Page 8 - India Nepal Ties

India and Nepal hold Projects Portfolio Performance Review meeting

During the meeting, discussions were held on ongoing projects in various sectors under the India-Nepal development cooperation framework both under grant assistance and under various lines of credit

India sends over 9 tonnes of relief material to Nepal after earthquake

On Sunday, India sent an emergency aid package, comprising medical equipment, relief materials and more, for people affected by the magnitude 6.4 earthquake in Nepal

Relief materials given by India dispatched to Nepal's quake-affected areas

Two truck-loads of emergency relief materials provided by India to Nepal were dispatched on Monday along with a team of security persons towards the northwest mountainous region where people are facing a shortage of food, clothes and medicines following a strong earthquake over the weekend. Nepal was jolted by a 6.4 magnitude earthquake just before midnight on November 3 that killed 157 people and injured over 250 others. The earthquake, which hit Jajarkot and Rukum West districts in western Nepal, also damaged around 8,000 houses, both public and private, according to officials. Chief District Officer (CDO) of Banke, Shrawan Kumar Pokharel, said the relief goods were sent towards the disaster-affected areas from Nepalgunj Airport and escorted by personnel from the Armed Police Force Nepal. Pokharel said a truckload of relief goods is for Jajarkot and the other for Rukum Paschim (West) relief materials will be handed over to the chief district officers of the respective districts.

India-Nepal border forces hold annual talks, discuss 'mutual issues'

A nine-member delegation led by Raju Aryal attended the first day of the meeting being held at the SSB Headquarters

India sends medicines, other relief materials to earthquake-hit Nepal

The first consignment of Rs 10 crore worth of emergency relief materials arrived at Nepalgunj, Nepal, on Sunday, the Indian Embassy in Nepal informed through an official release

India-Nepal border guarding forces' talks to begin in Delhi tomorrow

Border guarding forces of India and Nepal will hold a three-day bilateral meeting here from Monday and discuss measures to curb trans-frontier crimes and timely sharing of intelligence inputs, an official said. The seventh edition of the annual coordination talks between the two countries is led by India's Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) director general Rashmi Shukla and the visiting inspector general of the Armed Police Force (APF) of Nepal, Raju Aryal. The meeting will be in Delhi from November 6 to 8, the official said on Sunday "The talks at the level of two heads of the forces serve as a crucial platform for both forces to engage in discussions on border-related matters," an official statement said. "The SSB and APF delegations aim to strengthen the coordination between the two border guarding forces for more effective management of the open and unfenced India-Nepal border," it said. The "focus" of the meeting shall be on the development of effective mechanisms to collaboratively

After export ban, smuggling of rice booms along the Indo-Nepal border

At the crack of dawn every day, hushed frantic activity begins in villages located along the India-Nepal border here as some residents set out on foot or in small vehicles to smuggle rice into the neighbouring country. Young unemployed men, women and sometimes even the elderly act as carriers for local smugglers and are paid up to Rs 300 for delivering a quintal of rice to warehouses set up across the border by Nepali traders. Most of them make multiple trips to earn as much money as possible. Lakshminagar, Thoothibari, Nichlaul, Parsa Malik, Bargadwa, Bhagwanpur, Shyam Kat, Farenia, Hardi Dali and Khanuva are some of the villages from where it is very easy to cross into Nepal and rice is smuggled, police sources said. Maharajganj shares an 84-km open border with Nawalparasi and Rupandehi districts of Nepal's Lumbini province. Ram Prasad, a rice carrier, said, "The Nepali merchants have set up small warehouses along the border where we deliver the smuggled rice. The warehouses are

India allows Nepal to sell electricity in its real-time energy market

India has allowed Nepal to sell electricity generated through two hydropower projects in its real-time energy market starting Saturday midnight, according to the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA). It is for the first time that India granted project-wise approval ensuring that Nepal could sell hydroelectricity in India's Real-Time Market (RTM). The Central Electricity Authority of India has allowed the trading of 44 MW of electricity generated from the 19.4 MW Lower Modi and 24.25 MW Kabeli B-1 hydropower projects in the real-time market in the first phase, according to Suresh Bahadur Bhattarai, the spokesperson at the NEA. Bhattarai said approval had been received for the sale of electricity from two projects in both the day-ahead and the real-time markets. Earlier, we had to wait for a day for the import and export of electricity, said Bhattarai. "Now we can trade by bidding just one hour and fifteen minutes before the sale. Now we can buy or sell power in case of a sudden shutdo

India, Nepal development partnership gaining momentum: Embassy in Kathmandu

The Indian Embassy in Nepal on Saturday said the India-Nepal development partnership has gathered further momentum

Ahead of festive season, Nepal to import 20,000 MT of sugar from India

Nepal government is set to import 20,000 metric tonnes (MT) of sugar from India ahead of the upcoming festivals, including Vijaya Dashami and Deepawali to meet the domestic demand. Although Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies has asked the Finance Ministry to give customs waiver for importing 60,000 MT of sugar to meet the local demand, the Finance Ministry has given permission to import only 20,000 MT for the time being. According to Finance Ministry spokesperson, Dhaniram Sharma, the Ministry has given 50 per cent discount on customs duty, which means 15 per cent less from the earlier imposed 30 per cent customs duty. Two companies, Salt Trading Corporation (STC) and Food Management and Trading Company, both would import 10,000 MT sugar each for the upcoming festival season, according to Sharma. However, divisional manager of STC Brajesh Jha said that it had asked the government permission to import 50,000 MT of sugar. According to Jha, Nepal's domestic demand for sugar .

Nepal ex-PM against misuse of open border with India by 'unwanted elements'

Former Nepal prime minister KP Sharma Oli on Wednesday said that the people of Nepal and India should benefit from the open border that exists between the two countries, but cautioned against its "misuse" by "unwanted elements. Speaking as the chief guest at a programme organised by the Nepal-India Friendship Society to commemorate India's 77th Independence Day, Oli extended his wishes to the people and government of India. He said there existed people-to-people relations between Nepal and India long before the two countries were formed. The relations between the two countries are born out of nature and nurtured by common history, culture, religion and social values, said Oli, who is the chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified MarxistLeninist). The people of our two countries should benefit from the open border existing between us, but at the same time, we should be careful not to misuse the open border by unwanted elements, he pointed out. Asserting that the two countrie

Nepal ready to supply tomatoes to India, seeks easier access to market

Nepal is ready to export tomatoes to India in bulk on a long-term basis to quell the skyrocketing prices but has sought easy access to the market and other necessary facilities. The neighbouring country's assurance came after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told Parliament on Thursday that India has started importing tomatoes from Nepal amid a record-high spike in prices in the country. India is importing tomatoes for the first time due to high retail prices of around Rs 242 per kg amid supply disruptions caused by heavy rains. Nepal is desirous to export vegetables, such as tomatoes, on a long-term basis to India, but for that India has to provide easy access to its market and other necessary facilities, Agriculture Ministry spokesperson Shabnam Shivakoti told PTI here on Friday. Though Nepal has already started exporting tomatoes to India through official channels a week ago, it is not in big quantities, she said. Arrangements are yet to be made for large-scale export of ...

India, Nepal sign 4 MoUs on education, water supply, sanitation facilities

The Indian embassy in Kathmandu and the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration of Nepal on Friday signed four Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs)

As tomato prices hurt, Uttarakhand residents cross into Nepal for shopping

Tomatoes are selling for upwards of Rs 120 per kg in India, whereas in Nepal, they cost Rs 100 to Rs 110 Nepali rupees which come at around Rs 70-75 per kg in Indian rupees

Nepal, India to finalise detailed project report of Pancheshwar power plant

Nepal and India have agreed to hold a meeting of experts to "iron out the differences" and finalise the detailed project report of the much-awaited 6,480 megawatt Pancheshwar Multipurpose bi-national power plant to be developed on the bordering Mahakali river, according to a media report on Saturday. The understanding was reached during a meeting of the governing council of the Pancheshwar Development Authority held in Pokhara in Nepal on Thursday and Friday, The Kathmandu Post newspaper reported. The meeting decided to extend the term of the team of experts which expired in March, the report quoted Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation ministry spokesperson Madhu Bhetuwal as saying. The two sides also agreed to hold the next meeting of the team of experts within 10 days to iron out the differences over the DPR (detailed project report) and make a move towards concluding the DPR, he said. Pancheshwar Multipurpose Project (PMP) is a bi-national hydropower project to be developed on

Prachanda's remark on India stirs up storm in Nepal, Oppn demands resign

Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda's stunning remarks that an Indian businessman settled here "once made efforts" to make him the premier has stirred up a storm in the Himalayan Nation with the Opposition demanding his resignation. Prachanda also said that Sardar Pritam Singh, a pioneer trucking entrepreneur in Nepal, played a special and historic role in enhancing Nepal-India relations. Prachanda made these remarks on Monday while addressing a function to launch the book, Roads to the Valley: The Legacy of Sardar Pritam Singh in Nepal' He (Singh) had once made efforts to make me the prime minister, Prachanda said. He travelled to Delhi several times and held multiple rounds of talks with political leaders in Kathmandu to make me the prime minister, the Prime Minister said. Prachanda also said that Singh has played a special and historic role in enhancing Nepal-India relations. The remarks have stirred up a storm and drawn criticism from several quarters. The main

Nepali Gurkhas joining Wagner group for Russian citizenship, better life

While the prospect of Russian citizenship lures the Nepali Gurkhas, the discontinuation of recruitment to the Indian Army also appears to have played a role in this

PM Prachanda lauds India's commitment to import clean energy from Nepal

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' has said India's commitment to import 10,000 MW of clean energy from Nepal in the next ten years has opened a "new door" for hydropower development in South Asia. His comments came during a meeting with Martin Raiser, World Bank Regional Vice President for South Asia, on Friday. Prachanda said that the increase in hydropower production would aid the development of green and clean energy and help minimise the impacts of climate change in the region. "The people in the world will also be benefited directly or indirectly if we focus our attention towards the development of hydropower," he said at the meeting held at the Prime Minister's Office at Singhadurbar. He pointed out that not just Nepal but neighbouring countries like India and Bangladesh would also benefit from hydropower development in the Himalayan nation. Prachanda recalled his meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi during his recently concluded visit to Ind

India-Nepal relations soar high

Prachanda's visit highlights the two countries willingness to move beyond contentious issues and focus on mutually beneficial aspects

Nepal's power union welcomes energy pact signed during PM's India visit

An independent power association in Nepal on Sunday welcomed the signing of agreements in the energy sector with India during Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda's' visit, saying they are of "high significance" for the country's economic prosperity. Nepal Prime Minister 'Prachanda' visited India from May 31 to June 3, his first official trip abroad since assuming office in December 2022. During Prachanda's meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday, the two countries signed seven agreements and launched six projects including new railway services. "During the visit of the prime minister of Nepal to India both the prime ministers signed a number of energy-related deals such as laying down of foundation of Butawal-Gorakhpur 400 KV transmission line, signing of an MoU relating to 480 MW Fukot-Karnali Hydropower development project and hydropower agreement for the development of Lower Arun with 669 MW capacity. They are of high significance for Nepal's economic ...