India commits $75 million for rebuilding earthquake-hit infrastructure in Nepal

The two foreign ministers also jointly inaugurated other reconstruction projects taken up in Nepal following the earthquakes of 2015 and 2023. This included 25 schools, 32 health projects and a cultural heritage project

India will provide a financial assistance package of Nepali ₹1,000 crore or $75 million for rebuilding infrastructure damaged by an earthquake that hit western Nepal in November last year, external affairs minister S Jaishankar said on Friday.

Jaishankar provided details about the aid package for reconstruction in quake-hit areas in Jajarkot while jointly inaugurating the new central library of Tribhuvan University, built with Indian assistance, with his Nepalese counterpart NP Saud.

He said he told Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal about India extending the financial assistance package during a meeting on Thursday. “We shall continue to stand by the people of Nepal and contribute to the efforts of the government of Nepal in this regard,” Jaishankar said.

The two foreign ministers also jointly inaugurated other reconstruction projects taken up in Nepal following the earthquakes of 2015 and 2023. This included 25 schools, 32 health projects and a cultural heritage project.

Nepal had given priority to post-earthquake reconstruction in the housing, education, health and cultural heritage sectors to which India contributed $1 billion to these efforts. This amount includes a grant of $250 million and a line of credit of $750 million.

Jaishankar said an India-backed project to build 50,000 houses had been completed in November 2021, while all 71 reconstruction projects taken up in the education sector with grant assistance too had been completed.

India was saddened by the casualties and devastation caused by the quake in western Nepal last November and began providing emergency relief within 48 hours. Five tranches of aid have been provided so far, including essential items and prefabricated houses handed over on Thursday, he said.

Physical, digital and energy connectivity have become a cornerstone of the expanding collaboration between the two sides, and Indian support for Nepal’s education sector, including scholarships and capacity-building programmes, will empower more youngsters, Jaishankar said.

“I assure you that we are committed to extending our steadfast support and work with the same earnestness to further realise the potential of the relationship for the full benefit of the people of the two countries,” he said.

The Indian side is also committed to redefining relations with partners in the neighbourhood, especially Nepal, and the ideals of “sabka saath, sabka vikaas, sabka vishwas, sabka prayas” will help take the neighbours along in India’s development journey, he added.

Saud lauded India’s substantial financial support for Nepal’s reconstruction efforts after the earthquakes of 2015 and 2023, especially to rebuild houses and educational and health facilities.

“The overall development cooperation from India has deepened the age-old connection of culture, history and humanity that our two countries share,” Saud said, adding that the assistance has had a transformative impact in sectors such as highways, railways, hydropower, health sciences and energy connectivity in the form of a petroleum pipeline.

“As two close neighbours sharing many development opportunities, we grow together, we prosper together,” Saud added.