This article covers India's development partnership with Myanmar and cooperation in other sectors: the assistance portfolio and major projects, community-level schemes, training and scholarships, humanitarian assistance, defence, energy and health, together with cultural links and the Indian community in Myanmar. Its source is the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) bilateral brief of June 2026.
Development assistance portfolio
According to the MEA brief of June 2026, the Indian developmental assistance portfolio for Myanmar is designed to meet the needs of the people of Myanmar. It is valued at about US$1.5 billion, with nearly US$1 billion provided as grants.
India has also supported institutional capacity building through institutions such as the Myanmar Institute of Information Technology (MIIT) in Mandalay, the Advanced Centre for Agricultural Research and Education (ACARE) and the Rice Bio-Park in Naypyitaw.
Community-level assistance
The brief states that India's community-level assistance in Myanmar is delivered through targeted, largely grant-funded schemes coordinated with Myanmar ministries and local authorities. These programmes, including BADP, RSDP, SDP and QIP, finance short-gestation works such as schools, health centres, roads and bridges, prefabricated housing, village solar electrification, water-supply systems, agricultural support and social-infrastructure projects.
Examples given in the brief are:
- a 200-bedded Women & Children Hospital in Monywa
- computers for Sittwe Computer University
- tractors and harvesters for Rakhine
- over 25 QIPs in areas like renewable energy, education and disaster risk reduction
Training and scholarships
India offers capacity building to Myanmar under schemes including ITEC, ICCR Scholarships, MGC, BIMSTEC, ASEAN-India and other training programmes. During FY 2025-26, approximately 216 civilians and 190 Defense personnel from Myanmar availed ITEC scholarships, and 56 Myanmar students joined Indian universities through ICCR scholarships.
Special courses have been organised for 320 Myanmar judicial officers, 19 officials from the Ministry of Social Welfare and senior officials from the Forest department, among others. Myanmar professionals have also attended capacity building courses under the BIMSTEC and ASEAN-India frameworks.
Humanitarian assistance
India has responded to major disasters in Myanmar, including Cyclone Nargis (2008), the Shan State earthquake (2010), Cyclone Komen (2015), Cyclone Mora (2017) and influenza outbreaks. More recent support recorded in the brief includes:
- US$200,000 for Rakhine rehabilitation
- US$1 million for ten schools in Rakhine
- a consignment of 2,200 MT of rice delivered to Yangon in December 2024
- Operation Sadbhav (17 September 2024), in response to Typhoon Yagi, which provided 53 tonnes of emergency relief and essential medicines
After the 7.7 magnitude earthquake on 28 March 2025, Operation Brahma deployed nine aircraft and five warships to deliver about 1000 tonnes of HADR aid, and deployed a search and rescue team. The Indian Army field hospital treated 2,519 patients, performed 55 major and 307 minor surgeries, and conducted 6,888 laboratory investigations.
Defence and security
The brief states that defence and security cooperation has strengthened over the years through high-level exchanges, institutional engagement and capacity building. Recent visits from India include those of CNS Admiral Dinesh K. Tripathi (2-5 May 2026) and Defence Secretary Shri Rajesh Kumar Singh (25-26 September 2025).
From Myanmar, Sr. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing visited in July 2017. More recent visits were made by Gen. Tun Aung, C-in-C (Air), for Aero India, and by Lt. Gen. Ko Ko Oo for the 7th AAST in Sept. 2025.
Institutional mechanisms include Army, Air Force and Naval Staff Talks, and bilateral memoranda of understanding. These underpin training exchanges, including the 9th Edition of the UN Peace Keeping capsule, 3 cultural exchange visits and operational coordination.
Energy and health
Power cooperation talks, including an MoU for a DPR on cross-border interconnection, were held on 10-11 July 2025, and technical discussions on transmission interconnection followed on 3 February 2026. In health, the JWG on Indian Pharmacopoeia met on 9 December 2025, and the 1st Joint Working Group on Traditional Medicine met on 14 May 2026.
Cultural links
The brief describes cultural ties between India and Myanmar as rooted in a shared Buddhist heritage and long historical links. India has supported restoration of key monuments such as the Ananda Temple, and ongoing works on 72 earthquake-damaged pagodas in Bagan.
Cultural exchanges continue through regular performances and joint events. In recent years, Myanmar artists participated in ICCR's Ramayana workshops, the Kullu Dusshera Festival and the Surajkund International Craft Mela, and an exhibition on the Ramayana was organised in Myanmar.
The Indian community in Myanmar
The Indian community in Myanmar dates back to the mid-19th century under British rule, and the brief describes it as an important social and economic presence. Estimates of people of Indian origin range from 1.5 to 2.5 million, with major concentrations in Yangon and Mandalay.
Around 180,000 live in Bago (Zeyawaddy and Kyaikto), Tanintharyi Region and Mon State, mainly engaged in agriculture. A smaller NRI community of about 5,000 resides primarily in Yangon and Mandalay, working in trade, export-import and with multinational companies and UN organisations.