India-Funded College Building Opens, School Foundation Laid in Nepal’s Sudurpaschim Province
On Saturday, a new college building was inaugurated and the foundation stone for a school building was laid in two districts of Nepal's western Sudurpaschim Province, under a scheme funded by the Indian government, the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu announced on Sunday.
The building of Kedar Surya Multiple Campus in Badikedar Rural Municipality of Doti district was jointly inaugurated by Basist Nandan, First Secretary at the Embassy of India in Kathmandu, and Bhairav Bahadur Saud, Chairperson of Badikedar Rural Municipality. The campus, formerly known as Shree Kedar Jyotipunja Multiple Campus, was renamed before its inauguration. It is a double-storey structure with seven rooms on each floor and allied facilities, constructed under the Indian government's High Impact Community Development Project (HICDP) programme. Affiliated with Tribhuvan University, the campus offers Bachelor of Education (BEd) and Bachelor of Business Studies (BBS) programmes.
Meanwhile, the foundation stone for a new building at Shree Maheshwar Secondary School in Bhimdatt Municipality of Kanchanpur district was laid on Saturday. The foundation stone was jointly laid by First Secretary Nandan and Nilam Lekhak Joshi, Deputy Chief of Bhimdatt Municipality. The school building will be constructed with financial assistance of around NPR 19 million from the Indian government under the HICDP programme, implemented through Bhimdatt Municipality. According to the Indian Embassy, this is the 11th High Impact Community Development Project being undertaken in Kanchanpur district.
Speaking at the foundation-laying ceremony, Deputy Chief Joshi and other local stakeholders appreciated India's development assistance and stated that the new infrastructure would help improve the learning environment for students and teachers in the municipality.
The HICDP programme is a key component of Nepal-India development cooperation, supporting projects in education, health, community infrastructure, and capacity building across Nepal. Launched in 2003, HICDPs were previously known as Small Development Projects. The initiative supports small-scale infrastructure and community-based projects through local authorities, focusing on priority sectors identified by the Nepal government, including health, education, drinking water, sanitation and drainage, rural electrification, hydropower, and river training.
Since the inception of the HICDP programme, nearly 600 projects have been undertaken by the Indian government across all seven provinces and 74 districts of Nepal. Additionally, the Indian government has gifted 78 ambulances and 40 school buses to institutions in the health and education sectors of Sudurpaschim Province, including nine ambulances and three school buses in Doti district.
The embassy stated that the HICDP programme reflects the continuing development partnership between India and Nepal and supports Nepal's efforts to improve infrastructure and promote socio-economic development in priority sectors.
