The one billion rupees to be received under the ‘State Support Programme’ in State no. 1 is believed to help forward equal development and increase the efficiency of public services by the State government. The programme is a joint initiative of the Government of Nepal and the Swiss Government.

The programme will run for four years and will receive an additional funding of Rs. 200 million from the State government. Hence, the project will be worth Rs. 1.2 billion rupees, said chief secretary of State no. 1 Suresh Adhikari.

A memorandum of understanding to run the project was signed on Friday by Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Finance Krishna Nepal and Swiss Ambassador to Nepal Elisabeth von Capeller. The agreement was signed in presence of Finance Minister Dr Yubaraj Khatiwada and State no. 1 Chief Minister Sherdhan Rai.

The project will basically help the State government with institutional development and formulating procedures and guidelines to thereby increase the administrative efficiency and make public services inclusive and equitable.

Another objective of the project is to promote strategic partnership between the local governments in the State. The third objective is to support development of inclusive and participatory policies, people’s right to information and participation in the decision making process.

The project was conceptualized by the State government and implemented with the help of the Swiss government following endorsement by the federal government.