United Nations, Jan 1 : Facing a severe cash crunch, the world organisation starts 2026 with a shrunken budget of $3.45 billion and scheduled 19 per cent job cuts.

The General Assembly has adopted a budget that broadly reflects Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' proposal, but is higher than the $3.238 billion he had asked for.

This year's budget is about $270 million, or 7.25 per cent lower than 2025's $3.72 billion.

This budget covers only the main UN operations, and the budgets for the peacekeeping operations and other UN outfits, like UNESCO, the World Health Organisation, are separate.

India's share of the regular budget is 1.016 per cent based on an assessment calculated using a complex formula based on the gross national income, population and other factors.

Speaking earlier to the Assembly's Fifth Committee, which deals with the budget, Assistant Secretary-General Chandramouli Ramanathan said that as part of the belt-tightening, 2,900 positions will be abolished as of Friday, and about 1,000 employees had agreed to leave.

About the budget process that required arduous negotiations among 193 member countries, Ramanathan, the UN's top financial official, said, "That is something remarkable that you should not underestimate."

According to the UN, the arrears on December 1 were $1.586 billion -- $709 million in dues for 2024, and $877 million for 2025.

Because of this, Ramanathan appealed to member countries to send in their 2026 dues as quickly as possible.

Before the Assembly adopted the budget unanimously, a Russian amendment relating to provisions for investigations into human rights violations in Syria, and another from Cuba on the Secretary-General's adviser on the right or duty of nations to protect citizens against serious atrocities were defeated.

India abstained on both amendments.

The United States is the top contributor to the UN, assessed for 22 per cent of the budget, followed by China, responsible for 20 per cent.

The US under President Donald Trump, a vehement critic of the UN, has held back its contribution to the UN for 2025, even though it has been approved by Congress, creating a serious cash crunch.

Trump has proposed cutting US contributions to next year's regular budget by $610 million, and this could affect the viability of the budget that has been adopted.

(Arul Louis can be contacted at arul.l@ians.in)

/IANS