Minister Khand takes updates on COVID-19, cold wave, snow fall

 Kathmandu, Jan. 29

Minister for Home Affairs Bal Krishna Khand has taken updates about the COVID-19, cold wave and snow fall from the chief district officers of 20 districts across the country.

He conducted telephone conversation with the CDOs to get information about the situation in the Terai amid cold waves and mountains amid snow fall, and distribution of warm clothes and firewood to save poor and disabled people, said the Ministry of Home Affairs.

He sought information related to the number of vaccinated people in the districts, statue of peace and security, and distribution of warm clothes.

Minister Khand talked to Rabindra Acharya, CDOs of Manang, Dadeldhura, Gorkha, Taplejung, Bajhang and Solukhumbu districts –  Rabindra Acharya, Prem Raj Joshi, Shankar Hari Acharya, Umesh Pandey, Baburam Aryal and Ganesh Bikram Shahi respectively.

He also held telephone conversation with Rom Bahadur Mahat, CDO of Mugu, Phanindra Dahal, CDO of Khotang, Dil Kumar Tamang, CDO of Okhaldhunga, Indra Dev Yadav, CDO of Sunsari, Birendra Kumar Yadav, CDO of Udayapur, and Suresh Neupane, CDO of Panchthar.

Likewise, conversations were held with Bed Nidhi Khanal of Sindhupalchok, Madhav Prasad Dhungana of Ilam, Nawaraj Jaisi of Rasuwa, Chiranjivi Rana of Myagdi, Sushil Baidya of Lamjung, Janardan Gautam of Saptari, Krishna Bahadur Shahi of Rautahat, and Devi Pandey Khatri of Parbat district.

The government has directed the districts to distribute warm clothes in Terai and mountains about two-and-a-half months ago. According to the ministry, the Minister has taken updates about the progress of the same.

Tamang, CDO of Okhaldhunga, said that Minister Khand had sought updates about the status of COVID-19 contagion in the district, progress in vaccination drive, condition about isolation, peace and security status and the distribution of warm clothes.

He has also asked for information about the coronavirus contagion in the people coming to Nepal from other countries.

Dhungana, CDO of Ilam, said that the Minister also sought information about the status of the disease in the people coming through the border points, rate of recovery and running of schools in the district. 

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 30 January 2021. 

Contractor reaches the site of Melamchi head works to clear debris

Kathmandu, Jan. 28

More than seven months after the intake of the Melamchi Water Supply Project (MWSP) was buried by debris brought by massive floods in the Melamchi River in Sindhupalchowk on 15 June 2021, works have begun to clear them.

Chinese contractor Sino Hydro has recently moved heavy equipment to the site and begun preparations to remove the debris from Friday, said Bashu Dev Paudyal, Executive Director of the Melamchi Water Supply Development Board.

According to him, the work will be executed in a way so that the water from the Melamchi River can be brought to the Kathmandu Valley by the Nepali New Year 2079, on 14 April 2022.

"In the first phase, the debris obstructing the water from channellising into the tunnel connecting the river and reservoir in Sundarijal of Kathmandu will be removed so that the water could be brought to the valley temporarily," said Paudyal, who returned from the site on Friday after making an observation of the preparation made by the contractor.

A temporary access road to the MWSP's head works was recently opened. The road was severely damaged by the torrential rains and subsequent landslides in monsoon last year. As the landslides jeopardised the human settlement above the road, the infrastructure could not be repaired or developed until the monsoon ceased.

The board has extended the deadline to complete the construction of the head works by mid-July this year as per the decision of a Cabinet meeting a couple of weeks ago, and directed the Sino Hydro to reach the site. The cost of the contract has also gone up by Rs. 320 million with the time overrun.

The cost variation is made for the contractor to clear the debris deposited at the head works.

Earlier in October 2019, the board had signed a contract with Sino Hydro with a mandate to complete the construction of head works in 15 months.

Paudyal said that the actual cost of the project could be calculated after clearing the debris as it is not known whether the head works constructed before the floods is intact.

According to the primary estimates made in August last year, the floods caused damages of about Rs. 2 billion to the project and the head works was buried about 15-20 metres down the debris.

The contractor had completed the construction of civil works of the head works, leaving only a small amount of hydro-mechanical and electrical works to complete.

The project had started distributing the water from the Melamchi River by the end of March 2021 while President Bidya Devi Bhandari had inaugurated the water distribution on April 2 last year.

The Rs. 36 billion project was conceptualised about five decades ago has completed about two decades after its commencement with multiple deadline extensions and cost overrun.

In the first phase, the national pride project will distribute 170 million litres of water a day – half of the total water that is being brought to the Kathmandu Valley from the Melamchi River in Sindhupalchok district via a 26.5 kilometre tunnel.

Another 340 million litres water would be brought to the valley from the Yangri and Larke rivers in Sindhupalchok through the same tunnel.

According to the board, water from the Yangri and Larke rivers could be brought to the valley within the next four years. The Yangri river is 9 km away from Melamchi head works and Larke is further 2 kilometres away from Yangri.

A 9-km-long tunnel will be built up to Yangri while the tunnel to Larke will have two parts, one for water and another for vehicular movement.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 29 January 2021. 

Good performers will receive additional budget: FM Sharma

Kathmandu, Jan. 28

Finance Minister Janardan Sharma 'Prabhakar' has said at the federal government will extend additional budgetary support to those subnational governments that perform well in capital expenditure.

"The governments that offer better services to people and perform well in mobilising development budget will have the facility of higher budget allocation," he said while speaking at a virtual meeting of the thematic intergovernmental committee on finance on Friday.

Earlier, he had made an announcement that the government expending more capital budget would receive a larger amount, according to a statement issued by his secretariat. "If you experience short of money for development projects and demand it from the federal government, you will get it when needed," he said.

He appreciated the role of local and provincial government during the COVID-19 pandemic and said that the federal government has noted their good works and would assimilate them in the next budget.

FM Sharma also assured that the demands of the provincial governments would get a policy address in the future, and the federal government would consult with the National Planning Commission and Nepal Rastra Bank for the same.

He stressed the need for a new policy to discourage the duplication of development programmes and projects.

The intergovernmental committee is formed as per the Article 22 of the Federal, Province and Local Level (Coordination and Inter-relations) Act, 2020.

The meeting was attended by the ministers for economic affairs and planning from all provinces.

They said that the provinces could not perform well in mobilising capital budget due to the mistrust among the governments at various levels, lack of rights on resources and human resources, absence of policy and plans without detailed study. 

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 29 January 2021. 

Xiaomi launches Redmi Note 11 at Rs. 24,999

 Kathmandu, Jan. 28

Xiaomi launched Redmi Note 11 in Nepali market on Thursday.

The phone features50 MP main camera, 8MP ultra-wide camera, 2 MP macro camera and 2MP depth camera, allowing the users capture and picture in high resolution and true-to-life details. The 8MP ultra-wide-angle camera extends user's perspective with a 118-degree viewing angle, and the 2MP macro camera captures fine details from up close, said the company in a statement.

The front of the phone features a 13MP front camera that can capture clear, natural-looking selfies.

Redmi Note 11's screen has a high refresh rate of up to 120Hz and a touch sampling rate of up to 360Hz.

It features dual super linear speakers located at the top and bottom of the phone which offer a complete entertainment experience with immersive stereo sound for gaming or watching videos.

It comes with a Snapdragon 680 processor and a 5,000mAh capacity battery. It is available in twilight blue, graphite gray and start blue. Phone's 4GB +64 GB is priced at Rs. 22,999 while 4GB +128 GB comes at Rs. 24,999 and 6GB +128 GB at Rs. 26,999. 

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 29 January 2021. 

Japan Provides 10 billion Yen to Nepal for Economic Growth and Resilience

 Kathmandu, Jan. 25

Japan has decided to extend loan assistance of up to 10 billion Japanese Yen, about Rs. 10.4 billion, to Nepal as a policy loan for economic growth and resilience.

Kikuta Yutaka, Ambassador of Japan to Nepal, and Madhu Kumar Marasini, Secretary of the Ministry of Finance, signed notes to this effect on Tuesday, the Embassy of Japan in Kathmandu said in a statement.

Likewise, another set of Loan Agreements for implementing the project was signed by Asakuma Yumiko, Chief Representative of JICA Nepal, and Ishwori Prasad Aryal, Joint Secretary, of the International Economic Cooperation and Coordination Division at the MoF.

The agreement was signed with the condition of 40 years repayment and 10 years grace period with 0.01 per cent interest annually.

This Loan aims at supporting Nepal in its reform program through co-financing with the Nepal Programmatic Fiscal Policy for Growth, Recovery and Resilience Development Policy Financing by the International Development Association (IDA).

Ambassador Kikuta stated that Japan has provided multifaceted support to Nepal to prevent and control the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 26 January 2021. 

Ambassadors present LoC to Cambodian king, Iraqi president

Kathmandu, Jan. 25

Ambassador of Nepal to Thailand, Ganesh Prasad Dhakal has presented his Letters of Credence as non-resident Ambassador to Cambodia to its King, Preah Bat Samdech Preah Boromneath Norodom Sihamoni, on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Ambassador of Nepal to Kuwait, Durga Prasad Bhandari, presented his Letters of Credence as the non-resident ambassador to Iraq to its President, Barham Salih, on January 20, said the embassy in a statement.

The Embassy of Nepal in Bangkok and Kuwait City are accredited to Cambodia and Iraq respectively.

Both the ambassadors conveyed the greetings and best wishes from President, Bidya Devi Bhandari, and Prime Minister, Sher Bahadur Deuba, as well as from the people of Nepal for personal good health and happiness of the respective head of the states and, and for the continued progress and prosperity of their people, the embassies said in separate statements.

The King of Cambodia cherished Nepal as the birthplace of Lord Buddha and also expressed his confidence that the friendly, cordial and cooperative relations between the two countries would be further strengthened in the days to come.

Likewise, Iraqi President said that his country would like to increase its engagement with Nepal on matters of global concerns as well as on bilateral matters for further enhancing the relations on political, economic, trade and other areas.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 26 January 2021. 

ASOCIO appoints Kunwar as VC

Kathmandu, Jan. 25

President of Computer Association of Nepal (CAN) Federation, Nawaraj Kunwar, is appointed Vice Chairman of the Asian-Oceanian Computing Industry Organisation (ASOCIO).

In a letter sent to Kunwar, ASOCIO’s Chairman David Wong, confirmed his appointment to Co-Opt as Vice Chairman for the term ending on December 31, 2022.

“As co-opt VC and Member of the Board, we seek your support to contribute to the organisation’s objective in delivering value and benefit to our members,” read the letter.

The ASOCIO was established in 1984 and is an ICT federation organised by ICT associations of 24 countries in Asia and the Pacific.

It organises various activities such as digital summit, plenary meeting, multilateral trade visit, and smart city summit in member countries.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 26 January 2022. 

Stop illegal import of mushroom: farmers

 Kathmandu, Jan. 27

Mushroom Producer Farmers Association has demanded control of the illegal import of mushroom in Nepal.

“Recently, mushroom is being imported from various markets in India and other countries by using chemicals that prevents the produce from being damaged. Such mushroom is sold at many markets across the country,” the association said the other day demanding a strong monitoring of imports at the customs points and implement control measures to check the illegal imports.

President of association Santosh Karki claimed that mushroom is illegally sent to Nepal with an aim to replace the domestic product. “Without using pesticides and harmful materials, mushrooms can’t be kept for many days. These chemicals make the ‘superfood’ inedible. Therefore, the government must act to stop its import,” he said in a statement.

Likewise, vice-president of the association and chairman of Karnali Province Committee, Bijaya Gyawali said that while the price of most of the daily consumable goods was increasing in the international markets, price of mushroom has not gone up as expected.

“But we are running the enterprise despite these adversaries and providing jobs to many. Nepali farmers are not getting a reasonable price for their organic products while imported sub-standard produces have filled up the baskets in the market,” he said.

A central-level delegation of the association has already submitted a memorandum to the plant quarantine office, customs offices and district administration offices.

The association said that Indian mushroom is being imported under invoiced which has affected the domestic farmers.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 28 January 2022.  

Population reaches 29.19 million, birth rate dives to 0.93%

Kathmandu, Jan. 26

There are 29,192,480 people in Nepal, said the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) while announcing the preliminary results of the Census 2021 that conducted in November last year.

The numbers are higher by 2.69 million compared to the last census conducted in 2011. The size of population was 26.49 million then. This is the increase of 10.18 per cent in a decade.

According to the CBS report published on Wednesday, the birth rate in the country has also gone down to 0.93 per cent against 1.35 per cent a decade ago. Population growth rate is highest – 3.32 per cent – in Bhaktapur.

The ratio of male population against female is increased this time. There were 94.16 males for 100 females in 2011 and now it is 95.91 males. "There are 14,291,311 males and 14,901,169 females – 48.96 per cent and 51.04 per cent respectively. A decade ago, the percentage was 48.5 per cent males and 51.5 per cent females," said the CBS.

Number of families up by a quarter

Likewise, there are 6,761,059 families in the country, they live in 5,643,945 houses. It means about 12 families live in 10 houses. The increase in the number of families in the last 10 years is 24.57 per cent, about 1.33 million new households are found by the census. This increment is partly backed by the family split in the district affected by the 2015 earthquake in order to obtain the housing reconstruction grant of Rs. 300,000 provided by the government.

The census found that there are 4.32 members in a family on an average. The size of the family is decreased compared to the census in 2011 when there were 4.88 people in a family. There are 4.55 members in a family in the rural areas and 4.25 members in the cities.

The size of family in the mountains, hills and Terai is 4.27, 3.95 and 4.65 members.

Madhes has 6.12 million people

Madhes province has the largest size of population among the seven provinces.

About 6,126,288 people live in Madhes while there are 1,694,889 people in Karnali Province.

In terms of districts, Kathmandu has the largest population – 2.17 million. Morang, Rupandehi, Jhapa and Sunsari are among the districts that have highest number of people living. But Manang has only 5,674 people. Other districts having smaller size of population are Mustang, Dolpa, Rasuwa and Humla. Fully 32 districts in hill and mountain region have negative population growth rate. This number is larger than five districts compared to the census in 2011.

About 63 per cent people in the country live in urban areas and 37 per cent in rural areas against 17 per cent 83 per cent respectively a decade ago.

198 people per square km

Population density in the country has reached 198 people per square kilometre. It was 180 people per square km in 2011. Population density in Terai is 461 people per square km and in mountains 34 people per square km.

The highest density, district wise, is in Kathmandu with 5,108 people living in a square km while only three people live in a square km in Manang. Bhaktapur, Lalitpur, Dhanusha and Mahottari are the districts with top population density. Likewise, Manang, Mustang, Dolpa and Humla have the lowest density – less than 10 people per square km.

Similarly, Kathmandu, Pokhara, Bharatpur, Lalitpur and Birgunj are the municipalities with highest population while Thuli Bheri, Tripura Sundari, Madi, Laligurans and Jiri have the smallest population in municipalities.

Kathmandu's population is 865,906 while Thuli Bheri's 10,186. According to the CBS, 14 municipalities have less than 20,000 population while 39 have more than 100,000 people.

Among the rural municipalities, Baijanath has 90,315 people and Narpabhumi has 442 people. Fifteen rural municipalities have more than 50,000 people.

The CBS also said that although census activities couldn't be conducted in Lipulek, Limpiyadhura and Kalapani region, the size of estimated population in these areas is between 500-600.

Delayed census

The COVID-19 pandemic has delayed the survey and results of the census 2021.

The CBS was planning to conduct household listing in May last year and questionnaire fill up in June. But the second wave of coronavirus pandemic and lockdown disturbed the schedule and CBS announced a new time-table for the task.

All activities of the Census 2021 were suspended by the government on 2 May 2021. The survey was conducted in November last year.

First census in Nepal was conducted in 1911 during the Rana regime. 

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 27 January 2022. 

Dhauligiri Laghubitta announces IPO

 Kathmandu, Jan. 26

Sunrise Capital Limited is appointed as the manager of the Initial Public Offering (IPO) of the Dhaulagiri Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited.

Dhaulagiri, a microfinance company situated in Baglung Municipality, has announced the IPO of 300,000 units of primary shares.

Chief Executive Officer of the microfinance, Min Bahadur Bohara, and CEO of Sunrise, Bijaya Lal Shrestha, signed an agreement on Wednesday to execute the offering.

Dhaulagiri started its business as the national level microfinance institution three years ago and by mid-January 2022, the company has expanded its services to 46 branch offices in 20 districts.

It is offering microfinance services to 34,438 members through 191 staff, said the company in a statement. The company has mobilised Rs. 1.44 billion in loans and collected the deposits of Rs. 621.4 million.

Dhaulagiri Laghubitta has paid up capital of Rs. 70 million and with the execution of IPO, it will reach Rs. 100 million. It has earned income of Rs. 26 million by the end of the last fiscal year. 

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 27 January 2022. 

NCC suggests trade facilitation to promote export

Kathmandu, Jan. 25

Nepal Chamber of Commerce (NCC) has suggested the government for trade facilitation in a way it supports the promotion of export business.

“It is necessary to manage export rather than checking it. The government should expand the scope of the tax rather than increasing the rates,” NCC President Rajendra Malla said at a programme organised on Tuesday to mark the 70^th International Customs Day.

He said that the businessmen had to undergo unnecessary troubles as the government failed to implement the one-door system. He urged to implement a fully digitilised system in customs administration.

He drew attention of Finance Secretary Madhu Kumar Marasini to the worsening economic situation in the country as most of the economic indicators were negative. “The government should conduct a review of its policies and plans as well as implementation modalities since the trade deficit has reached Rs. 880 billion.

In response, Marasini maintained that although indicators were negative, economy has not reached the worst level.

He also said that the pressure on the economy was created by the increased economic activities after the second wave of the COVID-19. He reiterated that the country would achieve the economic growth target set by the government.

On the occasion, NCC honoured Director of the Department of Customs Ram Prasad Regmi for his excellent service at the office. Regmi has served at the department for 15 years.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 26 January 2022. 

‘Political will, not elections, ensure stability’

Kathmandu, Jan. 19

Former chief election commissioners and experts have said that elections alone do not ensure stability of the government and good governance.

They cited lack of political will and confidence for the inability of any government to complete a full term of five years in Nepal.

"Stability and good governance are not related to the electoral systems," former chairman of the Nepal Law Commission Madhav Poudel said at an interaction on 'Reforms in electoral system and management' organised virtually by the Policy Research Institute on Wednesday.

He cited examples from the neighbourhood and elsewhere to illustrate that the coalition governments have performed well there.

"Look at India, the Manmohan Singh-led government was a coalition government, but it completed five years. Likewise, the first government led by Narendra Modi was also backed by an alliance and it served the full tenure," he said.

Poudel also stated that Nepali political leaders' have the convictions that the House of Representatives (HoR) could be dissolved at any time on their whim.

Khimlal Devkota, a lawmaker, said that a pre-poll coalition is better than the post-poll alliance as the latter is primarily driven with the objective of reaching the power, staying there and, sometimes exploiting national resources for party and individual benefits.

On the contrast, pre-election coalition can contribute to the political stability, he maintained.

However, political analyst Tula Narayan Shah opposed the idea and said that the pre-election coalition also couldn't contribute to the political stability in case of Nepal.

“See the latest example of the pre-election coalition between the CPN-UML and CPN-MC,” he said. 

The two parties had made an election alliance and later merged into one but their government failed to complete its full term, instead the party is now fragmented into three with the erstwhile CPN-UML's former general secretary Madhav Nepal forming a new political party – CPN (Unified Socialists).

Dolakh Bahadur Gurung, former Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), said that while the elections are getting more expensive, they are not helping a political party to get majority in the parliament.

 He expressed concerns over the right representation, and said that most of the political parties are not serious about the inclusive representations.

He suggested reforms in current election system with an overhaul in the proportional representative structure.

Elections do not help inclusion

Shyam Shrestha, another political analyst, said that the present electoral system cannot ensure political stability and fair representation of women.

Despite inclusion policy, only 18 chairperson or mayors are elected in 753 local bodies and 62 ward chairs in 6473 wards across the country.

He said that present electoral system cannot ensure the fair representation of women, Dalits and Muslims so there should be a mandatory inclusive policy for the direct (first-past-the-post) elections.

According to Shrestha, elections have become highly expensive. Only the rich, elites and corrupt people can contest elections.

The experts also said that the proportional representation has been a hostage of nepotism in all political parties.

Reforms are needed

Dr. Ayodhi Prasad Yadav, former CEC, said that that the current system is historic and better system compared to other countries. It fits the political situation and economic condition.

However, he suggested some reforms in the electoral system, and maintained that most of the malpractices and corruptions are not the product of elections rather of the mentality of the political leaders.

Pradip Pokharel, chairman of the Election Observation Committee Nepal, said that the businesses that want to twist national policies according to their requirement fund candidates that are ready to dance to their tunes.

"Hence, candidates from middle and lower middle class having less influence do not dare to contest the elections," he said.

Nahakul KC, Chief Executive Officer of the Institute for International Development (IID), said that the proportional election system should be redefined or restructured and it must not remain for an indefinite period.

"Inclusion policy should be based on economic and geographical definitions not only on ethnicity and caste," he said.

The experts also suggested running periodic capacity building programmes for the representatives of the local bodies and reducing proportional representation size to 10-15 per cent in the House of Representatives.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 20 January 2022. 

China defends entry restriction to Nepali students, goods

Kathmandu, Jan. 14

The Chinese Embassy in Kathmandu, said the other day that it noticed reports on Nepali students' getting trouble while returning to China to complete their studies, and the northern neighbour encroached Nepali land, and imposed a blockade on Nepal.

Issuing a statement, it reiterated that the Chinese side opened one-way cargo transportation to Nepal by overcoming great difficulties and has continuously enhanced the ports' cargo handling capacity. According to the embassy, this has played an important role in ensuring the supply of anti-pandemic and livelihood materials in Nepal.

It also claimed that since the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, China has provided Nepal with a large amount of medical materials, including vaccines and liquid oxygen, which has strongly helped Nepal withstand the impact of the pandemic.

"At present, the fluctuating pandemic has caused difficulties in personnel and material exchanges among countries around the world, including China and Nepal. The top priority for all countries is to unite to fight against the pandemic and jointly defeat it," read the statement.

It also pledged to work with Nepal to overcome the present difficulties and make efforts to restore the economy and normal personnel exchanges.

Likewise, the embassy reiterated that the two countries had resolved the boundary issue through friendly consultations as early as the 1960s, and there is no dispute at all.

Meanwhile, Nepali students are complaining in the social media that many of them have stuck in Nepal and are unable to return to various Chinese cities to continue with their higher education.

Similarly, the business community has long been complaining that it was difficult to trade with China after the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the statistics of the Department of Customs, in the first five months of the current Fiscal Year 2021/22, about 15 per cent of the total imported goods were from China while export to the northern neighbour is just 0.37 per cent.

Nepal imported goods worth Rs. 122.19 billion from China in five months but exports to the latter is of just Rs. 381 million. With this Nepal is witnessing the trade deficit of Rs. 121.8 billion. 

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 15 January 2022. 

CNI urges ambassador to attract FDI, technology, tourists

Kathmandu, Jan. 14

The Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI) has urged the proposed Ambassador to the United States of America, Shridhar Khatri, to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) in Nepal, assist in technology transfer, promote exports and emphasize on tourism promotion.

During a discussion held at the CNI office on Friday, President Bishnu Kumar Agrawal urged Ambassador Khatri to establish easy access of Nepal's specialized products to the US market.

CNI urged him to emphasize on the promotion of FDI in Nepal as there is investment potential in many areas. Similarly, as the USA is a good market for readymade garments and hard cheese produced in Nepal, entrepreneurs also emphasized on the promotion of such items.

Agrawal also requested Khatri to take initiative to maintain the trade facilities that would be lost with Nepal's graduation from the Least Developed Country (LDC) in 2026. "Only a few items from Nepal are being exported to the United States. Special initiatives should be taken to promote them," he said.

Stating that Nepal needs to build quality infrastructure, Agrawal stressed on the need to implement the agreement reached between Nepal and the US assistance project Millennium Challenge Corporation with the approval of the Parliament. "The private sector has called for this agreement to be taken forward," he said.

Immediate Past President of CNI, Satish Kumar More, mentioned that Nepal would be an investment opportunity with a big market for the American investors as the export of Nepali products to India would get special benefits as per the trade agreement between the two countries.

CNI also stressed on strengthening economic diplomacy between Nepal and the USA.

In response, Ambassador Khatri said that he would move ahead on economic issues in cooperation with the private sector.

He also pledged for taking initiative to make Nepal's specialized products easily accessible in the US market and facilitating the entry of Nepali goods there.

Meanwhile, CNI on Friday handed over humanitarian aid to SAARC member country Afghanistan. Agrawal handed over relief items to Foreign Minister Dr. Narayan Khadka on behalf of CNI.

Receiving the aid materials, Minister Khadka said that the Government of Nepal and the private sector have provided exemplary assistance in the crisis in the neighboring countries. "The government has called on the private sector, you have provided assistance," Khadka said. "This action has strengthened the cooperation between the government and the private sector."

CNI handed over medicine worth about Rs. 2.3 million to help solve the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan. The items will be sent to Kabul on Sunday.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 15 January 2022. 

Nabil bank to distribute 38 per cent dividend

Kathmandu, Jan. 14

The 37^th Annual General Meeting of Nabil Bank Limited has ratified the company's resolution to distribute 38 per cent dividend (33.6 per cent bonus shares and 4.4 per cent cash dividend) from the profits of Fiscal Year 2021/22.

It has earned the highest profit among private sector banks - Rs. 4.53 billion. The bank has earned 15.19 per cent returns on its wealth and earnings per share is Rs. 33.57. With this, the balanced sheet of the bank has reached Rs. 291 billion.

After the proposed bonus share from the profits of the last fiscal year, the bank's capital has increased to Rs. 18.49 billion.

Chairman of the bank, Upendra Poudel said that the bank has got success in modernising Nepal's banking sector, giving impetus to business and industrial activities in the country, and creating employment opportunities in the country.

According to him, the bank is focused on maintaining a good and reliable bank and has given high priority to institutional good governance and customer satisfaction.

Meanwhile, the meeting of the Board of Directors of the bank on Friday re-elected Prasad as the chairman of the Board of Directors. He represents NB (International) on the BoD.

Nabil Bank has 135 branches, 187 ATMs and more than 1500 Nabil remittance agents nationwide.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 15 January 2022.

Private sector seeks govt support in reducing cost of production

 Kathmandu, Jan. 13: The private sector demanded structural adjustments and policy facilitation to reduce the cost of production and enhance the quality of product in order to boost export of made in Nepal goods.

Without reliable quality and standardisation of the products, export promotion would be impossible, business leaders said at an interaction on ‘Balancing bilateral relations in multilateral trading’ organised by Nepalese Association of Financial Journalists (NAFIJ) and Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies (MoICS) on Wednesday.

President of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), Shekhar Golchha, said that although Nepal signed most of the regional and multilateral trade agreements to improve its image internationally, this couldn’t be reflected in trade benefits.

“If we reduce the arbitrage from the exports, we have a very small size of exports. Importing duty free or low-duty goods and exporting to India does not help the country in the long run,” he said.
Golchha suggested to expedite the construction of dry ports, container freight stations, highways and integrated check posts in order to facilitate export promotion.

He also said that Nepal should stop begging favoured nation benefits from the developed countries, instead reduce the cost of production and increase trade competitiveness.

SAFTA did not benefit Nepal
Vice Chairman of the Confederation of Nepalese Industries, Krishna Prasad Adhikari, said that the regional trade agreement, SAFTA, couldn’t help Nepali producers much as Nepali traders import finished goods with 5.5 per cent duty while producers pay 15 per cent duty for raw materials.
He urged the government and private sector to have clear understanding of the demand and need of the destination market.

Likewise, Vice president of the Nepal Chamber of Commerce, Dipak Shestha, demanded facilitation and protection for every product that helps in reducing trade deficit. “Under SAFTA, Nepal is importing the goods which could be produced in a lower cost within the country,” he said.
President of Federation of Export Entrepreneurs of Nepal, Ram Bahadur Gurung, suggested to develop trade infrastructure and domestic as well as international market for the trade growth.

‘Exploit indigenous strength’
Dr. Posh Raj Pandey, Trade Expert, suggested that the government should not run after the donor-supported programme but should try to exploit the indigenous strength in commerce and industry.
Former Ambassador and Secretary, Dr. Madhu Raman Acharya, said that Nepal should develop confidence while graduating to the developing country status from the least developed country.

“The country should practice commercial and trade diplomacy for the promotion of Nepal’s export and work to attract foreign investment instead of lobbying to continue the present discounts and facilities,” he said.
Dr. Ramesh Poudel, Associate Professor at the Tribhuvan University, said that the private sector should help the government with the projection of its production while the latter should enhance the capacity of infrastructure.

Import substitution is key
Dr. Ram Kumar Phuyal, Member of the National Planning Commission, said that import substitution is key to resolve many problems in trade and manufacturing. “Some structural changes are required to facilitate the producers to lower the cost of production and enhance the export of goods with competitive advantage,” he said.

Stating that there are constraints in logistics and supply chains, Dr. Phuyal said that the government has launched initiation for technology-friendly laws, infrastructure and policy development.
Secretary of the MoICS, Arjun Prasad Pokharel said that interdependency is the pragmatic trade approach and the country should not aim to produce everything and try to export all of them.
He said that quality, low cost, efficient logistics and trade practice and intelligence are the priority of the government. 

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 12 January 2022.

CAN postpones Infotech fair considering COVID surge

Kathmandu, Jan. 11

The CAN Infotech 2022 is postponed due to the increasing rate of coronavirus contagion.

Issuing a press statement, the Computer Association of Nepal (CAN) Federation said on Tuesday that the 27^th edition of the largest exhibition of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is halted until further notice.

"Preparations were at the final stage to organise the Infotech at the Bhrikutimandap Exhibition Centre from February 1 to 6. IME Pay and Smart Choice Technologies have sponsored the event but the event is postponed due to health risk posed by the pandemic," General Secretary of CAN Federation, Narayan Thapa, said.

The CAN Federation has postponed the event considering the raging expansion of COVID-19 contagion, and the decisions of the COVID-19 Crisis Management Centre (CCMC) and districts in the Kathmandu Valley.

Earlier, the organiser had announced that the exhibition would be organised in hybrid from – physically at the Bhrikutimandap as wells as online.

The expo was halted last year due to the pandemic and subsequent lockdown. It has been organised regularly since 1995. 

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 12 January 2022.

Thai Smile Airways appoints Society Int'l as its GSA

Kathmandu, Jan. 11

Thai Smile Airways has announced Society International Travel Services as its General Sales Agent (GSA) for the Nepali market.

As per the agreement, Society will provide sales, marketing, and airport operational services as well as full customer and agency support services for the airways.

Through this agreement, Thai Smile intends to tap the opportunity in Nepali market by strengthening the services and facilities and to bridge the gap between Nepal and Thailand by providing air connectivity on this route previously served by Thai Airways International since 1968.

Rabi Chandra Singh, Chairman of Society, said that Thai Smile Airways flight between Kathmandu and Bangkok will assist in bringing both Thailand and Nepal closer to each other as well as boosting the economies of both nations.

Both the countries consider tourism as one of the strong pillars of their economies.

Viset Sontichai, Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Airways, said that the move represents the success of the company's strategy aimed at increasing connectivity between Bangkok and other major cities in Asia. 

"We believe that this new direct passenger flight will add another desirable dimension to Thailand-Nepal relations. And in so many ways, bringing fresh promise to our business and trade ties, to our respective roles as Asian Regional trade fair capitals, and to our cultural and tourism development," he said.

Thai Smile Airways is a Thai regional airline operator of short and medium-haul flights and a fully owned subsidiary of Thai Airways International PLC headquartered in Bangkok. 

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 12 January 2022.

‘Secured Transfer’ service launched

Kathmandu, Jan. 9

Payment service provider eSewa has launched 'Secured Transfer' service in its operation for the first time. This feature allows the users to securely pay money and provide goods even to the strangers.

Ashish Gautam, Chief Manager of eSewa, said that the new addition to the service was launched to discourage the growing trend to asking money but not delivering the goods.

With this feature, all eSewa users can safely send money to another eSewa wallet. This feature can be used for remittances amounting above Rs. 1,000. The money will be released only after the goods are delivered to the buyer. “The sender of the goods should have to click on the request button upon the delivery of the goods and the recipient will release the money,” said Gautam.

The person sending the money will have to release the amount only after receiving the goods or services. If there was a dispute over whether the goods have been sent or not, it will be possible to make a complaint to eSewa with proof.

“eSewa believes this will also reduce fraudulent transactions,” said Gautam.

However, this feature is available for a fee. The ‘Secure Transfer’ feature can be used in over Rs. 1000 transactions. There will be a fee of Rs. 5 for transactions between Rs. 1,000 to Rs. 5,000 and Rs. 10 for transactions above Rs 5,000.

The feature is available in manual and automatic modes. 

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 10 January 2022.

Tourism activities with health safety suggested

Kathmandu, Jan. 9

 The Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) has held discussions with organisations and individuals concerned with the tourism sector as the transmission of the new variant Omicron of COVID-19 is on the rise.

On the occasion, private sector organisations and tourism entrepreneurs have suggested making tourism viable with adherence to health and safety protocols.

They have also urged the government not to take a sudden decision to shut the businesses and restrict the activities. They said that tourism had collapsed in the past due to the sudden shutdown announced in the wake of COVID-19 contagion.

In response, Dr. Dhananjay Regmi, Chief Executive Officer of the NTB, said that the Board was conducting various programmes in the past despite the infection of COVID-19 and limited resources. He further added that the programme was organised as the suggestions of the private sector were needed in the context of the rising new infections.

Achyut Guragai, President of Nepal Association of Tour and Travel Agents, said that there was no alternative to booster vaccine against the pandemic and make tourism viable by adhering to health standards.

Tourism entrepreneur Vijay Amatya suggested the NTB to change the market strategy considering the condition of COVID-19. Similarly, Dambar Parajuli, President of Expedition Operators Association, said that criteria should be formulated to invite tourists, however, there shouldn’t be any constraints after their arrival in Nepal. 

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 10 January 2022.

Soyabean oil emerges from nowhere to boost exports, forex reserves

Kathmandu, Jan. 8

Nepal's export had crossed the Rs. 100 billion mark for the first time last year.

In the last Fiscal Year 2020/21, Nepal exported goods worth Rs. 141.1 billion while the size of export trade was Rs. 97.7 billion in FY 2019/20.

This celebration of success is massively backed by a new product that was not in the commercial scene until about a couple years ago - soyabean oil. Soyabean oil worth Rs. 53.65 billion last year, about a triple-fold growth from Rs. 18.3 billion in 2019/20.

According to the statistics of the Department of Customs (DoC), in 2018/19, export of soyabean oil stood at Rs. 2.3 billion.

In the same line of trade growth, soyabean oil took one-third share in the export business of Nepal this year with Rs. 30.55 billion exports in the first five months (mid-July to mid-December 2021). In the same period last year, such export amounted to Rs. 13.5 billion.

Export and import of soyabean oil and raw oil

Time	Export of soyabean oil		Import of soyabean raw oil
	Quantity (KG)	Amount (Rs.)	Quantity (Ltr.)	Amount (Rs.)
Mid-July to mid-December 2021	134,081,853	30.55 billion	985,719,068	33.66 billion
Mid-July to mid-December 2020	93,554,326	13.5 billion	143,225,554	13.69 billion

Source: Department of Customs

Soyabean oil has replaced palm oil, the largest export of last year with Rs. 18.31 billion export value. Palm oil is nowhere in the export scene this year. Nepal could export palm oil worth only a couple of million rupees. Its exports were disrupted after India included the product in its 'restricted list'. The ban was lifted in July last year after about a year.

According to the industrialists, there is 25-30 per cent value addition to the imported raw materials of soyabean oil. Nepal produces a small amount of soyabean which is not sufficient for the production of the oil at industrial scale, so the exports are largely dependent on imported crude soyabean oil.

Likewise, there are concerns over Indian attitude towards every Nepali product that records a high export growth. Palm oil is the recent example of Indian trade highhandedness. Producers of tea, large cardamom, ginger, coffee and many other items in Nepal have been facing various non-tariff barriers from India while exporting the goods to India as well as to  third countries.

Exports will continue to grow

Abinahs Bohra, Advisor of the Province 1 committee of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) and its executive member, said that the export of soyabean oil will continue to grow in the years to come.

He also said that there were less chances of Indian disruption in the bilateral trade of the product. "India has a large consumer base of edible oil and there is a high demand of soyabean oil. Its export from Nepal is growing because current Indian production is insufficient to meet the market demand," said Bohra who runs various food processing industries. 

According to him, since India and Nepal should adhere to the rules of the South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA), Indians can't impose a ban on soyabean oil until its import there reaches 5 per cent of its total import.

President of Nepal Chamber of Commerce, Rajendra Malla, said soyabean oil has supported export promotion. However, he said that creation of markets in third countries would ensure the sustainability of the product's export. He said that increased export of the product would not do any harm to the economy.

Earning Indian currency

While Nepal does not have many products to export to India, soyabean oil is helping to earn Indian currency which is critical in the country's international trade. Nepal's 60-65 per cent international trade occurs with India alone. Since the country's Indian currency reserve is insufficient to finance the imports, Nepal Rastra Bank has to sell foreign currencies like US Dollars to buy Indian currency.

Bohra said that the income of Indian currency will cushion the forex reserve and economy. The country will also benefit from the appreciation of dollar if its reserves could be preserved. Nepal needs about 800 billion Indian rupees to finance imports and pay wages to Indian workers in Nepal.

Chairman of FNCCI's Export Promotion Committee, Manish Lal Pradhan, said that in any sense, the country must grab the opportunities unrolled by the creation of demand and adjustment in the international markets. "Both the government and private sector want exports to flourish. In Nepal's Economic Transformation 2030 report, FNCCI has envisioned halving the trade deficit," he said.

However, private sector lamented that the absence of accredited lab in Nepal has multiple repercussions for the export business. They are unable to export the goods like large cardamom and edible oil to the third countries due to the lack of internationally accredited laboratories.

Top five exports in first five months

2020	2021
Soyabean oil	Soyabean oil
Carpet and floor covering	Palm oil
Large cardamom	Carpet and floor covering
Black tea	Jute and textile
Felt	Sunflower seed and oil

Source: Department of Customs

 

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 9 January 2022.