India and Nepal held the 9th Project Steering Committee (PSC) and the 7th Joint Working Group (JWG) meetings from February 27-28 in New Delhi to review the implementation of ongoing cross-border railway links and overall bilateral cooperation in the railway sector.

The Indian delegation was led by Rohit Rathish, Joint Secretary (DPA-III), Ministry of External Affairs and JWG by  Pradeep Ojha, Executive Director (Traffic Transportation-Freight), Ministry of Railways.

The Nepali side was led by Sushil Babu Dhakal, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport, for both meetings.

Key Discussions

Both sides discussed the ongoing works of Jaynagar-Bijalpura-Bardibas and Jogbani-Biratnagar broad gauge railway lines between India and Nepal, being developed with grant assistance from the Government of India, read a statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs.

"The preparedness for the commencement of work on the remaining sections of the two railway lines i.e. from Bijalpura to Bardibas on Jaynagar-Bijalpura-Bardibas and Nepal Custom Yard to Biratnagar on Jogbani-Biratnagar was also reviewed," the statement said.

The Nepali side assured that necessary facilitation would be provided for the early commencement and completion of the work on the remaining sections of the railway lines.

The Final Location Survey (FLS) Report of Raxaul-Kathmandu Broad Gauge Railway Link, Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for the commencement of passenger train services on the Janakpur-Ayodhya section and additional railway links were also discussed.

India-Nepal Bond

India is the largest developmental partner of Nepal, with the major portion of developmental assistance focussed on large scale infrastructure projects under grants, in the priority sectors necessary for the rapid development of Nepal, in the field of health, education and connectivity, as read on the Indian Embassy in Nepal website.

India has a long history of development cooperation with Nepal, commencing from the  1950s onwards.

Some of the major projects undertaken and completed with the Government of India grant assistance includes, Gauchar Airport (presently Tribhuvan Airport), East West Highway, Nepal Bharat Maitri Emergency & Trauma Centre (INR 100 Cr), the first trauma centre with AIIMS like specialization, Tri Chand college development projects in Tribhuvan University, BP Koirala Institute of Health Science, Dharan, Construction of 5 storeyed OPD complex of Bir hospital ance technical cooperation in the railway sector, including in the areas of capacity building, logistic support and training of Nepali railway personnel.