UPSC Prelims 2026 Q67: India-Funded Projects in Neighbours Explained

Match List I with List II and select the answer using the code given below the Lists:

List I (Project Supported by India) — List II (Country)

A. Mangdechhu Hydroelectric Project

B. Restoration of Stor Palace

C. District Hospital at Dickoya

D. Institute of Security and Law Enforcement Studies

List II: 1. Maldives 2. Afghanistan 3. Bhutan 4. Sri Lanka

  1. A-1, B-4, C-2, D-3
  2. A-3, B-2, C-4, D-1
  3. A-3, B-4, C-2, D-1
  4. A-1, B-2, C-4, D-3

Answer: (b) A-3, B-2, C-4, D-1

Statement-wise explanation

  • A: correct — Mangdechhu is a 720 MW run-of-river hydropower plant on the Mangdechhu river in Trongsa district, central Bhutan. India built it under the India–Bhutan hydropower cooperation framework, which includes the 2006 Agreement on Cooperation in Hydropower. On 17 August 2019, PM Modi and Bhutanese PM Lotay Tshering inaugurated it. It was later handed over to Bhutan's Druk Green Power Corporation. The pair A–3 (Bhutan) is correct.
  • B: correct — Stor Palace is a 19th-century palace in Kabul that houses Afghanistan's foreign ministry. India, Afghanistan and the Aga Khan Development Network signed a tripartite agreement for its restoration. The Aga Khan Trust for Culture carried out the work between 2013 and 2016, with Indian funding. On 22 August 2016, PM Modi and President Ashraf Ghani inaugurated it together by video link. The pair B–2 (Afghanistan) is correct.
  • C: correct — Dickoya is in Sri Lanka's Central Province, in the tea-growing hill country where many Indian-origin Tamils live. India built a 150-bed hospital there with grant assistance. On 12 May 2017, PM Modi, President Sirisena and PM Ranil Wickremesinghe dedicated it. The same day, Modi addressed the Indian-origin Tamil community at Norwood. The pair C–4 (Sri Lanka) is correct.
  • D: correct — The Institute for Security and Law Enforcement Studies (ISLES) was built by NBCC in Addu City, Maldives, with an Indian grant. It is now called the National College for Policing and Law Enforcement (NCPLE). MEA calls it the single-largest grant project India has executed in the Maldives, at INR 222.98 crore. EAM S. Jaishankar and President Solih inaugurated it in March 2022. The pair D–1 (Maldives) is correct.

How to eliminate

Begin with the best-known project. Mangdechhu is one of the flagship India–Bhutan hydropower projects, alongside Chukha, Tala and Kurichhu. Once A is matched to Bhutan, two options drop out. Both remaining options pair D with the Maldives, so only B and C need deciding. Either fact is enough. Dickoya is a Sri Lankan hill-country town near Hatton, in the Indian-origin Tamil plantation belt. Stor Palace is in Kabul and was restored with Indian money in 2016. Basic recall gets you most of the way, but you still need one place-name fact. Remember this: Dickoya is in Sri Lanka and Stor Palace is in Kabul.

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India's development partnership with its neighbours

Under its Neighbourhood First policy, India funds projects in neighbouring countries through four main channels:

  • Grants: India pays the full cost (examples: Stor Palace, the Dickoya hospital, NCPLE).
  • Lines of Credit (LoC): concessional loans routed through EXIM Bank of India.
  • Buyers' Credit: EXIM Bank finances Indian contractors working abroad.
  • High Impact Community Development Projects (HICDPs): small grant projects carried out through local bodies.

In Bhutan, India's hydropower projects have mostly used a mixed grant + loan model. For Chukha and Tala it was 60% grant and 40% loan. India then buys the surplus electricity, which makes hydropower Bhutan's largest export.

Country Flagship India-supported projects
Bhutan Chukha (336 MW, 1987), Kurichhu (60 MW), Tala (1,020 MW), Mangdechhu (720 MW, 2019), Punatsangchhu-I and II
Afghanistan Parliament building in Kabul (2015), Afghan-India Friendship (Salma) Dam in Herat (2016), Stor Palace restoration (2016), Zaranj–Delaram highway
Sri Lanka Dickoya hospital (2017), Indian Housing Project, island-wide emergency ambulance service
Maldives Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (1995), NCPLE in Addu (2022), Greater Malé Connectivity Project (USD 400 mn LoC + USD 100 mn grant), Hanimaadhoo and Gan airports

Pattern to remember: heritage restoration plus large civic buildings → Afghanistan. Hydropower → Bhutan. Health and housing in the Tamil areas → Sri Lanka. Security, policing and connectivity in Addu and Malé → Maldives. UPSC often tests these projects as match-the-following pairs, so learn one landmark project per country together with where it is.

NCERT Concepts to Revise

  • India-Bhutan relations: Pair A depends on knowing which Himalayan neighbour India has partnered with on large run-of-river hydropower plants.

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