New Delhi: The Government has prepaid Rs 1,350 crore (420 million Canadian Dollars) to the Canadian Government against 42 outstanding Official Development Assistance (ODA) loans provided to India by that Government.

With this, India has discharged all outstanding ODA loans provided to India by the Canadian Government, an official release said.

Government of India had taken a decision to advance payment of all outstanding loans from certain bilateral partners including Canada last year.

The Canadian Minister for International Cooperation, M Aileen Carroll, in a letter to Finance Minister Jaswant Singh congratulated the Indian Government on the decision regarding the prepayment of loans, it said.

"Both the amount of the prepayment and the accelerated schedule are unprecedented in the history of Canadian Development Assistance. Your decision to pre-pay a wide-range of development assistance loans, to Canada and to a number of other donors underlines the capacity of the Indian economy and the financial stewardship being exercised," she said.

Government has prepaid $ three billion of external loans during 2002-2003 and $ 1.4 billion so far during 2003-04.