India and Nepal on Monday held the 8th round of the Oversight Mechanism (OSM) meet through Video Conferencing. The talks were led by Indian Envoy to Nepal Vinay Mohan Kwatra and Foreign Secretary of Nepal government Shanker Das Bairagi.

During the talks, the status of implementation of the on-going projects was discussed including the Ramayana circuit. Both sides had a discussion on the development of Terai roads, cross-border railways, Arun-III hydropower project, Pancheshwar multipurpose project, irrigation, power and transmission lines, construction of Nepal Police Academy, motorable bridges over Mahakali River.

Other than this, both sides discussed the reconstruction of 46,301 earthquakes affected houses in Gorkha and Nuwakot districts, the operationalization of Motihari-Amlekhgunj cross-border petroleum products pipeline and the Integrated Check Post at Biratnagar. Motihari-Amlekhgunj oil pipeline is the first cross country oil pipeline in South Asia. 

The Indian govt readout of the meet said, "Nepal also noted with appreciation COVID19 related assistance, including the supply of medicines and medical equipment to Nepal by India."

The Nepali foreign ministry said, "Both sides underlined the need for the expeditious implementation of the bilateral projects" and "In that connection, they agreed to undertake necessary measures to timely address problems and obstacles in the course of implementation."

Border issues were not discussed in Monday's meeting. This was expected, given the mandate of the mechanism was to discuss development projects. 

The Oversight Mechanism was set up after PM Modi's Nepal visit in 2016 to oversee the implementation of bilateral projects. This is the first formal meeting between the 2 sides amidst a strain in the relationship. Nepal government had come up with a New Nepal map showing Indian territories as Nepali territories irking New Delhi.