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The spirit of giving aid is magnanimous; it blesses the nation that gives and the nation that receives. An

aid cannot be equated to alms giving nor it is a doling of charity. An aid assumes that the receiver can be

sustained at the right time. It also assumes an equality sharing of the products not in the economic

sense but in a social and altruistic sense.

After the World War II, the USA found the wisdom of helping under-developed nations and those that

were battered by the war. By virtue of her position, the USA could help. Of course willingness was there

and Marshall Plan under which the USA helped the European nations has become a classic example. The

USA had a surplus of many goods which she could easily part with. This, of course, had an economic

advantage for her for otherwise she would have to face a glut of goods leading on to recession.

This is an example only to show how economic aid had become a necessity in the modem world. There

are nations which have had an advance start and so their economy has been sound. But there are manynations of the world who have to start almost from scratch. If these nations were allowed to starve by

the most favored nations, the former may turn to ideologies other that democratic. All the things

cherished by enlightened nations would be blown to pieces. This had happened despite the aid given to

nations on the brink of starvation.

Advantages of the aid: The aid takes many forms. It need not be financial aid. It can be in the form of 

food, technical know-how and basic machinery to build industries. Most of the developing nations have

a chronic shortage of food, dairy products and medicines to fight diseases. The USA has been supplying

milk products, cotton seed oil and wheat products. This has helped the developing nations in more than

one way. Their new formed energy need not be merely wasted in creating food but could be used in

building her economy solidly. The nation's needy may be kept satisfied as otherwise it would lead to

internal strife and revolutions. One of the main objectives of food aid is to help the nation's children

with healthy and supplementary food, so that they can in turn be productive.

The Technical know-how helps the receiving nation to build suitable industries. Thus India built three

major steel industries with the aid from Germany, the USSR and England. Atomic reactors have been

built with help from Canada and the USA. Again under the technical aid program exchange of experts isbeing arranged to overhaul her industries and thus improve her economy. This exchange of know-how is

perhaps the best form of aid.

Aid in the form of machinery to increase production is welcome. For example, farm machinery to

developing countries does go a long way to increase production. This may include the supply of good

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farm stock in the form of seeds and so on. High yielding varieties of paddy have been thus introduced in

rice growing countries.

Receiving aid has also its pitfalls. The donor nation may attach strings to her aid which will make the

receiving nation dependent on the donor forever. Instances are not wanting to illustrate this point.

Airplanes were supplied to a country and adequate spare parts were never supplied.

A major disadvantage is that such aid kills the initiative on the part of the receiving nation. They think

they can depend on the donor at all times and they take aid given for granted. They forget that the

donor nation had to struggle hard once to reach her present level of prosperity. They forget to set their

house in order and very often expect the other country to come forward to help in their economic woes.

Aid is not after all charity. The aid will have to be returned at some time or other. When the receiving

nation cannot produce goods or services, the aid is kept up and the receiving nation has to face the

humiliation of having a debt in the form of aid loans. This is a sore situation and any self respecting

nation would resent it. The psychology of indebtedness to another for any kind of service received is

there. When the receiving nation, for reasons better known to her, does not support the donor nation in

her policies, it is resented, and more often than not, a threat is thrown of revising the quantum of aid or

abolishing it completely.

Aids cannot be avoided as the economics of different countries are not the same. Some had an early

start and are naturally endowed with resources and some countries have been handicapped for exactly

the opposite reasons. So the best form of aid will be to share the know- how so that relationships of one

country with another will not be lopsided.