An official review in Britain has found that the country is giving hundreds of millions of pounds in aid every year to India and China.

The Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI), which is responsible for auditing government spending, said that ministers have given a false impression that aid is being reduced.

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"Significant UK aid flows have continued through other channels," the commission said, adding that the government has been reluctant to admit that spending has not been halted.

However, the said aid has continued, and its subsequent scaling up has not been explained to the UK public.

Conservative lawmakers have been urging the UK government to scale down its commitment to spending 0.7 percent of national income on aid. There are concerns that the aid money is going to waste.

The UK government had committed to stop providing financial aid to India by the end of 2015-16. This was due to concerns that the money was being given to a country whose economy has been on a steady growth and that has its own nuclear ambitions.

However, the ICAI discovered that India continues to receive 30 million pounds ($37.2 million) a year from Britain. This money is earmarked for "technical assistance."

India receives a further 40 million pounds ($49.6 million) for what is termed as "development capital investment."

The commission has also said that China continues to receive approximately 10 million pounds ($12.4 million) from Britain. This money is ostensibly to help China donate and invest more in developing countries. 

Tagschina, India, UK