India to provide Rs 56 mn aid to Nepal

KATHMANDU: India and Nepal on Monday inked a key deal under which New Delhi is set to provide Rs 56.25 million aid to Kathmandu as part of a regional development plan under the SAARC.

The grant will be utilised in four areas - tele-medicine, shuttle breeding in pulses, rural solar electrification and tele-education.

Indian Ambassador to Nepal Rakesh Sood and Nepalese Foreign Secretary (rpt) Secretary Gyanchandra Acharya inked four separate Memorandum of Understandings (MoU) aimed at fostering cooperation in this regard under the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) framework here on Monday, an Indian Embassy release said.

The projects, to be financed by India, will be started in mutually agreed upon locations and institutions in Nepal.

These projects are part of India's commitments made at the 14th SAARC Summit in New Delhi in April 2007 to help move SAARC to an implementation phase through projects that produce tangible benefits for people at the local level.