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    "label": "Memorandum of Conversation with Secretary of State Dean Acheson, the Ambassador of India, and Others",
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    "title": "Memorandum of Conversation with Secretary of State Dean Acheson, the Ambassador of India, and Others",
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    "ocrText": "THINK\n13\nDEPARTMENT OF STATE\nand GERVICE** of\n38\n187\nMemorandum of Conversation\nDATE:\nFebruary 15, 1949\nSUBJECT:\nFarewell Call of the Indian Ambassador, Sir Benegal Rama Rau\nPARTICIPANTS:\nMr. Dean Acheson - Secretary of State\nSir Benegal Rama Rau - Ambassador of India\nMr. Joseph 3. Sparks - SOA\nCOPIES TO:\nS\nNEA\nSOA\n1-1493\nThe Ambassador opened the conversation by referring\nto the current unsatisfactory economic situation in India\nand India's need for exchange assistance arising out of\nits deficit trade balance with the dollar area. I re-\nferred to the applications which I understood India was\nmaking to the World Bank and the Export-Import Bank and\nthe Ambassador stressed that India was not asking for\ngifts and only needed assistance at all because its\nlarge sterling balance was, with the exception of\n$60,000,000. per year, being held inconvertible by the\nBriti sh. He said that India's adverse trade balance had\nbeen in the neighborhood of $200,000,000. last year and\nthat the Indian Government was seriously concerned not\nonly for economic reasons but because of the political\nsituation. In this connection, he said that he was afraid\nthat the success of the Marshall Plan in western Europe\nwould mean that Communi: sm would turn on the Far East and\nparticularly India, with renewed vigor. He mentioned the\nnew universal sufferage contained in India's draft con-\nstitution and said that unless substantial ecónomic\nprogress could be made by the democratic government\ncurrently in office, there was a definite possibility\nthat the large majority of India's population, which is\ngrossly\nDECLASSIFIED\nE, O. 11652, Sec. 3(E) and S(D) or (E)\ngroner\nDept. of State letter, 2.23.218\nBx NLT- H : NARS Date 4-20-76"
}