Kathmandu, March 1
The Indian government has cut its financial aid commitment to Nepal by 30 per cent this fiscal year, citing Nepal’s capacity to make full use of its aid.
In India’s Union Budget, presented by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley Monday, New Delhi has allocated IRs 3 (NRs 4.8 billion) for 2016-17. Last year, the figure stood at IRs 4.2 billion (NRs 6.72 billion).
“The issue in Nepal is that of absorption capacity, and they have been quite poor in utilising the aid being given to them…Look at the earthquake reconstruction programme…they have just set up the reconstruction authority in Nepal. The aid last year could not be utilised, which led to revision of budget estimates,” a government source told The Indian Express.
