Kathmandu: India has pledged $1 billion in assistance to quake-ravaged Nepal for its massive reconstruction programme at the Donors' Conference in Kathmandu. “This pledge is over and above our existing bilateral developmental assistance of another 1 billion US dollars over the next five years, 45 per cent of which would be grant,” India's external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj said.
She further said, “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.”
The international conference on Nepal's reconstruction was organised by the Nepalese government to raise funds to rebuild the country that was wrecked two months back by a 7.9 magnitude earthquake, killing 9,000 people and injuring 23,000. The meet was attended by several countries, including China, Britain, Norway, Japan, Sri Lanka, the European Union and organisations like the UN, World Bank and the Asian Development Bank.
