On the eve of Gandhi Jayanti (October 2, 2020), India donated 41 ambulances and 6 school buses to organizations in the field of health and education in Nepal.
Highlights
Since 1994, India has gifted 823 ambulances to Nepal. This is the first time India gifted ambulances in three different categories. They are advanced life support category, common life support ambulances category and basic life support category.
The Advanced Life Support Category includes equipment such as ECG, travelling ventilator, wheel chair and 4G mobile device. The Common Life Support Ambulances are those that are best suited for mountainous terrains.
Other recent donations
In April 2020, India donated 23 tonnes of essential medicines to Nepal to fight against COVID-19. This included 3.2 lakh doses of Paracetamol and 2.5 lakh doses of Hydroxychloroquine.
In August 2020, the Indian Army donated 10 ICU ventilators to the Nepali Army. The Indian Army has a long record of extending support to the Nepali Army in terms of humanitarian assistance and relief.
India-Nepal
- India is the largest trading partner of Nepal. Also, India sources largest foreign investment in Nepal.
- The Gorkha Regiment of India is raised from recruitment from hill districts of Nepal
- Surya Kiran is the joint military exercise between India and Nepal
- India and Nepal have border dispute over Kalapani region. Recently Nepal Government approved a new map of the country including Kalapani, Lipukelh and Limpiyadhura into its territory. This has now become the major irritant between the countries.
- India shares multiple multilateral forums with Nepal. They are BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation), SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation), NAM (Non-aligned Movement), BBIN (Bangladeh, Bhutan, India and Nepal).
- India and Nepal have signed three sister-city agreements namely Kathmandu-Varanasi, Janakpur-Ayodhya and Lumbini-bodhgaya.
- Nepal lies in a fragile ecological zone that is prone to earthquakes and floods. This causes massive damage in terms of money and life. Nepal remains the biggest recipient of humanitarian assistance.