A major earthquake struck Nepal on 25 April 2015 with a moment magnitude (Mw) of 7.8. It was the most powerful earthquake to strike Nepal since the 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake. Many thousands of people died as a result, with most casualties reported in Nepal, including on Mount Everest, and adjoining areas of India, China, and Bangladesh.
From its modest appearance in the early 1950s, foreign aid has grown to form an integral part of the development process in Nepal, and it is amazing to note how remarkable this transformation has been. For the first five years, from 1951-1956, Nepal received NPR 95 million in aid, all in the form of grants. Four decades later, in fiscal year 1994/95, total foreign aid receipts stood much higher at NPR 12.3 billion. The latest budget, for fiscal year 1996/97, puts the estimated receipt of foreign aid at NPR 20.3 billion or 35% of total government expenditure of NPR 57.5 billion. So far, Nepal has received more than three billion dollars in foreign aid (an average of about 92 million dollars a year since 1951). In what forms has this come, and how has it been distributed? The tables presented in the following page, with data culled from many different sources, attempt to give a clearer picture of the evolution of foreign aid in Nepal.
