India has agreed to give Nepal an annual grant that will increase by a significant 29.41% in the country’s upcoming fiscal year, which starts on April 1.
The grant amount to Nepal has increased to INR 5.50 billion (Rs 8.8 billion), according to Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who on Wednesday unveiled the Indian government’s union budget for the fiscal year 2023–24. India had committed Rs 12 billion in grants for 2022–2023, however that amount was later reduced to Rs 6.8 billion. India gave Nepal grants of Rs. 7.13 billion in the years 2021–2022.
In 2021/22 too, the southern neighbor had allocated INR 9.92 billion (Rs 15.87 billion) under the heading. However, the actual amount that Nepal received over the period was largely revised.
The grant pledged to Nepal is the second highest among the South Asian countries, after Bhutan. Bhutan has received pledges of Rs 38.4 billion (Rs 26.11 billion in grants and Rs 12.28 billion in loans).
India has doubled its pledged amount to Sri Lanka to Rs 2.4 billion citing the country suffering from financial crisis. The commitment amount to Bangladesh has also been increased, while the annual grant commitment for Afghanistan has dropped.
The Indian government has allocated expenditure worth INR 45 trillion (USD 549.14 billion) for the next fiscal year, up from revised INR 41.87 trillion for the current fiscal year. The capital expenditure has been increased by 33 percent to INR 10 trillion.
The southern neighbour has set a target economic growth rate for the upcoming fiscal year of Rs 6–8, which is a little lower than the seven percent anticipated for the current fiscal year.
Finance Minister Sitharaman listed seven “Saptarishi” priorities from the Union Budget under the respective programmes. The financial sector, infrastructure and investment, unleashing potential, green growth, youth power, and inclusive development will all be among the goals. According to the Indian media, Sitharaman claims that these programmes work well together.