India to double assistance to Bhutan to ₹10,000 crore over five years, says Modi
- India has decided to double Bhutan’s assistance over the next five years, from ₹5,000 crore in 2019-2024 to ₹10,000 crore for the period till 2029, Prime Minister said in Thimphu
Key Highlights
- The Indian Prime minister was awarded Bhutan’s highest honour, the ‘Order of the Druk Gyalpo’, which was announced in 2021
- To acknowledge India’s role in ensuring “Bhutan’s success in managing the COVID-19 pandemic”.
- After meeting Bhutan’s Prime Minister, India and Bhutan inked seven agreements on energy, food safety, sports, and research, as well as a space collaboration roadmap.
- Both will soon see our initiatives for a new airport for better connectivity, rail links between Kokrajhar-Gelephu and Banarhat-Samtse
- waterways navigation on the Brahmaputra.
- To strengthen trade infrastructure, we will build integrated check posts,”
India Bhutan bilateral relation
- Bhutan King recalled Operation All Clear which was a military operation conducted by the Royal Bhutan Army in 2003 against Assam separatist insurgent groups in the southern regions of Bhutan.
- India and Bhutan have agreed to discuss new routes of regional connectivity, which includes the development of a cross-border rail link between Gelephu in Bhutan and Kokrajhar in Assam, spanning 58 km.
- Additionally, there is a plan to explore a second rail link of approximately 18 km between Samtse in Bhutan and Banarhat in the tea gardens area of West Bengal.
- Progress on the construction of the 1020 MW Punatsangchhu-II hydropower project was noted with satisfaction, with its early commissioning expected in 2024.
Prelims Takeaway
- Gelephu Mindfulness City
- Punatsangchhu-II hydropower project