India committed to deals with Bangladesh signed by PM last year : Pranab

India remains committed to the implementation of all deals it signed with Bangladesh during prime minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Dhaka in September last, said union finance minister Pranab Mukherjee.

He said at a meeting with Bangladesh prime minister in Dhaka yesterday that there had been some delay, but the agreements would be implemented soon.

Mukherjee told Prime Minister Shaikh Hasina that a sub-committee under the Joint River Commission would be set up to study the proposed Tipaimukh dam with a view to clearing misunderstanding from public mind.  He said, all would get their due share of the waters of the rivers flowing down the Himalayas.

Regarding bilateral trade, he said 46 Bangladeshi items had been given duty-free access to the Indian market to close the widening trade gap.

Further in an interview to a group of editors, yesterday, Mukherjee said India would write off $200 million of the $1-billion loan given to Bangladesh for various projects. ''India will treat the amount as grant, not credit. ''This $200 million will be utilised for projects that Bangladesh prioritises.''

The rest $800 million would bear a 1 per cent interest, as against the earlier announced 1.75 per cent, according to bdnews24.