Context: Recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Nepalese counterpart Pushpakamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ virtually inaugurate Uttar Pradesh’s first land port along the India-Nepal border.

Importance

• The Rupaidiha border is a significant trade route, with annual trade worth Rs 8,500 crore between India and Nepal.

• Exports account for 95 per cent of the trade value, making the facility’s development an important move.

• The volume of trade is expected to go up significantly as it is estimated that the number of trucks passing through the land port will increase to at least 300 daily from the current 200.

Key Points

• The construction of the Rupaidiha Land Port, built on 115 acres of land, has cost about Rs 200 crores.

• A 2.2 km long feeder route has also been constructed to link the two land ports to National Highway-927.

• The Land Port Authority of India, which comes under the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, has set up integrated check posts on the country’s international borders for smooth movement of cargo and passenger vehicles.

• The facility on the Nepal side will be operated by the Nepal Intermodal Transport Development Board, while the LPAI will oversee the functioning of the Indian side of the port.

Key Benefits

• The land port is set to house all the regulatory and support functions under one roof, offering better coordination.

• Cross-border movement of cargo trucks is being facilitated by bringing customs, immigration and other facilities of the two countries under one roof at these centres on both sides of the border.

• Cross-border movement of individuals, motor vehicles and goods shall go up substantially as the turnaround time to process the applications will come down.

Land Ports Authority of India (LPAI)

• Type: It is a statutory body (created through the Land Ports Authority of India Act, 2010).

• Founded in: 2012.

• Parent ministry: Ministry of Home Affairs.

• Mandate: It is responsible for creating, upgrading, maintaining and managing border infrastructure in India. It manages several Integrated Check Posts (ICPs) all across Borders of India.