Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: India has increased its development assistance for Nepal for the fiscal year 2024/25 by 1.5 billion Indian rupees (INR) to INR 7 billion, or Rs 11.2 billion.
The budget for 2024/25, presented in the parliament by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday, increased allocations for Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Seychelles. While allocations for the Maldives and Afghanistan remain unchanged, annual grants for Bhutan and Myanmar have been reduced. Despite the reduction, Bhutan stands to receive INR 20.68 billion in grants from the Indian government.
India had set aside INR 5.5 billion for Nepal in 2023/24, which was later revised to INR 6.5 billion.
The aid is used to finance development and infrastructure projects in Nepal. One such project is the High Impact Community Development Project (HICDP). The government has allowed the Embassy of India in Kathmandu to implement projects of up to Rs 200 million under HICDP.
Nearly 500 such projects have already been implemented in Nepal since 2003.
