India’s government will maintain increased funding to build roads near its China border after spending 30% more on them this fiscal year than planned, it said on Thursday, citing tension between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.
The countries have been in a military standoff since July 2020 when at least 24 Indian and Chinese troops were killed in the worst clashes between the two sides in five decades.
India will match the 65 billion rupees ($783.41 million) above the amount scheduled for this year for the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) responsible to build such roads for next year “in the light of the continued threat perception faced at the Indo-China border,” the government said in a statement after presenting the budget.
