INVESTIGATION INTO USE OF UK AID TO INDIA

That this House welcomes the Secretary of State's announcement of an inquiry into the theft of over £70 million of aid from the Department for International Development to the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan Project to educate thousands of the poorest children in India; notes reports by India's Human Resources Development Ministry that `cash has been snaffled by officials running the massive scheme'; and urges greater transparency and joint monitoring of such projects in the future so that aid is not diverted by corrupt local officials, but reaches those in greatest need, as intended by the British people.