Japan is giving Nepal Rs 423 million to install JDS.

For the fiscal year 2024–2025, the Japanese government has granted Nepal a grant of Japanese Yen 454 million, or roughly Rs 423 million, to help with the implementation of the Project for Human Resource Development.

Today at the Ministry of Finance, both parties exchanged notes and signed a formal agreement in this regard.

The agreement was signed by Kikuta Yutaka, the Japanese ambassador to Nepal, and Dr. Ram Prasad Ghimire, the secretary at the Finance Ministry.

According to a news statement from the Ministry, the Japanese Human Resource Development Scholarship (JDS) Program was launched in Nepal in 2015 with funding from the Japanese government and is currently ongoing in phases.

Twenty of the 22 candidates will get scholarships for a two-year Master's degree and two for a three-year PhD program at various Japanese universities, thanks to the present funding.

Currently, 35 JDS fellows are studying master's degrees and three PhDs in Japan, while 127 JDS fellows, including 125 master's degree holders and two doctorate holders, have finished their studies in Japan and returned to Nepal.

Secretary Dr. Ghimire stated during the signing ceremony that the scholarship program will improve the public service delivery by strengthening the capacity of Nepal's civil service. It is also going to help to reinforce Nepal-Japan bilateral ties, as he had predicted.

Ambassador Kikuta conveyed his optimism that the JDS grads will have a major influence on Nepal's growth and strengthen the two countries' long-standing partnership.

The Japanese government has received heartfelt gratitude and admiration from the Nepali government for its unwavering commitment to the socioeconomic and human resource development of Nepal.