India, Feb. 1 -- The external affairs ministry was on Thursday allocated Rs.22,154 crore in the budget for 2024-25, up from Rs.18,050 crore in 2023-24, while Bhutan was provided the largest share of the external aid portfolio with an outlay of Rs.2,068 crore.

The government again retained an outlay of Rs.100 crore for the development of Iran's Chabahar port in the budget for 2024-25, signalling the importance of the facility in regional connectivity efforts. It also retained an allocation of Rs.200 crore for Afghanistan, once the largest beneficiary of external aid.

The total outlay for the external affairs ministry includes expenses on embassies and missions, passport and emigration, external aid for countries and projects abroad, and ...