Amidst severe public funding cuts and job losses in the UK, public criticism is growing against the David Cameron government's decision to continue aid to an increasingly economically prosperous India that itself gives aid to other countries.
Britain has committed to providing 280 million pounds aid to India until 2015, a figure that has come under trenchant criticism at a time when cuts threaten several public services at home.
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 pounds to the Indian education system over the past eight years, but an investigation reportedly has revealed that much of the money has been wasted and that
standards of reading, writing and arithmetic have dropped.
Reacting to the report, 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."
Earlier reports had claimed that the millions of
pounds in British aid had been lost to corruption in the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan that aims to provide free education to those aged six to 14.