India-Nepal Relations

India-Nepal Relations

News: Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal “Prachanda” is on a 4 day visit to India and key agreements were made.

Background of Visit:
 The visit happens in the backdrop of controversial amendment to Nepal’s citizenship law that grants citizenship and guaranteed political rights to women foreigners who marry Nepalis. It will enable Indian women in the Terai region who marry Nepali men to become citizens without the earlier seven-year cooling-off period.

About:
 India and Nepal shares a cordial relationship under the India-Nepal Treaty of Peace and Friendship, 1950 and its provisions. This treaty allows free movement of people and goods between the two nations.
 A long-term Power Trade Agreement has been signed between India and Nepal. Under this agreement, both nations have set a target of importing 10,000 MW of electricity from Nepal in the coming years.
 A new pipeline will be constructed from Siliguri to Jhapa in eastern Nepal.
 Other important agreements include - An MoU for the development of Phukot Karnali Hydroelectric Project, A Project Development Agreement for the Lower Arun Hydroelectric Project, The revised Treaty of Transit under which Nepal will get to access to India’s inland waterways and the Agreement for the export of Nepal’s hydropower to Bangladesh through Indian territory.
 Inauguration of integrated checkposts (ICPs) at Nepalgunj in Nepal and Rupaidiha on the Indian side, Inaugurated a cargo train from Bathnaha in India to Nepal Customs Yard and the rail link was built with an Indian grant.

Some challenges in India-Nepal relations:
 Territorial disputes – Claim by Nepal over 3 areas in Uttrakhand – Kalapani, Limpiyadhura and Lipulekh.
 Nepal has been moving away from India’s sphere of influence in recent years, and China has been filling the void with investments, aid, and loans.
 Smuggling of weapons, drugs by terrorist and insurgency groups in North-East via Nepal.
 Chinese investments are replacing Indian investments. In 2019, for instance, China accounted for approximately 40% of new FDIs against India’s 30%.
 India’s perceived “micro management” in Nepal, as Prachanda once called it, does not go down well.
 While Indian companies have ongoing projects in Nepal but they are slow in execution. As a result, other nations have chipped in and trust gap between India and Nepal have only increased.

Conclusion
 India and Nepal share age old civilisational ties. Nepal is crucial for India’s economic and strategic interests. A friendly and favorable Nepal will act as a vital buffer between India and an increasingly aggressive China.
Source – Indian Express, ORF