In a first of its kind, the neighbours are launching the arrangement aimed at easing vehicular movement between the two countries.

The first meeting of the India-Nepal Cross Border Transport Facilitation Joint Working Group held in New Delhi recently decided to issue online permits for vehicles to ply roads in the other country.

While travelling in Nepal and India, citizens do not require visa but they need to carry along valid documents issued by the respective governments. In case of permitting vehicles to travel, there was a procedure to follow, which was eased in 2014 after both the sides signed a bilateral agreement.

“It was decided that in order to facilitate the movement of vehicles across the India-Nepal border, National Informatics Centre (NIC), the IT-solution provider of the government of India, would design a web-based solution for issuing online permits under the India-Nepal bilateral Motor Vehicle Agreement,” the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu said in a statement.

This web-based solution would be developed for issuing, monitoring and verification of permits for non-scheduled and personal passenger vehicles. The new online vehicle permit system, after being developed by the NIC, would be demonstrated to the government of Nepal for consideration, suggestion and concurrence.

“The new system will facilitate the procurement of vehicle permit for the people based in far-flung areas. After concurrence by both the sides, the web-based portal will be tested on a pilot basis at Birgunj-Raxaul and Bhairahawa-Sunauli border points,” said the embassy.

The existing manual and traditional system for issuing vehicle permits adopted by both the countries would also continue. The Indian side informed that free Wi-Fi service and tracking system had been installed on the Delhi-Kathmandu route.

The joint working group has recommended that regular bus services between India and Nepal may be started on four new routes—Kathmandu-Patna-Bodhgaya, Mahendranagar-New Delhi, Siliguri-Kakarbhitta-Kathmandu and Janakpur-Patna. Regular bus services between Kathmandu-New Delhi and Kathmandu-Varanasi are already operational.

Once the new routes are made functional, these would improve connectivity and seamless movement between Nepal and the border states of India—Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal and Uttarakhand.