the Indian government, has increased Food Aid: Charity or Profitable Business?
from about US $100,000 in 1964-65 Sumanta IN reply to questions in the winter session of Parliament, Union Finance Minister R Venkataraman disclosed that the Co-operative for American Relief Everywhere, or what is better known by its acronym CARE, which was supposed to be feeding some 10 million Indian school children with free food, has repatriated to USA about US $ 6 million between 1964-65 and 1979-80. He, however, neglected to add that CARE's agreement with the President of India, signed on March 6, 1950, under which it was allowed to begin its operations here, does not make any allowance for any funds to be provided from any government or non-government Indian source to CAREYet, it is evident from CARE's programme plans that government funds are being budgeted every year towards CARE's operational costs in all the 14 states where the organisation's school-fee ding programme is operative, Table I gives a summary of such government funds diverted towards CARE during the financial year ending 1971, the total coming to more than US $ 10 million. The question arises, under what authority are the state governments superseding the original 1950 agreement to provide operational costs to CARE, and those also in foreign exchange? The Centre subsidises the state governments to the extent of 40 per cent of funds spent on school feeding and/or selfhelp and/or food-for-work programmes. It is not known, however, whether the subsidy is with direct reference to CARE's feeding programme.