Kathmandu, Jan 15 (IANS) A school building built with a grant from the Indian government was inaugurated on Thursday in Patan Municipality of Baitadi district in Nepal's Sudurpaschim Province, the Indian Embassy said.

Narayan Singh, First Secretary at the Indian Embassy in Nepal, and Gauri Singh Rawal, Mayor of Patan Municipality, jointly inaugurated the school building of Shree Bhumeshwor Secondary School.

The school was established in 1951, and the Nepal government upgraded it to the 10+2 (secondary) level in 2011.

At present, 300 students are enrolled at the school.

During the inauguration ceremony, Mayor Rawal, the School Management Committee, and other stakeholders appreciated the development support being provided by the Indian government.

They said the new infrastructure would help further enhance educational facilities in the region, which is considered a backward area.

According to the Indian Embassy, the construction of the school building and allied facilities was undertaken as part of the High Impact Community Development Project (HICDP), which was implemented through Patan Municipality.

The HICDP programme, launched in 2003, was earlier known as the Small Grant Projects scheme.

These projects are implemented at the grassroots level through local authorities in the priority sectors of the Nepal government, including health, education, drinking water, sanitation and drainage, rural electrification, hydropower, embankments, and river training, among others.

According to the Indian Embassy website, as many as 573 projects costing a total of nearly NPR 13.59 billion have been undertaken across Nepal.

"This includes 294 projects in the education sector, of which 217 are school buildings," the Indian Embassy said.

In January 2024, during the visit of Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar to Nepal, a new agreement was concluded that increased the financial outlay of each project under this programme from NPR 50 million to NPR 200 million."

"As close neighbours, India and Nepal are engaged in wide-ranging and multi-sectoral cooperation," the Indian Embassy added.

"The implementation of HICDPs reflects the continued support of the Indian government in bolstering the development efforts of the Nepal government, including augmenting infrastructure in priority sectors at the grassroots level."

--IANS

scor/khz