India's Relationship with its Neighbour

 INDIA AND NEPAL

As close neighbours, India and Nepal share unique ties of friendship and cooperation characterized by an open border and deep-rooted  people-to-people  contacts of kinship and culture. There has been a long tradition of free movement of people across the border. Nepal shares a border of over 1850 km with five Indian states- Sikki, West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar pradesh, and Uttrakhand.

The India - Nepal Treaty of peace and Friendship of 1950 forms the bedrock of the special relations that exist between India and Nepal. Nepalese citizens avail facilities and opportunities on par with Indian citizens in accordance with the provisions of the Treaty. Nearly 6 million Nepalese citizens live and work in India.

High Level Exchanges

• There are regular exchanges of high-level visits and interactions between India and Nepal.

• Prime Minister shri Narendra Modi visited Nepal twice in 2014-on 03-04 August for a bilateral visit and on 25-27 November for the 18th SAARC Summit. 

• Nepalese Prime Minister Mr. K.P Sharma Oli paid a State visit to India on 19-24 February 2016.

• Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Home Affairs of Nepal Mr. Bimalendra Nidhi visited India on 18-22 August 2016 as Special Envoy of the Prime Minister. Nepalese Prime Minister Mr. Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' visited India twice in 2016 - on 15-18 September on a State visit and on 15-17 October to participate in the 1st  BRICS - BIMSTEC leaders' summit in Goa.

• President of India Shri Pranab Mukherjee paid a state visit to Nepal on 02-02 November 2016. This was the first state visit by an Indian President to Nepal after a gap of 18 years.

• President of Nepal Mrs. Bidya Devi Bhandari paid a State visit to India on 17-21 April 2017.

• Prime Minister of Nepal Mr. Sher Bahadur Deuba paid a State visit to India on 23-27 August 2017.

• Prime Minister of Nepal Mr. K.P. Sharma Oli paid a State visit to India on 06-08 April 2018.

• Prim Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi paid a State visit to Nepal on 11-12 May 2018.

• Prime Minister Modi also visited Nepal on 30-31 August 2018 for the 4th BIMSTEC summit, which was held in Kathmandu. This was his fourth visit to Nepal since 2014.

• Prime Minister of Nepal Mr. K.P. Sharma Oli visited India from 30-31 May 2019 to attend the Swearing-In ceremony of Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi.

• India and Nepal have several bilateral institutional dialogue mechanisms, including the India - Nepal  Joint Commission co-chaired by External Affairs Minister of India and Foreign Minister of Nepal. The Fourth Joint Commission Meeting was held on 26-27 October 2016 in New Delhi and the Fifth Joint Commission Meeting was held on 21-22 August 2019 in Kathmandu. 

Bilateral trade

• Inthe past ten years, Bilateral trade grew over six times from INR 5585 crores in 2006-07 to INR 39564 crores (US$ 5.89 billion) in 2016-17.

• During the same period, exports from Nepal to India more than doubled from INR 1384 crores in 2006-07 to INR 2985 crores (US$ 445 million) in 2016-17.

• Similarly, India's exports to Nepal grew over eight times from INR 4201 crores in 2006-07 to INR 36579 crores (US$ 5,45 billion)  in 2016-17.

• Nepal's main imports from India are petroleum products (13.7%); motor vehicles and spare parts (13.1%); M. S. billet (4.7%); rice and paddy (4.5%); other machinery and parts (4%); madicine (4%); hot- rolled sheet in coil (2.8%); electrical equipment (2.5%); cement (2.4%); agricultural equipment and parts (1.9%); coal (1.9%); m.s. wires, rads, coils, bars (1.6%); vegetables (1.6%); cold rolled sheet in coil (1.4%); thread (1.3%), etc.

Indian Investment in Nepal

• Indians firms are among the largest investors in Nepal, accounting for about 30% of the total approved foreign direct investments. As on 15 September 2018, Indian ventures lead foreign investment with FDI commitments of INR 5942.68 crores.

• There are about 150 Indian ventures operating in Nepal engaged in manufacturing services (banking insurance, dry port, education and telecom), power sector and tourism industries.

• Some large Indian investors include ITC, Dabur India, Hindustan Unilever, VSNL, TCIL, MTNL, State Bank, Life Insurance Corporation of India, Asian Paints, CONCOR, GMR India, IL and FS, Manipal Group, MIT Group Holdings, Nupur International, Transworld Group, Patel Engineering Bhilwara Energy, Bhushan Group, Feedback ventures, RJ Corp, KSK Energy, Berger Paints, Essel Infra Project Ltd. and Tata power, India etc.

India's Development Assistance to Nepal 

• Government of India's development assistance to Nepal is a broad-based programme focusing on creation creation of infrastructure at the grass-roots level, under which various projects have been implemented in the areas of infrastructure, health, water resources, education and rural and community development.

• In recent years, India has been assisting Nepal in development of border infrastructure through upgradation of 10 roads in the Terai  area; development of cross-border rail links at Jogbani-Biratnagar,   Jaynagar-Bardibas; and establishment of Integrated Check posts at Birgunj, Biratnagar, Bhairahawa, and Nepalgunj.  

• The total economic assistance earmarked under 'Aid to Nepal' budget for FY 2017-18 was Rs. 375 crore. A total of Rs 730 crore was allocated under the 'Aid to Nepal' budget head for FY 2018-19. 

• During the visit of prime Minister of Nepal in April 2018, the two prime Ministers jointly inaugurated the Integrated Check Post in Birgunj (Nepal)built with Gol assistance.

• on 10 July 2018, Prime Minister of Nepal inaugurated a three-storied library for Nepal Academy in Kathmandu.

• on 31 August 2018, the two Prime Minister jointly inaugurated the Nepal-Bharat Maitri Pashupati Dharmashala in Kathmandu.

• On 10 September 2019, Prime Minister of India and Nepal jointly inaugurated through video conference, South Asia's first cross- border petroleum products pipeline from Motihari in India to Amlekhgunj in Nepal.

• Over 552 large, intermediate and small-scale projects at an estimated cost of NPR 77billion have been implemented across Nepal with Indian assistance since 1951.

• Till date Indea has gifted 752 ambulances and 148 school buses to various institutions and health posts across Nepal's 77 districts.

• Apart from grant assistance, Government of India has extended Lines of Credit of USD 1.65 billion for undertaking development of infrastucture, including post-earthquake reconstruction.

New Partnership in Agriculture

• During the visit of Prime Minister of Nepal Mr. K.P. Sharma Oli's to India in April 2018, the 'India-Nepal New Partnership in Agriculture' was launched with a focus on collaborative projects in agricultural research, development and education.

• This is an important and timely initiative as vast populations of the two countries predominantly depend on agriculture and related activities for their livelihood. Minister for Agriculture, Land Management and Cooperatives of Nepal Mr. C. P.  Khanal visited India on 19-23 June 2018 for the inaugural ministerial meeting of the New Partnership in Agriculture  with Agriculture Minister of India Shri Radha Mohan Singh.  

Water Resources

• Cooperation in water resources primarily concerning the common rivers is one of the most important areas of bilateral relations.

• A large number of small and large rivers flow from Nepal to India and constitute an important part of the Ganges river basins. These rivers have the potential to become major sources of irrigation and power for Nepal and India.

• A three-tier bilateral mechanism established in 2008, to discuss issues relating to cooperation in water resources, flood management, inundation and hydropower between the two countries, has been working well.

Power

• India and Nepal have a power Exchange  Agreement since 1971 for meeting the power requirements in the border areas of the two countries, taking advantage of each other's transmission infrastructure.

• There are more than twenty 132 kV, 33kV and 11 kV transmission interconnections which are used both for power exchange in the bordering areas and for power trade. For enhanced transmission of electricity, the first high-capacity Muzaffarpur (India) - Dhalkebar (Nepal) Cross- border power transmission line (initially charged at 132kV), with Gol LoC funding of US$ 13.2 million, was in completed 2016. Two additional 132 kV cross-border transmission lines between Kataiya (India)  - Kusaha (Nepal) and Raxaul (India) - parwanipur (Nepal), built with Golgrant assistance, were completed in 2017. India is currently supplying a total of about 600 MW of power to Nepal.

• An Agreement on 'Electric power Trade, Cross-border Transmission Interconnection and Grid Connectivity' between India and Nepal was signed on 21 October 2014. The Agreement is aimed at facilitating and further strengthening cross-border electricity transmission, grid connectivity and power trade between Nepal and India.

• The Agreement provides a framework for power trade between the two countries, import by Nepal from India until it becomes power surplus and subsequent import by Indian entities from Nepal, on mutually acceptable terms and conditons.

• Two mechanisms, Joint Working Group (JWG) and Joint Steering Committee (JSC) envisaged under the Agreement have been established. Joint Technical Team (JTT) was formed for preparation of a long-term integrated transmission plan covering projects upto 2035.

• The 6th meeting of the JWG and JSC on power cooperation was held on Pokhara, Nepal on 23 January 2019 and 24 January 2019, respectively.

Defence Cooperation

• India and Nepal have wide-ranging cooperation in the defence sector. India has been assisting the Nepal Army (NA) in its modernisation by supplying equipment and providing training. Assistance during disasters, Joint military exercises, adventure activities and bilateral visits are other aspects of India's defence cooperation with Nepal.

• A number of defence personnel from Nepal Army attend training courses in various Indian Army training institutions.

• The ' Indo-Nepal Battalion-level Joint Military Exercise SURYA KIRAN' is conducted alternately in India and in Nepal. The 13th Surya Kiran exercise was held in Pithoragarh (India) in May-June 2018.

• Since 1950, India and Nepal have been awarding each other's Army Chief with the honorary rank of General in recognition of the mutual harmonious relationship between the two armies.

• The Gorkha regiment of the Indian Army are raised partly by recruitment from hill districts of Nepal. Currently, about 32000 Gorkha Soldiers from Nepal are Serving in the Indian Army.

• In 2017-18, pensions in excess of INR 2923 Crores (NPR 4677 Crores ) were disbursed by the Indian Army to about 1,25,000 retired Gorkha soldiers and civilian pensioners, who had served in the Indian Army and other central and state services.

• In 2018-19, pensions in excess of INR 1682 Crores (NPR 2692 Crores) has been disbursed till 30 September 2018. In addition to Military Pension Branch in Kathmandu, there are two Pension Paying Offices at Pokhara and Dharan, and 22 District Soldier Boards in Nepal, all functioning under the Defence wing of the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu, which arrange the disbursement of pensions and organise welfare programmes for re-training, rehabilitating and assisting ex-Gorkha soldiers and their families.

Education and Culture

• Over the years, India's contribution to the development of human resources in Nepal has been one of the major aspects of bilateral cooperation. Gol provides around 3000 scholarship/seats annually to Nepalese nationals for various courses at the Ph,D/ Masters, Bachelors and plus-two levels in India and in Nepal. These scholarships cover a wide spectrum of subjects including engineering, medicine, agriculture, pharmacology, veterinary sciences, computer application, business administration, music, fine arts, etc.

• Gol initiatives to promote people-to- people contacts in the fields of art and culture, academics and media include cultural programmes, symposia and events organized in partnership with different local bodies of Nepal, as well as conferences and seminars in Hindi. Familiarization visits to India by Nepalese journalists/editors and short term training in India for Nepalese editors/ journalists / experts /officials in the field of print and electronic media and archaeology are also arranged. Assistance is also provided to several India-Nepal Friendship Organizations working to promote Indian culture and India-Nepal bilateral relations. India is establishing an e-library system across Nepal.

• MoUs/Agreements have been signed between: (i) Sahitya Kala Akademi (India) and Nepal Academy, (ii) Doordarshan (Inda) and Nepal TV, (iii) Press Council of Nepal, (iv) Lalit Kala Akademi (India) and Nepal Academy of Fine arts, (v) Gol and Government of Nepal for cooperation on youth affairs, (vi) Sangeet Natak Akademi (India) and Nepal Academy of Music and Drama, and (vii) Gol and Government of Nepal for twinning of sister cities Kathmandu-Varanasi, Lumbini-Bodhgaya and  Janakpur - Ayodhya.

• The Swami Vivekananda Centre for Indian culture was set up in Kathmandu in August 2007 to showcase the best of Indian culture. The Centre has generated considerable goodwill through various cultural events it has undertaken in the past. The Nepal-Bharat Library was founded in 1951 in Kathmandu. It is regarded as the first foreign library in Nepal. Its objective is to enhance and strengthen cultural relations and information exchange between India and Nepal.

• The B.P. Koirala India-Nepal Foundation was set up in 1991 through an Mou signed between the Governments of India and Nepal. The Foundation's objective is to foster educational, cultural, scientific and technical cooperation between India and Nepal and to promote mutual understanding and cooperation through sharing sharing of knowledge and peofessional talents in academis pursuits and technical specialization.