India has emerged as the largest bilateral donor to Nepal in the fiscal year 2024–25, with a disbursement of US$107.8 million, according to a report by Nepal’s Finance Ministry. The United Kingdom and USAID followed, with disbursements of US$84.2 million and US$67.1 million, respectively. Japan and Switzerland ranked fourth and fifth, providing US$58.3 million and US$30.1 million, respectively.
The report highlighted that India provided US$73.3 million in grants, US$25.8 million in loans, and US$8.8 million in technical assistance to Nepal. Multilateral donors, including the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, have traditionally been the largest contributors to Nepal. In the last fiscal year, Nepal received a total of US$1.60 billion from both multilateral and bilateral donors.
Despite being the third-largest donor overall, India ranked third in providing development aid to Nepal. The World Bank and the Asian Development Bank were the top two contributors, with disbursements of US$541.0 million and US$443.2 million, respectively. India’s development aid disbursement to Nepal has shown fluctuations over the past decade, with a slight decrease in the fiscal year 2024–25 compared to the previous year.
The report noted that India remains a key bilateral development partner for Nepal, focusing its assistance on connectivity, community development projects, and educational infrastructure.
