National Assembly Speaker Wangchuk Namgyal, also called on Vice-President and Rajya Sabha Chairperson Jagdeep Dhankhar in Parliament.
The largest share of India's aid portfolio has been granted towards Bhutan with an allocation of Rs 2,400 crore -- constituting 41.04 per cent of the Ministry of External Affairs' development assistance -- in line with the country's 'Neighbourhood First' policy,
Birla said the 'Neighborhood First' policy, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has given a new direction to India-Bhutan relations.
The Government of India has allocated Rs 2,400 crore from this year's Union Budget to Bhutan, Birla said, and added that it reflected the close ties between the tw