Kathmandu, April 1: India has emerged as Nepal’s largest bilateral donor for the fiscal year 2024-25, according to a government report. The country provided aid amounting to $107.8 million to its southern neighbor.
The Development Cooperation Report 2024-25, released by Nepal’s Ministry of Finance, indicates that the United Kingdom ranked second with $84.2 million, while USAID secured third place with $67.1 million.
Japan and Switzerland followed, contributing $58.3 million and $30.1 million, respectively, making them the fourth and fifth largest bilateral donors. The annual report from the finance ministry tracks grants, loans, and technical assistance provided by foreign development partners.
According to the report, of the total aid provided by India, $73.3 million was in the form of grants, $25.8 million as loans, and $8.8 million as technical assistance.
Multilateral donors like the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank have traditionally been Nepal’s largest partners. The report states that in the previous fiscal year, Nepal received a total of $1.60 billion from both multilateral and bilateral sources.
Among all donors, India ranked third overall. The World Bank led with $541.0 million, followed by the Asian Development Bank with $443.2 million, and India with $107.8 million.
In the past decade, India’s development assistance has seen fluctuations, but there has been an overall upward trend. In the fiscal year 2023-24, India recorded its highest annual distribution of $118.1 million. However, the figures for 2024-25 show a decrease of 8.7% compared to the previous year.
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