Dr. Khatiwada unveils Rs. 1.532 trillion budget for 2019/20

Kathmandu, May 29

 Finance Minister Dr. Yuba Raj Khatiwada on Wednesday unveiled a budget of Rs. 1.532 trillion for the coming Fiscal Year 2019/20 with priority to poverty alleviation, infrastructure development and good governance.

The budget is bigger by 14.3 per cent - Rs. Rs. 217 billion - than the current fiscal, however, he revised it to Rs. 1.199 trillion during the mid-term review of the government income and expenditure. This is the third federal budget and the second of Dr. Khatiwada.

He has given importance to creating welfare state mechanism, increasing national productivity, quality education, health and water supply, accountability and cooperation among the subnational units and private sector.

The Finance Minister has allocated Rs. 957.10 billion, for recurrent expenditure, Rs. 408.05 billion for development expenditure and Rs. 167.86 billion for financial management.

The share of recurrent and capital expenditure and financial management is 62.4 per cent, 26.6 per cent and 11 per cent respectively.

The capital budget is 35 per cent higher than the revised budget of the current fiscal 2018/19.

He aims to mobilise Rs. 981.13 billion revenue and Rs. 58 billion foreign grant to manage source for the expenditure. Remaining about Rs. 494 billion would be managed from foreign loan of Rs. 298.83 billion and domestic loan Rs. 195 billion.

It means the size of budget deficit is bigger than the size of the capital budget which creates challenges for Dr. Khatiwada to manage resources to meet the financial requirement for the next fiscal.

The Finance Minister has project the economic growth of 8.5 per cent in the next fiscal and said to contain the inflation at 6 per cent.

Similarly, the income tax ceiling has increased by Rs. 50,000 to Rs. 400,000 for single person and Rs. 450,000 for married ones.

Expenditure:
Total Budget: Rs. 1532.96 billion
Recurrent Budget: Rs. 957.10 billion (62.4 %)Capital Budget: Rs. 408.05 billion (26.6%)Financial Management: Rs. 167.86 billion (11%)

Sources of Budget:
Revenue: Rs. 981.13 billion
Foreign Grant: Rs. 58 billion
Foreign Loan: Rs. 298.83 billionDomestic Loan: Rs. 195 billion

Rs. 464.56 billion for the subnational governments

Finance Minister Dr. Khatiwada has allocated Rs. 55.30 billion to the states and Rs. 89.95 billion to the local bodies as equalisation grant on the basis of the formula recommended by the National Natural Resource and Fiscal Commission.

Similarly, Rs. 44.55 billion to the provinces and Rs. 123.87 billion to local bodies is allocated as the conditional grant.

"While distributing revenue, I have taken the demographics, area, human development index of the provinces and local bodies into account and estimated that about Rs. 130.89 billion to these sub-national governments," he said.

The money will be deposited to the reserve fund of the respective sub-national government from the divisible fund every month.

Similarly, matching grant of Rs. 10 billion has been allocated for the projects that will be implemented by the provinces and local governments, and Rs. 10 billion is separated for special grant for the subnational governments. The National Planning Commission, the apex planning body in the country, will distribute the funds under matching and special grants.

Priority to infrastructure

The budget has given priority to the infrastructure development which ranges from roads, railways, energy, airports, and education and health facilities.

The budget aims at providing water supply to 92 per cent population by the end of next fiscal. Dr. Khatiwada has allocated Rs. 7.39 billion for the completion of Melamchi Water Supply Project. Detail Project Report (DPR) of the second phase of the project will be completed next year.

"Sunkoshi-Marin Multipurpose Project will be developed as the national pride project and Rs. 2.5 billion is allocated for it. Rani Jamara and Bheri-Babai Diversion and Babai project will be expedited," she said.

He has allocated budget for the detailed feasibility study of Kali Gandaki-Tinau, Tamor-Chisyang, Madi-Dang, Rapti-Kapilvastu, West Seti-Kailali Pandul diversions and Kankai Multiple Project.

Terai-Madhes Irrigation Project has got Rs. 960 million. Industrial infrastructure development got Rs. 2.87 billion. Dr. Khatiwada has plans to revive sick public enterprises and establish more industries in collaboration with the private sector.

A new Himalayan Green Trekking Trail would be designed to connect Darchula district in the west and Taplejung district in the east and infrastructure building will begin. Rara will be developed as the national tourism destination, said the Minister.

Hydropower has received a major chunk of budget with Budhigandaki Hydropower Project getting Rs. 13.57 billion, Tanahun Hydel Project Rs. 8.90 billion, Tamakoshi-5 Rs. 1.85 billion and Budhiganga Rs. 2.2 billion.

Increasing connectivity

The East-West Highway would be developed into a dedicated four-lane safe road infrastructure and work at Butwal-Narayangadh and Kamala-Kanchanpur section will start from the next fiscal while the feasibility study would be completed in other sections of the road. Rs. 19.18 billion is allocated for this road.

Dr. Khatiwada said that he had plans to connect every state by at least two national highways. About 435 km of Mid-Hill Highway will be blacktopped with Rs. 12.20 billion and 350 km of Postal Highway in Terai will be blacktopped with Rs. 13.63 billion.

Similarly, Rs. 5.6 billion is separated for Mechi, Koshi, Kali Gandaki and Karnali Corridor. Madan Bhandari Highway has got Rs. 4.82 billion.

Galchhi-Trishuli-Betrawati-Mailung road, the second highway to connect the northern border Rasuwagadhi, will be blacktopped and Rs. 1.58 billion has been allocated for the road. Likewise, priority will be given to the Swarna Sagarmatha Greater Ring Road and Simikot-Hilsa road.

Dr. Khatiwada has allocated Rs. 1.81 billion for the Kathmandu Ring Road expansion and announced that tunnel would be constructed in Tinkune-Koteshwor-Jadibuti, under pass in New Baneshwor and flyover in Tripureshwor-Maitighar section.

Similarly, Rs. 7.70 billion is allocated for rail, metro and mono-rail. Cross-border railway development will be given priority.

Social welfare in priority

The government has allocated Rs. 64.50 billion for social security programmes. Senior Citizen Allowance is increased by Rs. 1,000 which reached Rs. 3,000. About 1.3 million senior citizens will be benefitted from the increased allowance.

Likewise, allowance for the disabled, single women, endangered ethnicities is also increased by Rs. 1,000.

Finance Minister Dr. Khatiwada has increased the insured money for the senior citizens to Rs. 100,000 and family health insurance scheme's coverage has also been increased to Rs. 100,000.

Work begins at Timure Port

Rasuwagadhi, Rasuwa, May 28

 The construction work at the Timure Dry Port in Timure of Rasuwa district has begun.

Chinese contractor Tibet Fuli Construction Group Company Limited (TFCGCL) is constructing the second dry port at the northern border of the country with facilities like quarantine office, customs office, intermodal transport office, parking yard, cargo warehouse and banks.

It is being built with the technical and financial support from China.

The first dry port at the northern border is built in Larcha, near Tatopani, which came into operation from Tuesday.

The Timure Dry Port will have the capacity to accommodate about 350 trucks and containers but in the initial phase, such facility will be for only about 70 trucks, said Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies Nabaraj Dhakal.

"It is an international port so it will have all facilities required to facilitate the cross-border trade. Model of Larcha Dry Port will be replicated in Timure as well," he said.

The developer of the port will complete the port in 30 months and hand it over to Nepal but it will be operated by a private company like other ports in the country. The Nepal Inter-Model Transport Development Board (NITDB) had signed an agreement with the Tibet Fuli earlier this month to construct the trade infrastructure that was on the cards for many years.

The Rs. 1.98 billion project spread in 8.5 hectares of land on the bank of the Bhotekoshi River will have separate entry and exit points. According to Homnath Bhattarai, Officer at the Rasuwa Customs Office, the port will expand along the river bank.

He said that the development of the Dry Port will promote more bilateral trade between the two countries from the Rasuwagadhi border since the current status of the border is pathetic.

While China has completed the construction of required infrastructure at its side in the Rasuwagadhi border, Nepal is yet to build the facilities. Miteri Bridge which is undertaken by the Chinese government is in the last phase of completion, but Nepal has failed to construct the immigration building at its side. The progress is very slow.

China has also agreed to build a two-lane road from Rasuwagadhi to Syaphrubesi within two years. Likewise, the Nepali Army has completed the track opening of the Betrawati-Mailung-Syaphrubesi road. As the Betrawati-Ramche-Dhunche-Syaphrubesi is long, narrow and damaged at multiple locations, containers and trucks are taking the newly opened road which goes along the Trishuli and Bhotekoshi rivers.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 29 May 2019. 

Budget Today

Kathmandu, May 28

 Finance Minister Dr. Yuba Raj Khatiwada is presenting the budget for the Fiscal Year 2019/20 at the Federal Parliament Wednesday afternoon.

This is the second time he is presenting the budget as the finance minister of the two-third majority government. However, this is the third federal budget.

Dr. Khatiwada had presented the federal budget of Rs. 1,315 billion for the current fiscal year 2018/19. The National Planning Commission, the apex planning body in the country, had indicated that this year's budget could be around Rs. 1,500 billion.

According to the principles and priorities of the Appropriation Bill 2019, the new budget will give priority to infrastructure development, cooperation among the three-tier governments, private sector investment and good governance.

Dr. Khatiwada indicated that the resources would be distributed among all the governments to support equitable development.

He is also for completing the multi-year infrastructure projects like roads, bridges, energy, irrigation, water supply and building construction. Railways, waterways, airports and urban infrastructure development are other priority areas for the government.

Similarly, the new budget is said to include large energy projects, including cross-country transmission lines and renewable energy generation, employment schemes and agricultural development projects. 

The Finance Minister also has hinted at some populist programmes in the budget. There are chances of increasing the salary of the government employees.

According to Dr. Khatiwada, socialism-oriented economic system, directive principles and fundamental rights as mentioned in the Constitution, government’s Policy and Programmes of Fiscal Year 2019/20, the 15^th Periodic Plan 2019/20-2024/25, and election manifesto of ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) will be the foundations of the budget.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 29 May 2019. 

Dharhara construction satisfactory: Gyawali

 Kathmandu, May 28: The company assigned to rebuild Dharhara, the iconic tower that collapsed in the 2015 Gorkha Earthquake, has started the 'raft foundation' work.

Project Manager of the GIETC-Raman JV, the contractor, Shyam Chandra Shrestha said that the construction work had been moving ahead with the desired speed and schedule.

He said that the company could work even faster if the local people extended required support.

Chief Executive Officer of the National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) Sushil Gyawali made an inspection of the construction work on Tuesday afternoon and said that the progress was satisfactory.

He said that the NRA was coordinating with the locals and expected more cooperation from them as they would get maximum benefit from the reconstruction.

The company is building Dharhara at a cost of Rs. 3.45 billion. There will be a 22-storey tower and extended infrastructure.

Bhimsen Thapa, the first Prime Minister of modern Nepal, had built the tower in 1832. The 9-storey structure had 213 steps in its spiral staircase to the top and a balcony on the seventh storey.

About 160 people were killed when the Dharhara collapsed after the 7.9 magnitude earthquake brought the tower down. The Dharahara is also known as Bhimsen Stambha.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 29 May 2019. 

Nepal progresses in child development

Kathmandu, May 28: Children born in Nepal today have a much better chance of growing up healthy, happy, educated and protected than the children born twenty years ago, a new report by Save the Children has found.

The Global Childhood Report 2019 ranks Nepal 133^rd out of 176 countries based on a range of indicators like infant mortality, access to education, malnutrition, child marriage and child labour.

According to the report, Nepal has progressed by 142 points in the past two decades. "The country has achieved huge reductions in child mortality, seeing a 59 per cent decrease since 2000, allowing more children to survive the first five years of life," read the report.

In addition, new national estimates suggest the child labour rate in Nepal has been slashed in half over decade while child marriage rates have been cut by one third in two decades.

But Save the Children says too many Nepali children are still missing out on the childhood they deserve, with some of the most vulnerable being left behind. 36 per cent of children aged 0-5 years are still malnourished and 37 per cent of children are engaged in some form of child labour.

“Our report shows that progress for Nepali children has been truly impressive. For that progress to be sustained, we encourage the government to increase investment in targeted interventions for the most vulnerable children, including newborns, early learners, girls, ethnic minorities and Dalits,” said Ned Olney, Country Director of Save the Children Nepal.

 Globally, at least 280 million children have improved health, education and are safer than at any time in the past two decades.

The report shows the world has made remarkable progress in protecting childhoods, thanks to strong political leadership, social investments, and the success of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Singapore tops the rankings as the country that best protects and provides for its children, with eight Western European countries and South Korea also ranking in the top 10.

The most dramatic progress was among some of the world’s poorest countries, with Sierra Leone making the biggest improvements since 2000, followed by Rwanda, Ethiopia and Niger. The Central African Republic ranks last, with Niger – despite recent progress - and Chad rounding out the bottom three countries where childhoods are most threatened.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily  on 29 May 2019. 

Port Authority in offing

The government is setting up Port Authority of Nepal to manage and regulate the dry ports in the country.

The Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies (MoICS) has recently given a final shape to the concept of the legal instrument required to establish and run the new institution.

"A concept paper on the act for the port authority has been prepared and recently sent to the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs and Ministry of Finance for their input," said Joint Secretary at the MoICS Nabaraj Dhakal.

He said that with growing number of dry ports the government had realised the need of a separate regulatory agency to manage the trade infrastructure.

The country has five Inland Container Depots (ICDs), two Integrated Check Posts (ICPs) and two Container Freight Stations (CFS) while two ICDs, one ICP and a CFS are being developed.

These trade infrastructures are managed by the Nepal Inter-model Transport Development Board (NITDB) – a government enterprise - which invites private sector companies to operate the ports and stations.

With the establishment of the authority, the regulator and operator will be separated.

"Private sector has shown interest to construct and operate the dry ports in different locations in the country. Since it’s a logistic business, the government has decided to remain only a regulator and allow private companies to run the port business," said Dhakal.

He said that the authority would replace the NITDB as the regulator and set new standards for the construction and operation of ports.

The first dry port was established in 2000 in Sirsiya, Birgunj of Parsa district which came into operation in 2004. Other dry ports or ICDs are in Biratnagar, Bhairahawa and Kakarvitta, and the fifth one at Larcha, Sindhupalchowk at Nepal-China border will come into operation within a week.

Similarly, dry ports in Timure of Rasuwa district at Rasuwagadhi border and Dodhara, Chandani of Kanchanpur district are also being constructed. The government has also proposed dry ports in Mahendranagar and Nepalgunj at Nepal-India border, and Yari, Nechung, Kimathanka and Olanchungola at Nepal-China border.

Likewise, Birgunj and Biratnagar have ICPs, and the third one will be built in Bhairahawa.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 27 May 2019. 

Govt launching cargo tracking system from next fiscal

Kathmandu, May 23: The government is launching the web-based ‘vehicle and consignment tracking system' to keep track of the whereabouts of the cargo carrying containers and trucks from the next fiscal year 2019/20.

The newly created digital system will be interlinked with the ASYCUDA at the Department of Customs (DoC) and affiliated with the computerised system of the Department of Inland Revenue (IRD).

With the implementation of the web-based vehicle tracking system and connection with the customs, inland revenue and revenue investigation departments, every business activity, from importers to the consumers, can be easily tracked which will make the tax-evasion more difficult.

The new computerised system is being developed by the Department of Revenue Investigation (DRI). It will facilitate the transport entrepreneurs, importers and businesses with the real-time update of the vehicular movement about their cargo and consignment.

 The DRI said that the tracking system will create greater transparency in import business, check the smuggling of goods and discourage the use of fake bill of the Value Added Tax (VAT).

As the government has already launched the Electronic Cargo Tracking System (ECTS) in container trucks carrying goods from Kolkata to Birgunj, it will have information of the cargo and consignments from Kolkata port to the godown of the businesspersons. 

The piloting of the new system will start next month, said Director General of DG Dirgha Raj Mainali at an interaction with the Nepal Chamber of Commerce on Thursday.

He said that the new system will eliminate the paper-based complex process which is in practice and has a mandatory provision to show the documents at every check point of the revenue investigation on the way.

"The transporters and importers have to submit the copy of the customs clearance and other documents at every revenue investigation check-post and register the vehicle. The web-based system will eliminate this cumbersome process and promote fair business," said Mainali.

In absence of effective cargo and consignment tracking system, some importers had transported second trip of goods with the same bill after two days and the DRI had to believe that the bill was for the same consignment.

In the last two-three years, the traders used fake VAT bill worth Rs. 8 billion. "When a trader imports goods with under-invoicing or smuggles it to Nepal, the customers do not get the bill of those goods and when asked they are handed over a fake receipt," said Mainali.

He warned the businesspersons of severe punishment on using fake bill which will be fine of 140 per cent of the amount cheated and jail term of up to two years.

President of NCC Rajesh Kazi Shrestha said that the web-based system could improve the doing business situation with faster movement of the goods and ensure greater transparency.

"But the government must make sure that the private sector is facilitated with the new system," he said.

In April 2018, the government had launched the ECTS in the container trucks that ferry goods from Kolkata to Birgunj.

According to the Asian Development Bank (ADB), which supported the new technology, the ECTS uses satellite positioning systems, cellular communications, radio frequency identification, and other web-based software to ensure the security of the cargo.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 24 May 2019. 

Insurers for voluntary merger, not forceful one

Kathmandu, May 22:

Stakeholders have recommended for voluntary merger of insurance companies rather than the forceful marriage between the two insurers.

Chairman of the Insurance Board (IB) Chiranjibi Chapagain said that the insurance sector regulator had given priority to the voluntary merger of insurance companies.

"However, there will not be a forceful merger between the insurers. IB aims at bringing down the number of insurance companies to improve the business and regulatory regime, but we want the companies taking it up voluntarily," he said while speaking at an interaction on 'Necessity and challenges of merger of insurance companies'.

According the directives for the merger of insurance companies, a life insurance company should have Rs. 2 billion paid up capital and a non-life insurance company Rs. 1 billion.

Earlier, the requirement was Rs. 200 million and Rs. 100 million respectively.

However, insurers raised the question about the back to back policy change in issuing licenses to about a dozen companies a couple of years ago and announcing merger policies now.

"We have just cleared the pending applications for the insurance companies. The IB is not confused about its policies, it’s the demand of the time," said Chapagain. "Licenses can be opened at times and closed for a certain period. Insurance penetration has increased due to the entry of new companies."

Insurance Expert, Dr. Rabindra Ghimire said that the insurance market in the country had demanded merger due to the difficulty in monitoring the large number of companies and shortage of human resources.

He suggested for horizontal merger – between the companies of same size and nature and maintained that such merger should be value-based not profit-based.

According to him, the government should create insurance-friendly legal environment, provide technical support, incentives and benefits, and help in the settlement of the grievances of the employees.

He pointed towards the policy gap about the companies that meet the target of paid-up capital requirement. "What option remains about decreasing the number of companies if all the companies increase the paid-up capital?" he asked.

He also suggested that both the regulator and market must be sure about the number of companies that the country needs currently and for the foreseeable future.

Saying that the increased number of insurance companies had contributed to the higher penetration of insurance, Dr. Ghimire said that the market achieved significant growth after 2001 and 2015 and the third would be 2019.

Vice-President of Nepal Insurers' Association (NIA) NP Pradhan said that merger was a timely call but there was a need of a solid strategy to make it happen and motivate the companies to go for the merger.

"Along with the merger and market strengthening, service quality must be improved. There is a challenge to make the sector disciplined," he said.

Former Secretary Bimal Wagle said that the companies should be motivated for the voluntary merger, but they should be provided with a cooling period of a couple of years.

Former president of NIA Bijaya Shah recommended to allow the companies that do not want to grow or operate service at limited geographical areas, to work with their small size.

The event was organised by IBN Media and Research with the support from the IB.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 23 May 2019. 

Govt unit set to produce drug for kidney dialysis

Kathmandu, May 20

Nepal Aushadhi Limited, a government drug enterprise, is all set to produce Haemodialysis Fluid, a drug needed for the kidney patients in dialysis, within a year.

It is setting up the Haemodialysis Unit, to product medicine for the kidney patients and support the government's free treatment drive as well as the private health institutions.

The government is providing free dialysis treatment to the kidney patients and the NAL will supply the medicine at reasonable rates compared to the foreign products currently available in the market.

"The new unit will come into operation by the end of the next fiscal year, around June 2020. We have given priority to setting up the new facility," said Acting General Manager of the company Bijaya Shree Ratna Bajracharya.

Nepal currently needs 1,600 set Haemodialysis fluid. The new plant will have the capacity to produce 1,600 units of the medicine, but in the beginning, it will produce only half of its capacity, said Bajracharya.  

According to him, the map of the plant has been already approved by the DDA and the plant will be set up soon. The Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies has supported the company with necessary funds to establish the new plant.

The oldest drug company in the country is also planning to produce albendazole, amzit and other tablet medicines.  

In 2017, it had announced to produce 10 different types of medicines within a year, but the process has been delayed due to the problems in public procurement system.

"We are having discussions with the Department of Drug Administration (DDA) and conducting research and development works," said Bajracharya.

As per the rule, the DDA provides license for the medicine production only after checking the quality stability of the drug for at least six months.

The company is currently producing Cetamol, glycerine, Jeevan Jal (oral rehydration solution) and distilled water.

Established in 1972 with the technical collaboration of the British Government, the company was producing tablets, capsules, liquids, oral powder, ointments and eye and nasal drops but went out of operation in 2009 as it could not follow the WHO-GMP Guidelines and Codes on Drug Manufacturing 1984. 

The company was reopened by the then Minister for Industry Nabindra Raj Joshi in May 2017 aiming to lessen the dependency of medicines on other countries, use domestic raw materials and herbs, counter the private sector monopoly and supply necessary drugs to the government at lower rates.

It plans to produce about 40 types of medicines, including anti-venom and anti-rabies vaccines.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 21 May 2019. 

Cane farmers call off strike

Sarlahi, May 20:

Sugarcane farmers of Sarlahi district in State 2 have called off their relay sit-in from Monday evening following a five-point agreement with the sugar mills.

Sugarcane farmers from the south-western part of the district were staging the relay sit-in from Sunday at the Shahid Chowk in Malangwa, the district headquarters, demanding the payment of the cane they sold to the sugar mills.

The District Administration Office had initiated dialogues between the industrialists and farmers.

As per the agreement, Annapurna Sugar Mill, Dhankaul will pay the liabilities of the previous years by mid-June this year. It has about Rs. 125 million liabilities of the previous years to the farmers. 

Similarly, it has also agreed to pay about Rs. 370 million, this year's liabilities, to the farmers by mid-October 2019.

The farmers have agreed not to obstruct the sugar supply from the mill, said Chief District Officer Drona Pokharel.

"From the earning of the sugar selling, 85 per cent money will be paid to the farmers and 15 per cent will be used to manage administrative work. Similarly, Mahalaxmi Sugar Mill, Bagdaha has also agreed to pay the liabilities of Rs. 490 million to the farmers at the earliest," he said.

The farmers said that the Annapurna had been cheating the farmers for many years.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 21 May 2019. 

Outer Ring Road back to the cards

Urban ministry excuses with lack of funds

Kathmandu, May 19:

The Development and Technology Committee (DTC) of the Federal Parliament has directed to continue the Outer Ring Road Project development which was almost shelved after the government could not find ways to acquire the land in the way of the road after the land-mafias sliced it to as small as 3 Anas pieces.

The situation is so worse that about 14,000 landowners should be compensated for about 8,000 ropanis of land in the Satungal-Chobhar section alone.

According to the project office, some 80,000 to 100,000 ropanis of land is required to be pooled for the 72-km road project which the government had proposed in 2005 with an aim to create greater mobility and reduce the traffic congestion in the valley.

The committee directed the Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD) to move the project forward in a land-pooling model from the next fiscal year 2019/20.

"The Outer Ring Road Project is crucial for the greater development of the Kathmandu Valley, construction of urban development and traffic management. So the MoUD must implement the project from the next fiscal," directed Kalyani Kumari Khadka, chair of the committee.

The DTC also directed the Ministry of Finance to ensure the resources required for the project.

Although the Detailed Project Report (DPR) of the much-hyped 72-km road project that would encircle most of the urban areas in the Kathmandu Valley was prepared in 2008, no progress has been made so far.

The government was successful in completing the DPR of the 6.6 km Satungal-Chobhar section of the project which was endorsed by the Cabinet in April 2018, raising the hope that the project would begin after remaining in papers for about 13 years. But the plan has failed to materialise.

The project cost according to the 2008 DPR was Rs. 72 billion, but experts say that it needs triple of that money if the project is to be developed now. Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur districts will have 35.08 km, 15.8 km and 21.05 km length of the road respectively.

But the MoUD hasn't included the project in its proposed budget and programmes for the next fiscal.

Speaking at the meeting, Minister for Urban Development Mohammad Ishtiyaq Rai said that the Ministry could not include the project in the budget due to the unavailability of resources.

"The ministry has the ceiling of just Rs. 32 billion. Given the number of cities across the country and need for the modern urban infrastructure development, we could not think about including the project of that size in the budget," he said.

Secretary at the Ministry Dr. Ramesh Prasad Singh said that additional budget of Rs. 24 billion was needed to address the programmes announced in the government's Policy and Programmes for the next fiscal year alone.

"The size of the budget provided to us will be insufficient for the development of multi-year projects, Bagmati and Dhobikhola corridors, relocation of the settlements at risks, and construction of federal parliament building and an international convention centre," he said.

The DTC has directed the MoUD to implement about a dozen plans and projects, including the outer ring road, integrated infrastructure, settlement relocation and waste management.

It asked the ministry to relocate the settlements at risk before the coming monsoon, prepare the DPR of the mega cities and smart cities, develop five cities in the Himalaya region, and start the construction of the building for the federal parliament and house for the parliamentarians.

Similarly, it also directed the MoUD to expedite the construction of the urban sewerage system and forge collaborations with other concerned ministries.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 20 May 2019. 

NCHL launches e-pay offer

Kathmandu, May 19:

Nepal Clearing House Ltd. (NCHL) has launched an offer campaign "Connect Garnuhos Ru.100 Paunuhos" (get connected and receive Rs. 100) starting from 15 May 2019 for the users of the connectIPS e-payment system.

The users will receive up to Rs 100 in their bank account under this offer.

Any new user, who enrols in connectIPS e-payment system, including verification of their mobile number and e-mail, will be eligible for Rs. 30.

Upon successfully linking the first bank account, including bank verification, the users will be eligible for additional Rs. 70. The offer is valid for a limited period and will be applicable for the first-linked bank account which is created during the campaign period.

Users can participate from www.connectips.com or use its mobile app available on android and iOS.

connectIPS is a standardized single payments platform introduced by NCHL. The transactions are processed directly through the bank accounts and does not require any intermediary for the services like online fund transfer, e-commerce payment, mobile wallet top-up, creditor/biller payments including government tax payments, Loksewa application fee payment, credit card bill payments, capital market related payments and similar.

It has already been subscribed by 55 banks and financial institutions among which 48 BFIs are now in operations.

The current per transaction limit in the system is up to NRs. 100,000 for online (web) and up to NRs. 5,000 for mobile app.

 Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 20 May 2019. 

Water schemes in offing for cities, States

Kathmandu, May 18: The Ministry of Water Supply (MoWS) has proposed Sustainable Water Supply and Sewerage Management Project to develop an integrated water supply and sewerage management system in the capital cities of all seven provinces and other 30 large cities.

The MoWS proposed to supply high quality drinking water for 24 hours to all the households of the project areas, develop sewerage systems with treatment plans and improve the environment.

Similarly, it has also proposed to implement Greater Pumping and Machinery strengthening Project to develop multistage pumping and other underground water pumping systems, make them sustainable and develop such water supply system with solar energy in the areas that do not have access to the national energy transmission.

Likewise, it has also proposed to provide technical assistance to the industrial areas, hospitals, residential areas, hotels and government and non-government industries for the development of wastage treatment plants and treat their sewerage and wastage before mixing it to the sewerage systems.

The Ministry has proposed to develop infrastructure to process sewerage water from at least 100,000 households in urban areas in its budget for the next fiscal year 2019/20.

The ministry plans to process at least 20 per cent sewerage with human excreta in the next five years.

"The hospitals, industrial areas and business establishments should treat the dirty water they produced before mixing it to the sewerage system. A new policy provision will be formulated and implemented from the next year," said Dipendra Nath Sharma, Secretary of the Ministry.

It has the budget ceiling of Rs. 32.57 billion for the next fiscal which would be managed from the government, grant and loans of Rs. 18.76 billion, Rs. 30 million and Rs. 13.77 billion respectively. Rs. 20.84 billion is capital budget.

Gemstones refinery in pipeline

Kathmandu, May 17: Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli on Friday said that the budget of the next fiscal year 2019/20 would include programme to develop the gem and jewellery sector.

"There is a need to promote the processing and export of the precious and semi-precious stones, gems and jewelleries. This sector can have significant contribution to the national economy," he said while inaugurating the Nepal International Gem and Jewellery Expo 2019 at the Department of Mines and Geology (DMG), Lainchaur.

According to the government's Policy and Programmes for the next fiscal, the government will promote the export of the refined gemstones and a gemstone refinery will be established.

The Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies has said that a refinery would be established in Surkhet of Karnali province. The province has a large gemstone mine in Jajarkot.

Similarly, the government plans to explore feasible gold mines in Dailekh district, precious stone and copper in Jajarkot district and uranium in Mustang district.

PM Oli suggested the private sector and the government agencies to explore, excavate and process and increase the export capacity.

Nepal is rich in natural resources but it has largely failed to tap the benefits from them them, he said. "We need to modernise the gem and jewelleries processing and business pattern. Nepal has the potential to be self-reliant in this sector."

But, he stated that maintaining quality to the gem and jewellery products should be given high importance as only the publicity and promotion wouldn't give the desired results in the business if the products were sub-standard.

President of the Federation of Nepalese Gold Silver Gem and Jewellery Associations (FNGSGJA) Ramesh Maharjan said that the expo was organised to promote Nepali gems, jewelleries and precious stones.

"Nepal has high quality precious and semi-precious stones. But we have failed to get the fair price of those gemstones. We have to promote our products in the international markets in order to get the appropriate price of the products," he said.

According to him, the expo is being organised to motivate entrepreneurs to find export markets and attract foreign direct investment (FDI) in the country.

"This will ultimately support the economic growth in the country," he said.

The expo will also feature workshop on processing and standards of gem, stones and minerals, exhibition of traditional and modern Nepali jewellery, seminar and business to business meetings and a fashion show.

A souvenir on the theme of the expo has also been published.

The expo features 60 stalls including 36 of gold and silver, 4 loose gems jewellery, 2 silver jewelry, 2 gems cutting, 12 rock and minerals and 4 education.

The expo is jointly organised by the DMG and FNGSGJA.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 18 May 2019.