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Foreign Minister Arzu Rana Deuba held a meeting with her Indian counterpart S Jaishankar on Monday.

Rana left for India on a five-day official visit at the cordial invitation of her Indian counterpart Jaishankar.

According to a source at the Foreign Ministry, they discussed various aspects of Nepal-India relations, mutual interests and cooperation.

Indian External Affairs Minister Jaishankar welcomed Rana to India and posted a picture on social media.

It has been believed that the meeting would strengthen the relationship between the two countries.

A source said that Foreign Minister Rana is scheduled to meet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi this evening.

This is Rana’s first foreign visit after being appointed as the foreign minister.

On Monday, Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri visited Nepal after the formation of CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli-led government.

During his stay in Nepal, he paid courtesy calls on President Ram Chandra Paudel, Prime Minister Oli, ministers, Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba, CPN (Maoist Center) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal among others.

The government has registered a bill to amend the Economic Procedures and Financial Responsibility Act, 2076 BS in the Parliament.

The government has registered the bill in the Parliament to provide enough time for the discussions on the government's policies and programs and the annual budget submission process, to manage the additional financial obligations owed to the government by public bodies outside the budget system and to make the provisions on reducing wasteful expenditures effective.

Finance Minister Bishnu Prasad Paudel has registered the bill in Parliament last Friday with the aim of regulating the operation, management and related economic activities of the Federal Reserve Fund and other government funds as well.

The decision of the Council of Ministers on July 1 had given approval to submit the bill to the Parliament. Last January, the government started the process of amending the act through an ordinance, but the ordinance could not be passed by the Parliament within the specified time.

A provision has been added in the bill that the province, local level and public bodies outside the budget system (extra-budgetary) shall be subject to the prevailing laws related to such level or body and keep accounts in accordance with the approval of the Comptroller General's Office.

The National Planning Commission, in coordination with the Ministry of Finance, is going to amend the provision that the projection of the available resources and the limits of the expenditure that can be incurred in the next three years for the purpose of formulating the med-term expenditure structure and the budget and program of the next fiscal year must be completed by the 15th of January of the current fiscal year.

It is mentioned in the bill that the budget ceiling should be prepared by the end of mid-February.

Similarly, the bill states that the report on resource estimation and determination of the expenditure ceiling prepared by the National Resource Estimation Committee coordinated by the National Planning Commission's vice-chairperson should be submitted before the finance minister around February 18.

"The guideline and outline related to budget formulation should be sent to the related ministries, commissions, secretariats or entities within Fagun 7 (around February 18) of the current fiscal year. The guideline and outline should mention the budget ceiling, the outline of the mid-term expenditure structure, including the necessary amount in line with multi-year resource guarantee of the national pride projects, for the formulation of the budget for the next three years and remaining within the resource and expenditure ceiling fixed by the Resource Estimation Committee," reads the bill.

An amendment proposal has also been registered seeking to amend Clause 11 of the main Act. The provision of the finance minister presenting before the Federal Parliament the principles of the budget and programs, and the project or program priorities to be included in the Appropriation Bill at least 15 days before presenting the Bill, is being amended.

According to the provisions of the bill to amend the Economic Procedures and Financial Responsibility Act, the principles and priorities of the budget and programs should be presented before the Federal Parliament three months ahead. The Federal Parliament shall forward within the 15th of Chait any suggestion or directive or any topic to be included or removed on the principle and priorities of the government after completing deliberations in principle on it.

Similarly, the bill has also amended the provision on the deadline for 'budget surrender' to be made to the Ministry of Finance.

Foreign Minister Arzu Rana Deuba left for India on Sunday.

She left for India at the cordial invitation of her Indian counterpart S Jaishankar.

Joint Secretary Bhrigu Dhungana among other officials are in Minister Rana’s team.

Foreign Secretary Sewa Lamsal and Joint Secretary Amrit Rai among other senior Foreign Ministry officials bade farewell to Minister Rana at the Tribhuvan International Airport.

During her stay in India, she will meet her Indian counterpart S Jaishankar including high-level officials.

This is Rana’s first foreign visit after being appointed as the foreign minister.

Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri had visited Nepal a few days ago after the formation of CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli-led government.

During his stay in Nepal, he paid courtesy calls on President Ram Chandra Paudel, Prime Minister Oli, ministers, Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba, CPN (Maoist Center) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal among others.

It has been said that Minister Rana left for India to strengthen mutual harmony and relations between the two countries.

The Indian Embassy in Kathmandu celebrated the 78th anniversary of India’s Independence on Thursday with a flag-hoisting ceremony and cultural performances. Indian Ambassador to Nepal, Naveen Srivastava, raised the Indian flag during the event.

“Nepal and India share a special and unique relationship, unparalleled globally. This bond is rooted in the cultural and religious connections between the people of our two countries. We have consistently worked to deepen and strengthen this relationship based on these shared values,” Ambassador Srivastava said in his address.

During the event, the Ambassador honored widows and next of kin of deceased Gorkha soldiers of the Indian Armed Forces, distributing dues totaling Rs 55m and presenting each recipient with a blanket. Additionally, Rs 125.5m was disbursed to the families of 107 deceased members of the Indian Armed Forces. This payment covered benefits under the Army Group Insurance (AGI) program, including death-in-service benefits, extended insurance benefits, and AGI maturity payments for 2024, according to a press release from the Embassy of India.

The Embassy also announced book grants to 21 educational institutions and libraries across five provinces in Nepal. This initiative aims to improve access to educational materials for students in remote areas in response to specific requests.

The celebrations featured patriotic songs and dances performed by teachers and students from the Swami Vivekananda Cultural Centre of the Embassy and the Kendriya Vidyalaya School in Kathmandu.