Indian Assistance of NRs. 2.8 crores for Multiple Campuses in Districts Chitwan and Makwanpur

At a public function held on May 21, 2007, Ambassador of India, Shri Shiv Shankar Mukherjee laid the foundation stone for new building of Madi Campus in Chitwan being constructed with a grant assistance of NRs.87,23,259/- form the Government of India under the India-Nepal Economic Cooperation Programme. The project will be implemented by DDC, Chitwan, with an oversight committee consisting of representatives from the campus management committee, DDC and District Education Office monitoring the project to ensure quality construction and effective utilization of the grant. The campus was established in 1996 with local initiative and offers management and educational courses to over 300 students from four VDCs of Ayodhyapuri, Kalyanpur, Baghauda and Gardi having a total population of about 70,000. Due to lack of campus infrastructure, students passing out of high schools in these VDCs presently have to go to Bharatpur for higher education. The new campus building to be constructed with the cooperation of Government of India would offer greater local opportunity for higher education and also enable the institute to increase its capacity for more courses and students.

In a separate public function on May 22, 2007 in Makwanpur district, Ambassador of India inaugurated the newly constructed campus and library building of the Makwanpur Multiple Campus in Hetauda built with a grant assistance of NRs.2,03,68,688/- from the Government of India. The campus, established in 1981, presently has over 3000 students studying in humanities, social sciences, BBS and MBS courses. The newly created infrastructure will enable the campus to emerge as a leading centre of higher education in Makwanpur – an endeavour which was earlier constrained due to lack of financial resources available with the campus.

These are among three projects each in district Chitwan and Makwanpur undertaken by the Government of India under the India-Nepal Economic Cooperation Programme.

In his address at these functions, Ambassador of India underlined the importance of educational infrastructure for Nepal's national development and highlighted the primacy being given to the educational sector in the India-Nepal Economic Cooperation Programme. He reiterated the commitment of the Government and the people of India to support the people of Nepal in their efforts to seek peace, stability and development.

Currently, under the ongoing bilateral economic cooperation programme between India and Nepal, more than 200 large and small projects are being realized in the sectors of education, health, community development and infrastructure covering all the districts of Nepal with an outlay of over NRs. 2000 crores.