India pledges $1 billion to quake-hit Nepal

Ms. Swaraj conveyed India’s "deep and abiding commitment" to rebuilding of Nepal.

June 25, 2015 11:38 am | Updated December 04, 2021 11:30 pm IST - Kathmandu

A man prays next to the rubble of a temple, destroyed in the April 25 earthquake, in Kathmandu.

A man prays next to the rubble of a temple, destroyed in the April 25 earthquake, in Kathmandu.

India on Thursday pledged $1 billion in assistance to quake-ravaged Nepal for its massive reconstruction programme. The announcement was made by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj at the Donors' Conference in Kathmandu.

“This pledge is over and above our existing bilateral developmental assistance of another one billion US dollars over the next five years, forty per cent of which would be Grant,” she said.

Ms. Swaraj conveyed India’s “deep and abiding commitment” to rebuilding of Nepal and highlighted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi ensured a prompt rescue and relief operation within six hours of the 7.9-magnitude April 25 quake.

“Today I convey to you the deep and abiding commitment of the Government and 1.25 billion people of India and the personal commitment of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi to stand shoulder to shoulder with you as you seek to wipe the tears of every Nepali,” she said.

The International Conference on Nepal’s Reconstruction has been organised by the Nepalese government to raise funds for rebuilding the country devastated by a powerful earthquake that struck exactly two months back, killing about 9,000 people and injuring around 23,000.

The conference was attended by several countries, including China, Britain, Norway, Japan, Sri Lanka, the European Union besides the U.N., World Bank and Asian Development Bank.

Top News Today

Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.