In the third episode of CPR's new series titled, Spotlight South Asia, we analyse the developments in Nepal. Hosted by Senior Fellow, Sushant Singh, this series features leading experts from India's neighborhood to make sense of the political, economic and social developments in these countries and what they mean for India. Our guest for this episode is Amish Raj Mulmi, an editor and writer based out of Kathmandu in Nepal. He is the author of the book, “All Roads Lead North: Nepal’s Turn to China”.

Amish and Sushant discuss the economic situation in Nepal after two years of pandemic and if it is comparable to other South Asian countries like Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Pakistan. They talk about the condition of tourism and remittances in the country. Amish explains the two agreements with the US that have become controversial in Nepal and the reasons behind this controversy. He also comments on the Nepal-China relationship in the light of the recent visit of the Nepalese foreign minister to meet his Chinese counterpart.

The discussion revolves around various important questions about Nepal and its relationship with other South Asian countries. What is the political situation in Nepal, how are the social indicators in the country holding up? Has the increase in the Nepal army’s strength and its role in the democratic setup changed the political landscape in some manner? Finally, they discuss how today’s India looks from Nepal.