Kathmandu, September 11 :

India today provided IRs 1 billion (1.6 billion Nepali rupees), a grant assistance as a budgetary support to Nepal.

Shiv Shanker Mukherjee, Indian ambassador to Nepal, handed over a cheque of the above said assistance to Dr Ram Sharan Mahat, finance minister at a programme held at the ministry of finance.

The assistance is a part of the economic assistance package agreed during Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala’s visit to New Delhi in June this year. The assistance will be used by Nepal to meet the funding gap for different development programmes and projects as envisaged in the budget for fiscal year 2006-07. Speaking on the occasion, Dr Mahat thanked the Indian government for its support in the socio-economic development of Nepal, particularly after the political change in an aftermath of Jana Andolan-II. He assured that the given support would be utilised in top priority area of socio-economic development.

Mukherjee also said that the cash budgetary support would be utilised in the priority sector as per the need of Nepal. “The support is a recognition of the fact that people of Nepal took their destiny in their hands after the political change of April this year,” he said. Reiterating India’s support to Nepal, he expressed that Nepal would overcome current challenges on its own at the earliest.

Meanwhile, the ministry of finance has revealed that various donor agencies and countries have agreed to provide a support worth Rs 14.54 billion so far after the new government came into power in April this year. Of the total amount, grant assistance constitutes about 95 per cent to the tune of Rs 13.54 billion, whereas loan stands at Rs 730 million.

The foreign assistance in Nepal’s endeavours of socio-economic development is a recognition of people’s elected democratic government, said Dr Mahat, adding that the development partners and well-wishers want to see democracy flourishing in Nepal.

Finance secretary Vidyadhar Mallik informed that Nepal’s request for the international support has received an overwhelming response from the international community. According to him, China’s line of credit support, $100 million rural infrastructure development project with Asian Development Bank and $25 million grant assistance for Poverty Alleviation Fund by the World Bank are some of the projects in the pipeline.