India announced a 218-million-dollar economic package Friday to help Nepal's new government rebuild the troubled Himalayan country. "Essentially the package amounts to almost 10 billion Indian rupees or 15 billion Nepali rupees," foreign ministry spokesman Navtej Sarna told a news conference.
This includes a one-time immediate grant of one billion rupees (21.8 million dollars) to Nepal along with a 100 million dollar soft-credit line for infrastructure and development projects "as prioritised" by the Nepalese government, he said. "The idea is to provide aid to Nepal as soon as possible," said Sarna. Annual aid to Nepal would rise from 650 million rupees to 1.5 billion rupees, Sarna added.
New Delhi would also waive outstanding dues for defence purchases by the Nepalese government and exempt goods manufactured in Nepal from a four percent customs tax.
The announcement of the package followed a four-day official visit by Nepal's Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala to New Delhi which ended Thursday. Koirala was accompanied by an 18-member delegation on his first foreign trip since taking office in late April after King Gyanendra handed back power to parliament following 14 months of unpopular direct rule.
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