Fire in Nepal may affect India's economy
In the last two days in the political world of Nepal, there has been such a storm that Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli had to leave power. The protests started under the leadership of youths of 20 to 30 years across the country, ie Jane Zee, increased so fast that Oli's government could not stand. In Kathmandu, an uncontrollable mob attacked the Parliament House and set fire, smoke around the airport and violence caught fire. There were clashes between the police and the army, curfew was imposed, but the anger of the protesters did not diminish. Eventually, the army took control of Kathmandu, while the army chief appealed to the protesters to maintain peace.
The impact of this political crisis of Nepal will not be limited only to there, but can also become a matter of concern for neighboring India. India is the largest trading partner in Nepal. Nearly two-thirds of Nepal business is with India, but there is a huge imbalance in business. Nepal imports many times more goods from India, while its exports are less. Due to this, Nepal's economy is getting weaker. Especially, the long process of certification from the Bureau of Indian Standards has also stopped the export of Nepali products.
Nepal traded 164 countries in 2024-25, but the trade deficit was recorded with most countries. Nepal's trade deficit with India is the largest. Nepal sold goods worth about 225 billion rupees to India, while it ordered goods worth Rs 1,071 billion from India. Similarly, Nepal has a huge trade deficit with China. In such a situation, political instability in Nepal can increase economic weakness, which will also affect India's economy.
Right now relations with America are under stress and at such a time India wants to increase its export ability to send goods abroad. But the political upheaval going on in Nepal can become a big obstacle in this effort. Instability in the area reduces investment and business is also affected. Nepal's economy is already weak, and this political crisis can weaken it further.
Nepal gets many things from India only. These include medicines, iron items, machines, petrol-diesel like fuel and rice-vegetable food items. A good trade between India and Nepal runs because Nepal buys most of the goods from India. The economic relationship between the two countries is quite strong. Even Nepal fulfills its energy and fuel needs from India. The demand for petroleum products is the highest. Apart from this, Nepal also gets raw materials like plastic, rubber, clothes and paper from India.
But now business across the border is being affected due to unrest and political crisis in Nepal. Tight security and obstacles on the border are causing problems in the movement of goods. This may cause problems for industries supplying goods from India to Nepal. At the same time, fear has started increasing among investors, which can slow down economic activities in Nepal. This can also harm India's business interests.
