The Government of India presented a Rs 2.1 billion grant to Nepal as a reimbursement to the first tranche of private housing reconstruction grant it promised to the Himalayan nation under cooperation for post-earthquake reconstruction projects.

This grant would be supporting 42,086 beneficiaries awaiting housing support in Gorkha and Nuwakot districts of Nepal.

In its release, the Indian Government also informed that it has been collaborating with UNDP and UN Office for Project Services to ensure socio-technical support to housing beneficiaries in those districts.

The latest move by Indian Government follows the MoU that the two countries had signed on February 20, 2016.

As part of the agreement, Indian Government had agreed to support Nepal in its post-earthquake reconstruction housing activity by providing USD 100 million grant towards rebuilding 50,000 private houses in the aforementioned districts.

Indian Ambassador to Nepal Manjeev Singh Puri handed over the grant to the Finance Secretary Rajan Khanal at an event in Kathmandu on July 27, 2018.

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The seminar titled ‘Nepal–India Think Tank Summit (NITTS) 2018’ was organized by AIDIA and Nehru Memorial Museum Library (NMML) in Kathmandu on July 31, 2018.

An official release informed that the summit will work on cooperation in key areas through regular dialogues and institutional collaboration on resource-sharing for joint events between think-tanks of the two countries.

“The Summit will for the first time address the need for greater collaboration and knowledge-sharing among Nepali and Indian think tanks as well as the particular problem of bridging the gap between think tanks and policymakers,” AIDIA said in a statement.

According to AIDIA, the ever-growing political and socioeconomic challenges are limiting the scope for thinking and planning.

In view of that fact, the Summit will start showcasing the role of think-tanks in transforming Nepal-India bilateral relations.

The summit is bringing together think-tanks, government representatives, diplomatic missions, policy makers, academicians, business sectors and media to discuss on making meaningful conclusions and recommendations.  

‘Look South’ Policy
Speaking on the sidelines of the summit, the Director of Think-tank India Foundation Ram Madhav said oceans can play a vital role in Nepal’s development considering the importance of water connectivity.

In this regard, he called on Nepal to adopt the ‘Look South’ policy to gain advantage of better connectivity through Indian Ocean.

Terming Indian Ocean as the most-happening aspect, Ram Madhav urged Nepal to get the best of the Ocean by tapping its potential using Bangladesh’s Chittagong Port and India’s Calcutta Port.

Speaking further on Indian Government’s move towards supporting neighboring nations, Madhav informed that India is committed to support Nepal and has extended its support in the latter’s efforts to progress in the path of parliamentary democracy. 

Key objectives of the summit include:

• Exploring the role of think-tanks in shaping Indo-Nepal relations;
• Encouraging active collaboration on research, publication, sharing of information, human resource and finance to promote joint events between the participating think-tanks and supports evidence-based policymaking;
• Gaining a better understanding of the organizational and policy challenges facing think tanks and policymakers in Nepal and India;
• Identifying the most pressing policy challenges and bilateral issues related to political, economic and security between Nepal and India in the current scenario and the ways to tackle these for promoting mutually inclusive bilateral relations;

AIDIA is planning similar summits every year under the single agenda of strengthening bilateral ties.

“The Summit is proposed to become an annual feature for the participating organizations and will be hosted alternatively each year in Nepal and India respectively. Important issues encountering Nepal–India ties and emerging issues in regional/international level will form the specific themes of the Summit each year,” informed an official release.               

This year’s Summit on July 31, 2018 saw the participation of  Former Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal as its chief guest, along with other key dignitaries including Indian Ambassador to Nepal Manjeev Singh Puri, AIDIA Founder Sunil KC and Director of India Foundation and BJP National General Secretary and India Think-tank Director Ram Madhav, among others.

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This meet was used by both parties to identify the roadblocks that hinder project implementation.

According to the Nepal Foreign Affairs Ministry, the status of all ongoing Indo-Nepal projects was discussed.

The meeting stressed on completion of all the economic and development projects at the earliest, by finding solutions to difficulties experienced during implementation of various projects.

Cross-border rail projects, Arun-III Hydropower project and the Terai Roads project are some of the projects, as per the update by the Indian Embassy.

The two bodies discussed the measures for early completion of the project within the provided TAT and expressed commitment for smooth execution of projects.

Nepal Foreign Secretary Shankar Das Bairagi and Indian Ambassador Manjeev Singh Puri represented both countries at the meeting.

The latest decision comes as a result of the discussions made on the Nepal-India Oversight Mechanism to address concerns over ongoing bilateral projects implementation within stipulated time frames, taking during former Nepal PM Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s state visit to India in September 2016.

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As part of the agreement, India has agreed to provide USD 16.2 million to both the UN agencies, including USD 8.79 million to UNDP and USD 7.41 million to UNOPS.

This fund will be utilized for the construction of around 50,000 houses in Gorkha and Nuwakot, two of the districts badly-hit in the 2015 earthquake.

Through this fund, the UN agencies plans to provide all the needed socio-technical assistance related to rebuilding damaged sites for around 26,912 houses in Gorkha (by UNDP) and 23,088 houses (UNOPS) in Nuwakot.

Overall, this three-year project aims at ensuring the rebuilt houses are in line with the government norms and are quake-resistant.

Problems Faced So Far

As part of relief measures post the 2015 Gorkha earthquake, the Government of Nepal has called for the owner-driven approach for the renovation of quake-hit structures across the country and has had also announced USD 250 million aid and a USD 750 million Line of Credit for the same.

With this, socio-technical assistance for the procurement of related material which includes materials, technical support, finance, technologies, skill-set and land, among others.

This sort of confusion was witnessed in the reconstruction activity that has been underway since 2015, which saw a high number of householders seeking hands-on technical support, in-time funds, among others to build government-compliant and safer structures.

Now, these hassles are likely to be addressed under the new project which is promising the deployment of architects, masons, community facilitators and trained engineers for a constructive move.

“We look forward to making this partnership a success to ensure that the poor, vulnerable and marginalized households who need our support the most are able to reconstruct resilient houses speedily while leaving no one behind,” says Renaud Meyer, Country Director, UNDP Nepal.

Solution Ahead, Technical Assistance Vital

“We have learned from the experiences around the world that disasters like this tend to disproportionally affect socially and economically vulnerable people. These projects will address the special needs of those populations and make them more resilient to disasters in the future,” said UN Resident Coordinator Valerie Julliand at the project signing ceremony while also thanking India for its support.

Meanwhile, Indian Ambassador to Nepal Manjeev Singh Puri opined that this project will address the technical concerns of the householders and assist them with all the needed expertise for safer construction.

“The partnership agreement with UNDP and UNOPS will enhance the availability of technical knowhow and expertise to house owners in Gorkha and Nuwakot districts to reconstruct their homes with earthquake-resilient features,” reads Puri’s statement.

Sanjay Mathur, UNOPS Asia – Regional Director was also happy at the favor extended by the Government of India and Nepal towards helping the needy.

He said, “With the generous assistance of the Government of India and in close partnership with the Government of Nepal, we will all be working together to support those families in greatest need, safely rebuild their homes and their lives. This is critical to sustainable development and we are proud to be a part of this effort.”

This three-year project will be carried out jointly by the Embassy of India, Kathmandu, Nepali National Reconstruction Authority, Central-Level Project Implementation Units of the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration Nepal, Nepali Ministry of Urban Development and all the related local municipalities, government offices and rural municipalities in the two districts.

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In a first such initiative, the Government of India has welcomed 30 Nepali aspirants for the three-year course at the FTII Pune starting from February 1, 2018.

This course has been specially designed for the students from foreign destinations interested in joining the institute.

For this course, the final list of 30 Nepalis were selected from among 80 Nepali applicants.

Indian Ambassador to Nepal Manjeev Singh Puri opined that this academic training program forms one of the strong pillars in strengthening Indo-Nepal ties further.

Besides connecting the Indian and Nepali artists, the program also builds a much stronger relationship between the film and TV industries of both the countries.

As part of the training, Nepali actors will get a chance to interact with the leading Bollywood film celebrities and also gain a closer and clear understanding how the Mumbai’s TV and Film industry operates.

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The event witnessed a wide range of cultural programs including the unique 10-member Odissi dance, folk performances by young teams, among others.

The event also marked the celebrations of the auspicious Maha Shivaraatri festival.

Indian Ambassador to Nepal Manjeev Singh Puri and Veteran Nepali actress Mithila Sharma inaugurated the event.

Of all, a special dance performance by the Odissi troupe led by Dr Sujata Mishra stood as a special highlight of the program.

Indian Cultural Centre supported all the aforementioned cultural events.

Nepali Army Day

Meanwhile, Nepal is also celebrating Nepali Army Day on February 13, 2018 and the day coincides with the famous Hindu festival Maha Shivaraatri.

Taking ahead Indo-Nepal military cooperation, Indian Army Chief Bipin Rawat is visiting the Nepali event as a chief guest marking the first such visit by any Indian Army to Nepal.

“This is the first time any Chief of the Indian Army will be present here on the Army Day,” says Nainraj Dahal, Spokesperson, Nepali Army.

The event to be organized at Army Pavilion, Tundikhel will see cultural performances by military personnel, who will also fire cannons marking the celebrations of the day.

As part of the visit, Rawat will also hold discussions with various Nepali officials on strengthening bilateral ties between the two nations.

On the occasion, chiefs of both Indian and Nepali Army will be honored special titles in respect to their works.

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The event, organized by the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu, saw the participation of around 1,500 guests including Indian Ambassador to Nepal Manjeev Singh Puri, Nepali PM Sher Bahadur Deuba among various other Nepali  political leaders, public personalities, cultural experts, mission staffers and foreign dignitaries.

In a message to the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Deuba congratulated his Indian counterpart on the 69^th Republic Day and expressed willingness towards taking ahead the Indo-Nepal bilateral ties to a much greater level.

Deuba opined that the regular high-level exchanges between the two sides have strengthened the Indo-Nepal diplomatic relations.

The event also saw various cultural and musical performances by various Nepali youth.

Event Highlights

On the occasion, Ambassador Puri presented 30 ambulances and six buses to various charity organizations, hospitals and educational institutions of Nepal.

The official also announced a book grant to 41 Nepali educational institutions and libraries towards ensuring education material to the students in the remote parts of the country.

The Defense wing of the Embassy also unveiled a magazine called Bhu Puu-2017 that speaks about welfare initiatives of the Indian Government for ex-servicemen domiciled in Nepal.

The day also marks the completion of 70 years of Indo-Nepal bilateral relations.

Speaking on the occasion, Puri said the two countries should work on enhancing trade, business and connectivity.

“As a democratic country, India should recognize the achievements made by Nepal,” he added.

He also informed about recent conversations between the Indian and Nepali top leadership towards strengthening bilateral relations between the two countries.

A Trip on Political Agenda

With the communist alliance almost ready to form the new Nepal Government, Indian external Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj is embarking on a bilateral visit to Nepal to discuss political matters.

The visit, planned in the first week of February 2018, marks the first high-level visit of a foreign visitor to Nepal post the conclusion of Nepal’s long-awaited 2017 elections.

“We have sensed that India wants to improve its ties with UML. We need to wait for her message. We don’t know yet what kind of message she will be carrying with her, what priorities Indian wants to set regarding Nepal and what course the relations are desired to take,” says UML leader Pradeep Gyawali referring to the Sushma Swaraj.

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India’s Ambassador to Nepal Manjeev Singh Puri handed over a cheque of Rs 23.73 million to Devendra Karki, Secretary at the Ministry for Physical Infrastructure and Transport in Kathmandu on Wednesday. It covers 25 percent of the tendered cost to construct the Maisthan-Gaushalabazaar-Samsi and Birendrabazaar-Yadukuha-Mahinathpur road stretches on the Postal Highway.

According to a statement issued by the Indian Embassy, this is part of the Rs 8,000 million grant assistance from the Indian government for the Postal Highway Project in Nepal.

As part of the multi-sectoral and multi-dimensional Economic Cooperation Program between the two countries, the Government of India has been providing support and financial assistance for infrastructure development in Nepal since 1950.

The Dhangadhi-Bhajaniya-Satti and Lamki-Tikapur-Khakraula roads on the Postal Highway, which were inaugurated in January this year, had been completed with the grant of Rs 1,020 million from the Indian government.

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The Indian envoy to Nepal, Manjeev Singh Puri, said that Nepal and India must team up to tackle the problem of extremism as there are chances of misuse of their 1,700 kilometre open border.

Speaking at a discussion organised by Nepal-India Friendship Society in Kathmandu, Puri said that over the past few decades, India has attained rapid economic progress and neighbouring country, Nepal, can benefit a lot from the economic growth of India. He also mentioned that there is a need for significant improvement in the cooperation and collaboration between the two countries to seek benefit from the 1,700 km long open border.

Speakers from political, business, social and media sectors attended the discussion and emphasized on trade and business between the two nations to help Nepal address its vast trade shortage with India. They also emphasized that India should support and extend cooperation so that Nepal can achieve political stability and focus on economic prosperity.

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