Despite recessionary conditions and mammoth amount of job cuts across the country, the UK government has lent £15 million to the richest man in the UK and owner of ArcelorMittal, Lakshmi Mittal, to help fund the expansion of refinery in India, Mittal’s native, as The Sun reports.

UK’s billionaire magnate’s company Mittal Energy Investments holds a 49% stake in the project, as does a state-run firm. The £15 million is part of World Bank’s plans to offer a £295 million loan towards expansion of the refinery.

According to The Sun, the refinery is one of dozens of projects bankrolled by the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC). The UK has already given the IFC £650 million, or 5.1% of its capital. The refinery loan comes just days after David Cameron announced plans to increase Britain’s aid spending to £12 billion a year, 0.7% of national income.

David Cameron is under pressure to reconsider his plan of chanelling the aid towards fast-growing economies such as India, China and Russia, when the need of the hour is to tackle the crippling British economy.

The money is believed to be a loan with interest but the UK taxpayers will not get it back as it will go into the World Bank Fund. The World Bank has declined to comment on the issue.

Today, Britain is experiencing economic imbalance as its humanitarian aid is cutting into its defence sector. Mittal’s family is worth £12.7 billion, which raises questions as to why he would require the funding from the UK; the funding which could be used to revive the ailing economy.