KATHMANDU, Feb 1: India has not increased the grant amount for Nepal this time. Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented India’s budget for 2025/2026 today in the Indian Parliament. The budget allocates 700 crore INR for Nepal under the Ministry of External Affairs.
India had increased the grant for Nepal in the previous fiscal year. It allocated INR 657.38 crore for the fiscal year 2023/2024 and raised it to INR 700 crore for 2024/2025. However, this time it has decided to maintain this allocation for the current year as well.
Gold price remains unchanged
India has decided the highest grant of INR 2,150 crore to Bhutan among the grants provided to various countries. This time, Bhutan's budget has been reduced. India has also increased the grant budget for Afghanistan. While it was INR 50 crore last fiscal year, it has been raised to INR 100 crore this time.
Furthermore, India has kept the budget for Bangladesh and Sri Lanka unchanged. It has allocated INR 120 crore for Bangladesh and INR 300 crore for Sri Lanka. However, it has significantly increased the budget for the Maldives.
India allocated INR 470 crore for the Maldives in the previous fiscal year and has now raised it to INR 600 crore. Despite strained relations with the Maldives, primarily due to China's aid, India has strategically raised the grant budget for the Maldives.
On the other hand, India has reduced Myanmar's grant budget from INR 400 crore to INR 350 crore. Meanwhile, it has maintained the INR 5 crore grant for Mongolia.
