14.5 million pound grant from the United Kingdom

Indian slum dwellers’ plight depicted in the Oscar-winning film, Slumdog Millionaire, has touched British hearts. Eight million inhabitants of shanty towns will benefit from a 14.5 million pound grant from the United Kingdom government’s Department for International Development (DFID).

Development minister Gareth Thomas announced that eight million of India’s urban poor will get access to water, better sanitation and shelter by virtue of the new scheme. The DFID fund would support Indian government’s 6 billion pound Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission. The money will initially be utilised in 20 cities.

Embarrassingly for India, the DFID pointed out: ‘‘Although India has seen strong economic growth over the past few years, the scale of its need remains huge. 76% of the population lives in poverty and there are more people living on less than $1 a day in India than in Sub-Saharan Africa.’’

Thomas added: “Films like Slumdog Millionaire have helped to give British audiences a brief insight into the reality of how difficult life is for people in slums. It is right that we take action to help those people who need it most.”