This article covers India's development and humanitarian assistance to Tajikistan, together with bilateral trade and Indian investment. The article is based on the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) bilateral brief of June 2026, and amounts are given as the brief states them.

Development partnership

According to the MEA brief of June 2026, India has been a development and aid partner for Tajikistan since Tajikistan's independence in 1991. The brief lists the following projects:

  • Pharmaceutical plant. In 1995 India extended a credit line of USD 5 million to set up a pharmaceutical plant (Ajanta Pharma). During the visit of Prime Minister Vajpayee in November 2003, the Government of India converted the principal, along with accrued interest of USD 3.37 million, into a grant.
  • Fruit Processing Plant. Established in Dushanbe by M/s HMT in January 2005 with a grant of USD 0.6 million.
  • Bedil Centre. An Information and Technology Centre commissioned in 2006 with a grant of USD 0.6 million. It ran for a full hardware cycle of 6 years and, according to the brief, trained almost all the first-generation IT experts in Tajikistan's government sector.
  • Modern Engineering Workshop. Commissioned on 02 June 2011 with a grant of about USD 0.75 million; the brief states that it is running successfully.
  • Varzob-1 Hydro Power Station. Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) and National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) rehabilitated and modernised this 1936 vintage station, raising its installed capacity from 2x3.67 MW to 2x4.75 MW. It was inaugurated on 28 December 2012.
  • Computer labs in schools. A project to set up computer labs in 37 schools, announced during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit in July 2015, was completed at a cost of USD 6,02,701.
  • Highway in Dushanbe. Under the USD 20 million grant announced during the President of India's State Visit in October 2018, phase-I of an 8-lane highway from Chortut village to Ayni roundabout in Dushanbe was built at a cost of approximately USD 17.45 million. It opened for public use in April 2023.

In December 2021, India signed an MoU with Tajikistan for Indian Grant Assistance for implementing High Impact Community Development Projects, with a capital cost of up to US$ 1.5 million each.

Training under ITEC

Tajikistan has been a beneficiary of the Indian Technical & Economic Cooperation Programme (ITEC) since India's Embassy in Dushanbe was established in 1994. In the current financial year, 2026-27, 230 ITEC slots have been allotted to Tajikistan.

Humanitarian assistance

The brief lists the humanitarian aid India has provided to Tajikistan:

  • USD 5 million worth of food assistance in 2001-02.
  • A grant of USD 2 million after an unprecedented harsh winter in January-February 2008: USD 1 million as cash assistance and USD 1 million in kind, such as power cables, generators and pump sets.
  • USD 200,000 in cash assistance in June 2009, for damage caused by floods in April-May 2009.
  • USD 200,000 in humanitarian cash assistance after flash floods in Kulyab province in May 2010.
  • 2 million doses of oral polio vaccine, provided through UNICEF in November 2010 after an outbreak of polio in southwest Tajikistan.
  • USD 100,000 in September 2015, for relief to people affected by floods and mudslides in GBAO (Pamir) and the Rasht valley.
  • USD 100,000 in March 2017 as humanitarian assistance for natural disasters.
  • 10 ambulances, gifted to various regions of Tajikistan in March 2018.

After the outbreak of Covid-19 in 2020, India provided humanitarian medical assistance. In May 2020 it supplied 50,000 HCQ tablets and 100,000 Paracetamol tablets, and sent a further consignment of 4.6 tons of medical supplies. In June 2020 India sent another 800 Kgs of medicines and medical accessories. The brief also records a delivery of 698,500 doses of the Covid-19 vaccine 'Covishield' (Astrazeneca) on 30 November, without stating the year.

In June 2022, India handed over the fully equipped 50-bed India-Tajikistan Friendship Hospital (ITFH) to Tajikistan.

Bilateral trade

The brief gives India's trade with Tajikistan, from Department of Commerce (DoC) data, in million USD:

  • 2016-17: exports 20.44, imports 21.82
  • 2017-18: exports 23.94, imports 50.29
  • 2018-19: exports 22.28, imports 4.24
  • 2019-20: exports 23.50, imports 0.29
  • 2020-21: exports 53.45, imports 1.06
  • 2021-22: exports 35.35, imports 10.74
  • 2022-23: exports 49.40, imports 0.52
  • 2023-24: exports 51.64, imports 0.01
  • 2024-25: exports 45.68, imports 0.00
  • 2025-26: exports 58.12, imports 0.79

Here "exports" are Indian exports to Tajikistan and "imports" are Indian imports from Tajikistan.

Indian investments and projects

The brief lists the following Indian private investments and projects in Tajikistan:

  • A 5-star hotel built by M/s CHL Limited, India, inaugurated by President Emomali Rahmon in September 2014.
  • A 116 KMs long power transmission line from the Sangtuda-1 Hydropower plant to the Afghan border, completed by M/s KEC/RPG in October 2010 under an ADB financed project.
  • A 7 MW generator supplied by BHEL to the Tajik company "Pamir Energy" in 2011 under a commercial contract.
  • Construction of electric transmission lines and the CASA-1000 power transmission project, for which M/s Kalpataru has been engaged.
  • Management services for the Tajikistan Distribution Company, provided by M/s Tata Power for a five-year period from January 2022 to January 2027.

Besides these, other small private projects, companies, health clinics and hospitals provide healthcare and other services in Tajikistan.