Indian Ambassador to Nepal Naveen Srivastava on Thursday highlighted the sweeping physical and demographic transformation of Nepal over recent years, attributing the progress to New Delhi's 'Neighbourhood First' policy. Speaking at NDTV World's 'Anviksha' India-Nepal Dialogue, the envoy outlined a multi-dimensional cooperation framework spanning infrastructure, digital connectivity, entrepreneurship, agriculture, and sports.

What the Neighbourhood First Policy Delivers

'For the last several years, we have been doing work in that direction. Now, Nepal has transformed both in terms of physical transformation, better infrastructure, better roads, better connectivity, hydropower, but also demographically,' Ambassador Srivastava said. The policy, he explained, focuses on enhancing physical, digital, and people-to-people connectivity while expanding bilateral trade and commerce.

Young Leaders and Start-Up Partnerships

One of the newer initiatives involves organising 10–15 day visits by young Members of Parliament from Nepal to India, in collaboration with think-tanks. These visits allow participants to observe India's development journey and identify ways Nepal's emerging leaders can fulfil their aspirations through partnership with India.

On the entrepreneurship front, India launched the India-Nepal Startup Partnership Network last year, aimed at providing capital, market access, and ecosystem connections to Nepalese entrepreneurs. Around 49 Nepalese start-ups across two batches have received training and mentorship under the initiative. Several have secured incubation offers in India, and investment flows have begun. Efforts are now underway to ease regulatory hurdles for Nepali start-ups seeking to expand into the Indian market.

Agriculture and Sports as Soft-Power Levers

In agriculture, Indian experts have shared techniques that improved yields in Nepal's high-altitude zones. Ambassador Srivastava cited the example of Mustang apples — among the finest grown in Nepal — where Indian agricultural expertise has helped enhance productivity through knowledge-exchange visits.

Cricket continues to serve as a strong cultural bridge. India, through the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), is actively supporting the growth of Nepal's cricket infrastructure and talent development programmes.

Broader Significance for South Asia

The envoy's remarks underscored how India's engagement with Nepal has evolved well beyond traditional infrastructure aid. This comes amid heightened competition for influence in South Asia, making the depth and diversity of India-Nepal cooperation a strategic signal to the broader neighbourhood. Notably, the inclusion of start-up ecosystems and parliamentary exchanges marks a generational shift in how the two countries are building bilateral ties — one that targets youth and future leadership rather than governments alone.

With regulatory easing for start-ups on the agenda and investment flows already beginning, the next phase of India-Nepal cooperation is expected to move from capacity-building to commercial integration.