Sunday, February 27, 2022

Nepalis in contact with embassy in Berlin are safe

Kathmandu, Feb. 26

Embassy of Nepal in Berlin, Germany has said that all Nepalis who came into contact with the mission in the wake of the recent crisis in Ukraine are safe so far.

In a statement issued on Friday, it said that the efforts to obtain more information about the status of Nepali people in various cities in Ukraine are ongoing and 193 people have contacted the embassy.

“We received the information that Slovakia, Poland and Hungary – countries bordering with Ukraine – have opened their borders to allow foreign citizens in the war-affected country to move into their land,” said the embassy.

It has urged all Nepalis in Ukraine to reach Slovakia, Poland and Hungary to return to Nepal safely. Nepal had issued a travel advisory on making travel to Ukraine on Thursday.

The embassy has also pledged its support to Nepali citizens who might face constraints in their travel due to their travel documents or identity cards. “If there are any problems regarding passport or travel documents and the latter is needed instantly, you can send a photocopy of the passport and digital photograph to get the document,” read the statement.

The documents and photograph can be sent to eonberlin@mofa.gov.np. In case of any problem, Shahara Chaulagain, Third Secretary at the Embassy of Nepal in Berlin could be reached.

Likewise, representatives of the Non-Resident Nepali Association – Jaya Prasad Siwakoti in Slovakia, Dr. Bodhraj Subedi and Jiban Kumar Kshetri in Poland, and Surendra Shrestha in Hungary – could be contacted in case of any problem after entering into those countries. 

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 27 February 2022.

Subnational bodies fail to build tax administration

Kathmandu, Feb. 25

While there are tax duplications among the various levels of government, the provinces and local bodies could not build a reliable tax administration to arrange resources for development financing, said the Nepal Revenue Advisory Board (NRAB).

"Revenue capacity of the provinces and local bodies has not been developed in the past five years since the country was ushered into the federal structure. They are heavily reliant on the federal government's grants for it," Member Secretary of the NRAB Bhumi Ram Sharma said at an interaction on 'Revenue policy' jointly organised by the board and Nepal Association of Financial Journalists (NAFIJ).

The NRAB is a permanent structure to provide necessary suggestions and recommendations to the government in the field of revenue mobilisation and management.

According to it, weak non-tax revenue administration, failure to check cross border smuggling of goods into Nepal, import-based revenue structure and complexities in the implementation of transaction price at the customs are the major challenges to the revenue mobilisation in the country.

Likewise, less formalisation of informal economic activities, lack of personal tax compliance and delay in tax jurisprudence are other obstacles to it.

Chairman of the board, Mahesh Prasad Dahal said that the government should immediately review the Value Added Tax (VAT) provision and opt for multi-rate for the VAT.

To increase the revenue, the NRAB has suggested the government to allow for wealth declaration for once so that the revenue could be collected from the news sources as well. However, a large amount of revenue due is a matter of worry. "About Rs. 96 billion in revenue is due. Raising this liability is a challenge for the government," said Dahal.

He also said that the tax discount in a large amount was the matter of worry.

Director of the Department of Revenue Investigation (DRI) Mukti Aryal said that there is a challenge to raise the evaded tax.

Chartered Accountant Shesh Mani Dahal said that frequent changes in the tax policies have added challenges for the entrepreneurs. A clause in the income tax law has been amended 20 times in the past 20 years, he said.

Journalist Shreedhar Khanal and Sharma had presented papers at the programme and Director of Inland Revenue Department (IRD) Raju Pyakurel, Shesh Mani and Aryal had commented on the paper.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 26 February 2022.

Thursday, February 24, 2022

Experts stress response to revive ailing economy

Kathmandu, Feb. 23

Economists have said that lack of appropriate response to the emerging economic challenges like low capital expenditure, dwindling remittances, liquidity crisis and declining foreign exchange reserves has confused the investors.

Speaking at an interaction programme on ‘Economic stability and new-revival’ organised by the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) on Wednesday, they said that many policies that the government announced to attract investment and remittances through formal channel have not yielded desired results.

The worsening economic situation created by the COVID-19 pandemic has lowered the confidence of the investors, they said and called for continuation of the facilities announced during the pandemic.

“The feedback ecosystem to bridge the gap of policy and stakeholders is poor and it has not received priority,” said Professor of Economics Dr. Achyut Wagle.

He expressed worries over the increasing cost of capital. He suggested shutting down the microfinance institutions saying that the cost of capital has reached as high as 35 per cent as the MFIs have become ‘the intermediaries of the intermediaries’.

Commercial banks have reached all the local units and finance companies are there to cover the remaining sectors of investment. Microfinance companies are redundant, he said.

He suggested to promote small sectors of manufacturing that have backward linkages. Nepal has become almost self-reliant on shoes but almost all raw materials are imported, there is no use of promoting such sectors, Dr. Wagle said.

Banker Parshuram Kunwar Kshetri projected that the country might witness about 1700 billion trade deficit in the current fiscal year 2021/22. “And some people want to reject the Millennium Challenge Corporation grant at such a scenario,” he said.

He added that Nepal’s export growth is not sustainable as it is based on duty arbitrage.

Chief Executive Officer of the Global IME Bank Limited, Ratna Raj Bajracharya said that the interest rate of the deposits might cross 12 per cent in a month from now.

Economist Dr. Govinda Nepal said that Nepal should not fail to emulate the proven and successful development models from other countries.

“There is no environment for foreign borrowing during the pandemic and without country rating, foreign investors hesitate to come and invest here,” he said. He blamed politicization for lack of competencies of businesses and other professional sectors.

Economist and Trade Expert, Dr. Posh Raj Pandey said that the increasing interest rate would create risks for the businesses. He added that lack of accountability has exacerbated crisis in the economy.  

President of Nepal Remitters Association, Suman Pokharel said that since the job destination markers are opening up, remittance inflow would increase in a few months.

Senior Vice President of the FNCCI, Chandra Prasad Dhakal recommended to provide consular services to the migrant workers who send remittance through formal channel at the discounted rate and offer incentives to promote sending money back to Nepal via formal channel.

President of the FNCCI, Shekhar Golchha said that the private sector is reeling under the liquidity crisis and struggling to manage resources for investment. 

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 23 February 2022. 

SMHM launches bachelors in culinary arts

Kathmandu, Feb. 22

Silver Mountain School of Hotel Management has launched first ever Bachelors in International Culinary Arts (BICA), a 4-year programme in affiliation with Queen Margaret University of the United Kingdom.

The programme is approved by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology and equivalency is provided by the Tribhuvan University, said the school in a statement on Tuesday.

It said that the programme is launched after many years of research and homework and it would empower the youth with career oriented degree. “It will fill in the gap to promote the authentic Nepali cuisine in an international arena. Our goal is to develop our students professionally and academically in specialised segments in the hotel industry,” read the statement.

According to it, the programme is specifically designed for students who aspire to specialise in food production.

“This course is one of the highly successful curriculums and has produced magnificent chefs, culinary experts and entrepreneurs in the world of culinary arts. Along with specialisation in cooking aspects, this degree also incorporates other key hospitality components such as research, sustainability, entrepreneurship, leadership and production,” said Samir Thapa, chairman of the college.

He also announced that the school will open a French fine dining restaurant for public on its premises by next three months. 

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 23 February 2022. 

CAN Infotech from April 20

Kathmandu, Feb. 22

The 27th Edition of CAN Infotech 2022 is scheduled for April 20-25 this year.

CAN Federation, organiser of the event, has fixed the new date for the event after it was postponed in May 2021 and February 2022.

It was postponed considering the raging spread of COVID-19 infection and the decisions of the COVID-19 Crisis Management and Coordination Centre (CCMCC) and districts in the Kathmandu Valley.

The largest exhibition of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) will be organised at the Bhrikutimandap Exhibition Centre in Kathmandu.

The show has been organised regularly since 1995 and the 26th edition was organised successfully in 2020.

"The event will help all ICT entrepreneurs and stakeholders affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. We will try to bring in new innovations and developments in the sector of infotech," said CAN Federation.

Various national and international companies, including CAN members, will participate in the exhibition.

The exhibition will feature different sections like branding, ICT, accessories, game parlour, product launching, robotics, e-waste management, wi-fi, learning centre and employment centre in the info-tech fair.

It will also have products such as operating system software, networking and cloud solution, mobile phone and solution, electrical and electronics, security solution, solar power system, invertor, UPS, laptop and desktop computer, printer, power system, accessories, antivirus software, banking solution and hard disk.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 23 February 2022. 

Tuesday, February 22, 2022

Parliament decides on development assistance: Foreign Ministry

 CNI hails MCC’s entry in parliament

Kathmandu, Feb. 20

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) has said that the parliament will decide whether development assistance is needed for the country, and whether it is in the best interest of the country and people.

"The sovereign parliament of Nepal alone decides what development assistance is needed in the best interest of Nepal and Nepali people," it said in a statement on Sunday.

The statement came hours after the government tabled the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) grant support by the United States of America in the Federal Parliament.

The statement was issued in response to the media queries about the views appeared in various media on the Millennium Challenge Compact assistance to Nepal.

People have sought the government position following the statement from the USA and China where the former was said to be pressurising the government for early ratification of the agreement and the latter was patronising Nepal saying that 'China opposes coercive diplomacy' as the USA had urged Nepal to endorse the project by February 28.

The MoFA said that the decision to accept the development assistance was taken by Nepal in terms of the national interest and priority. "We sincerely hope for continued goodwill of our friends," it added.

The Government of Nepal remains grateful to our neighbours and those friends with whom Nepal has traditionally been enjoying strong partnership and cooperation as well as regional and multilateral development partners, including the United Nations for their continued support to the socio-economic development of Nepal, read the statement.

According to the MoFA, Nepal has always been pursuing an independent, balanced and non-aligned foreign policy. In pursuant to this policy, as a sovereign country, Nepal has accepted and utilised development assistance as per her national requirement and priority.

It maintained that development assistance has played an important role in the building of infrastructures and development in Nepal.

Nepal needs MCC project: CNI

Meanwhile, Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI) has welcomed the tabling of the MCC Nepal Compact at the Parliament and has expressed its hopes that the project would help the country in gaining economic benefits.

"Conceived after a series of discussions and preparations, this project can be a base for a sustainable economic growth. Nepal needs infrastructure projects like the MCC for the post-COVID-19 economic revival," it said in a statement on Sunday.

It also hoped that the implementation of the project will boost the confidence that the donor agencies are having in Nepal.

The USA is the second largest export market for Nepal. Nepal should maintain good relations with it to sustain favourable trade policies after the country graduates to the developing country’s status in 2026.

According to CNI, the project will help in bringing the much-needed foreign currency into the country. And, it will present a model for project management by completing the development in five-year.

Although Nepal started the process to get the MCC project a decade ago and signed the agreement for the compact in 2017. The project was set to begin in 2020 July following its ratification from the parliament, but it was politicised and pushed into controversy by various political parties and interest groups.

 Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 20 February 2022. 

Promote Innovation

Of late, the issue of brain drain has become critical for Nepal with more Nepali youths opting for the developed countries in Europe and America and Australia for their higher studies and career opportunities. While we hear of successful scientific feats achieved by Nepali youths in those countries, the situation back home is not much optimistic in terms of innovation, research and development (R&D). For example, no patent was registered at the Department of Industry in the past one and a half years.

The country lacks robust infrastructure and system to promote R&D and innovation. Universities here are hardly found prioritising research activities. The fact that there weren't significant innovations at universities in recent years justify this. Campuses are focused on just achieving higher academic results rather than developing hunger for innovations and discoveries among students. Universities in the developed countries allocate about 10 per cent of their total annual budget for R&D which is a far-fetched dream in case of Nepal since the universities are struggling to manage recurrent expenditure to run their regular activities. Likewise, there are not proper labs and organisations promoting innovations with the National Innovation Centre (NIC), led by Dr. Mahabir Pun. Apart from NIC, it is the Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) that is leading the path for R&D.

Meanwhile, the country has failed to allocate fair share of resources in the field of science and technology. In 2020, Nepal had allocated only 0.45 per cent of the total budget for R&D. Experts say that this was an improved situation compared to the allocation of just 0.1 per cent a decade ago. Plans for institutions like Madan Bhandari Science and Technology University can have positive impact on the overall scenario of research and innovation.

Against this backdrop, Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has stressed the need for stopping the brain drain by fully mobilising educated human resources in science and technology in order to accelerate the pace of economic development linking R&D with nation's modernisation and production system. Speaking at the 45th Academic Assembly of the Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) the other day, PM Deuba said that the scientific body should to intensify trainings to train science teachers, establish information access centres, award scientists and support research organisations.

The PM rightly said that the science and technology should be utilised to identify existing and future challenges and ways to tackle them. The NAST had proved its utility by launching the first satellite for Nepal, and producing isolation booths and oxygen cylinders during COVID-19. NIC also supported hospitals and health professionals with various innovative tools and materials during the pandemic. Their roles were appreciated by one and all.

The country, therefore, should promote innovation in business, education, health and social sectors. Meanwhile, being an agrarian economy, Nepal may need more R&D and innovations in agriculture. Farmers need innovations that are economical and efficient in irrigation, and production, processing and storage of their produces. Universities must increase research budget and activities and young innovators and scientists should have access to finance to develop their projects. PM Deuba's direction to the concerned ministries, and NAST to prepare a substantive action plan for full utilisation of expertise of scientists and experts in the country should be executed without any delay. The country must check the exodus of bright brain and cultivate the culture of research and innovation with top priority.

 Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 20 February 2022. 

Saturday, February 19, 2022

Economy Set To Make Headway

 Nepali economy that witnessed a high growth trajectory for consecutive three years until the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 has seen an unexpected downfall of as low as -1.9 per cent in 2019/20 and could not take a leap again until now. The expected Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth for fiscal year 2020/21 is below 4 per cent. The current fiscal year 2021/22 was supposed to witness business revival and economic rehabilitation after COVID-19. So, the government has set a target of 7 per cent economic growth, but growing liquidity crisis, sluggish progress of large infrastructure construction and poor capital spending could hinder the target. The Asian Development Bank and the World Bank have estimated the growth of 4.1 per cent and 3.9 per cent, respectively, this year.


Meanwhile, the government has revised the annual budget spending to 95 per cent – Rs. 1546 billion -- while capital budget is lowered to 90 per cent of the total allocation of Rs. 378 billion. Likewise, entrepreneurs are struggling to manage financing for their business ventures amidst deepening liquidity crunch. It is hard for them to get the financing while interest rates are continuously going up. Remittance inflow is dwindling and foreign exchange reserves have been depleting. Although the pandemic had pushed the hard-earned economic achievements to the back seat, there are hopes for better economic strides as foundations have been laid in multiple sectors of development.


Hydroelectricity
Hydroelectricity has the potential to be the single largest export of Nepal in the future. With the possibility of generation of more than 50,000-MW hydroelectricity as well as thousands of MWs of solar and wind energy, Nepal could become a supplier of energy to the power-hungry markets in India and Bangladesh. The latter has not only promised to purchase electricity from Nepal but also has expressed commitment to investing in energy projects here. India is developing large hydel projects like Upper Karnali and Arun III. Currently, Nepal has the installed capacity of 1924.2-MW hydroelectricity from 108 projects with more than 1 MW capacity.

Nepal must increase the household and industrial consumption of energy. It enhances the efficiency of people in domestic works like cooking, heating, using gadgets while business use of electricity speeds up the business process and production, and reduces the cost of production. According to the private sector reports, about two-thirds of the businesses and industries are still relying on alternative energy management like generator and inverter.

Export

Export trade could be another game changer in case of Nepal as the country sits between the two global economic giants. On top of that, Nepal borders with Bihar and Uttar Pradesh – two Indian states with combined population of 300 million. Nepal enjoys favourable market entry in developed markets including the United States of America and European Union. However, it has failed to utilise the facilities and incentives offered by them. Goods, including handicraft, natural fibre, herbs and garment, services, and energy, could be exported to India and third countries.

Export could be promoted by attracting contract manufacturing from Indian and Chinese companies while, at the same time, it would generate jobs in the country. Nepal-India Chamber of Commerce and Industry has suggested the Department of Industry (DoI) to think about creating policy framework for the same. Current efforts to improve trade infrastructure such as roads, dry ports, Integrated Check Posts, cross-border railway and transport facilities will help in the international trade and reduce the cost of business as well. Not relying on the sporadic trade boost of products such as soybean oil and palm oil which are based on imported raw materials and market is ensured until India's current import policies are intact, Nepal should plan for the sustained growth of some selected indigenous products.

To reduce the ever-growing trade deficit, entrepreneurs have suggested amending the Nepal Trade Integration Strategy, establishing internationally accredited laboratory, creating online payment infrastructure and textile processing factory, and allocating space at Kolkata Dry Port for Nepali exporters. They also asked for export credit, customs reform and support in the promotion of collective trademark of Nepali products.

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)
Nepal in recent years is implementing various policy and process reforms to attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). Establishment of the Investment Board of Nepal (IBN), organising investment summits and creation of business-friendly laws has positive impacts on domestic as well as foreign investors. As a result, in the second Nepal Investment Summit held in 2019, the country could secure the commitment for the investment of about US$12 billion.

The IBN is putting its efforts to materialise the pledges expressed by the investors in the Investment Summit. Development of 900-MW Arun III Hydroelectricity Project, Hongsi Shivam Cement, Venture Waste to Energy, Private Freight Terminal, and many others is the result of IBN efforts. It is working to create new investment-friendly laws and amend the existing ones in order to reduce the process, documents and time needed to register and operate a business. Meanwhile, one-window service to the investors is launched at the IBN and DoI.

Nepal is graduating from the Least Developed Country (LDC) to a developing nation in 2026 and aims to become a middle-income country by 2030. But graduation from the LDC would mean losing the trade incentives the country is enjoying currently in the developed nations, and international grants for development. However, economists say that it would do good for the country in the long-run as it would force to enhance the quality of goods, reduce the production cost and increase trade competitiveness. Becoming competitive in the international market in terms of quality and price, low-cost labour can be a comparative advantage.

To neutralise impacts of the graduation on the national economy, Nepal should launch initiative to sustain the facilities it currently getting in the developed nation and sign bilateral trade agreement with the USA, EU and China.

Project Bank
Meanwhile, the National Project Bank (NPB) created by the National Planning Commission (NPC) some years ago has included 7,128 projects by the end of 2021. The bank aims at offering the development agencies, including the ministries, the required tools to make better strategic development decisions on the basis of evidences based on assessment, prioritization and planning.

It is expected that the NPB would check the current practice to include project in the budget at the whim or suggestions of certain political leader or a minister without any feasibility study and other necessary preparations which mostly results in either projects not taking off at all or lingering for many years. For example, Babai Irrigation Project is running in the 34th year of its implementation and Melamchi Water Supply Project is under construction for about two decades while West Seti Hydropower Project has not taken off since its inception about 23 years ago and Budhi Gandaki Hydropower Project is yet to complete land acquisition in about a decade.

The project banks categorises the projects in five different sectors – physical infrastructure, urban development, energy and water resources, water supply and home affairs, and provides readily and thoroughly analysed projects for execution. If the government and leaders could stick up to the policy of project preparedness before its inclusion in the budget statement and further processing, it would be a great leap in terms of project discipline and timely execution.


Private sector growth
Promotion of private sector investment is key to the national development since more than three-fourth of the jobs are created in the sector. Thus, the government should facilitate investors through business-friendly policies and incentives to exports. Liberal economic policies will support in the flourishment of private sector businesses which will support in job creation, export trade, import substitution, competitive markets and stronger economy. The private sector needs quality supply of energy, fast business process, and cash and policy incentives. Liberal economic policies can solidify the foundations for the health of private sector development and the country can achieve high economic growth in the years to come.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 19 February 2022. 

NCC suggests accepting transaction price at customs

Kathmandu, Feb. 18

Nepal Chamber of Commerce (NCC) has suggested recognising transaction price and Letter of Credit (LC) at the customs point.

In a meeting with Director General of the Department of Revenue Investigation (DRI), Prakash Poudel on Thursday, the business body urged to accept the transaction price or LC in import-export business.

The reference price set at the customs has created problems in the Value Added Tax (VAT), said NCC President, Rajendra Malla. “The reference price has affected the entire revenue collection and helped in the proliferation of Hundi. It has also added complexities in issuing bills and receipts,” he added.

Malla urged Poudel to make the revenue monitoring system one-door, well-managed and business-friendly.

NCC has also requested the DRI to control illegal activities at the customs points, offer reward to the informants and punishment to wrong informers to make the border trade more effective. It would be better to impose fines instead of jailing in cases of revenue frauds and leakages, NCC suggested.

According to a statement issued by NCC, President Malla said that the recent provision imposed by the Nepal Rastra Bank to submit all details while making transactions above Rs. 700,000 is impractical.

Likewise, NCC suggested facilitating the trade in a way it would discourage import and promote export business. It emphasised on implementing full automation at the custom administration.

In response, DG Poudel expressed his commitment for trade facilitation.

“I am positive to the suggestions submitted by the NCC. The government will cooperate with the private sector on it,” he said.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 19 February 2022. 

FM wants greater cooperation with ADB

Kathmandu, Feb. 18

Finance Minister Janardan Sharma ‘Prabhakar’ said on Friday that Nepal should enhance cooperation with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to increase the international market of Nepali goods.

In a virtual discussion with Dr. Wan Farisan bin Wan Sulaiman, Executive Director of the ADB who represents Nepal, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Brunei, FM Sharma suggested for greater cooperation with the ADB to promote Nepal’s foreign trade.

“Nepal is exporting a small amount of goods. The ADB can help us enhance the size of export,” he said, according to a statement issued by his secretariat. 

The Finance Minister said that Nepal should improve its economic and trade indices. “For that, we need to create investment-friendly environment in the country and promote the private sector to establish and expand business and investment,” he stated.

Expressing gratitude to the ADB for its support to control the COVID-19 pandemic and implement reforms in the Nepali economy, he said that Nepal needs more support for the post-pandemic economic revival.

Meanwhile, FM Sharma has urged the newly appointed chairman Ramesh Kumar Hamal to work independently without succumbing to the interest of any power.

Administering the oath of office to the latter, he said, “There are many tasks to do to implement reforms in the capital market. I am hopeful that you will function independently to make them happen,” he said. 

 Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 19 February 2022. 

Consumers expect price rise by 10%

Kathmandu, Feb. 18

A latest survey conducted by the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has shown that the common people have high expectation of double-digit inflation over the year.

According to the Inflation Expectations Survey conducted by the Economic Research Department of the NRB from January 5 to 11 this year among individual respondents from 17 market areas of 14 cities across the country, median inflation expectations for one year ahead and current perception is 10 per cent.

However, the inflation for the next three months is 8 per cent. Households expected inflation to decrease in the near term and remain at current level in the medium term, read the report.

The results are based on field interviews of 720 urban individuals.

About 92 per cent of respondents have expected price level to increase in next three months. Likewise, 97 per cent of respondents have expected price level to increase over the next one year. The share of respondents expecting higher inflation has slightly increased from October 2020, read the report. 

 Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 19 February 2022. 

President grants amnesty to 12 inmates

Kathmandu, Feb. 18

President Bidya Devi Bhandari has granted amnesty to 12 individuals who were serving jail terms as per the court verdicts.

In a statement issued Friday, the President’s Office said that she approved the amnesty proposal of 12 inmates, including Ang Nima Sherpa, as recommended by the Council of Ministers.

The move is made as per the Article 276 of the Constitution and Article 159 of Criminal Procedure Code, read the statement.

 Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 19 February 2022. 

Friday, February 18, 2022

Refinance and bank rate reach 7 %

Kathmandu, Feb. 17

The Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has made significant adjustments in the rates of Standing Liquidity Facility (SLF), repo and deposit collection.

It has increased the bank rate – the interest rate charged by the central bank to domestic banks while lending money – from existing 5 per cent to 7 per cent.

In the mid-term review of the Monetary Policy for the Fiscal Year 2021/22 launched on Thursday, the central bank announced an increase of 2 per cent in the bank rate as a sign for the direction of the policy.

Likewise, it adjusted the SLF rate to 7 per cent, policy repo rate as the policy rate to 5.5 per cent, and deposit collection rate to 4 per cent. SLF is a monetary instrument to provide liquidity facility to the banks.

In the monetary policy, the NRB had set the SLF as the upper bound of the interest rate corridor at 5 per cent. Likewise, it had fixed repo rate at 3.5 per cent and deposit collection rate at 2 per cent.

However, the current Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR) and Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) have remained unchanged.

Through the review of the Monetary Policy, the central bank also hiked the interest rates of the refinance, which is extended on the collateral of good loan, to 7 per cent for the banks and financial institutions (BFIs).

It pledges to implement a new system to mobilise loans to productive sectors at lower interest rates compared to other sectors from the last quarter of the current fiscal. A study will be conducted to measure the possibility of such provision before implementing it, Dr. Gunakar Bhatta, Spokesperson and Executive Director of the NRB, said while presenting the summary of the review via virtual press meet.

The NRB also said that it would review the risk weightage of import loan, real estate loan on land plotting, personal hire and purchase loan and margin lending. It would set a provision to allow the Infrastructure Development Bank to issue debentures.

It also informed about its plans to review the ceiling of the loans mobilised by the commercial banks to agriculture, energy, micro, cottage, small and medium enterprise sector. Other areas of possible review are the goods imports from India in credit facility, allowing NRNs to open bank accounts in convertible foreign currency and limit to the remittance companies’ money transfer inside the country.

Dr. Bhatta said that the refinance facility would now be focused to the areas that were severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and need further support in their revival.

The central bank also said that the resources would be ensured for the microfinance institutions so that their customers’ access to finance couldn’t be hindered.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 18 February 2022. 

NCC suggests accepting transaction price at customs

Kathmandu, Feb. 17

Nepal Chamber of Commerce (NCC) has suggested recognising transaction price and Letter of Credit (LC) at the customs point.

In a meeting with Director General of the Department of Revenue Investigation (DRI), Prakash Poudel on Thursday, the business body urged to accept the transaction price or LC in import-export business.

The reference price set at the customs has created problems in the Value Added Tax (VAT), said NCC President, Rajendra Malla. “The reference price has affected the entire revenue collection and helped in the proliferation of Hundi. It has also added complexities in issuing bills and receipts,” he added.

Malla urged Poudel to make the revenue monitoring system one-door, well-managed and business-friendly.

NCC has also requested the DRI to control illegal activities at the customs points, offer reward to the informants and punishment to wrong informers to make the border trade more effective. It would be better to impose fines instead of jailing in cases of revenue frauds and leakages, NCC suggested.

According to a statement issued by NCC, President Malla said that the recent provision imposed by the Nepal Rastra Bank to submit all details while making transactions above Rs. 700,000 is impractical.

Likewise, NCC suggested facilitating the trade in a way it would discourage import and promote export business. It emphasised on implementing full automation at the custom administration.

In response, DG Poudel expressed his commitment for trade facilitation.

“I am positive to the suggestions submitted by the NCC. The government will cooperate with the private sector on it,” he said.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 18 February 2022. 

Thursday, February 17, 2022

Deal signed to develop smart city in Panchkhal

Kathmandu, Feb. 16

Nepal Infrastructure Bank Limited (NIFRA) and SMEC International Private Limited – a member of Singapore-based global urban infrastructure consulting firm Surbana Jurong (SJ) Group – signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the development of a smart city in Panchkhal Municipality.

The MoU was signed by Chief Executive Officer of NIFRA, Ram Krishna Khatiwada and Country Head of SMEC in Nepal, Salim Jahan Fahim on behalf of their respective organisations at a programme organised here on Tuesday. Spokesperson of Panchkhal Municipality, Sanjay Lama was also present on the occasion.   

The SMEC and NIFRA will support to conduct the preliminary studies, initial structuring of the project and to exchange best practices on the development of smart cities.

“NIFRA will provide necessary facilitation and other services to SMEC during the engagement period. It will arrange necessary financing in coordination with other stakeholders as a lead financer for the development of the smart city after completion of required studies, designs and legal structuring of the project,” it said in a statement.

Panchkhal Municipality has taken the lead in securing the required land in coordination with landowners in the municipality. Panchkhal Smart City, the first of its kind in Nepal, covers an area of around 5,500 ropanis of land.

NIFRA has signed a separate MoU with Panchkhal Muncipality for the development of the smart city.

Meanwhile, NIFRA has also signed a contract with a US-based consulting firm Jones Lang LaSalle Property Consultants Private Limited for market study of the proposed Smart City. The company is scheduled to submit its report within eight weeks, outlining viability and broader opportunities of the project.

Khatiwada reiterated NIFRA’s commitment on developing the next generation smart city in Nepal. He added that the collaboration with the globally renowned infrastructure development consultant will certainly help to materialize this vision to develop the first smart city in Nepal which will be a model for replicating in other parts of the country.

Likewise, Lama said that the municipality is committed to providing all support that is required for the development of a smart city in Panchkhal.

Mohiuddin Mahmud, Deputy Chief Operating Officer-South and Central Asia, from SMEC said the professional experience of SMEC and SJ in developing smart cities will be instrumental for development of the Panchkhal Smart city soon.

 Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 17 February 2022. 

NRNA election committee publishes poll schedule

Kathmandu, Feb. 16

The Election Committee of the Non-Resident Nepali Association (NRNA) has published the election schedule for the election of the new working committee of the organisation.

The election for the 53-member International Coordination Council (ICC) with president, five vice presidents including one female and youth each, one general secretary, four secretaries including one woman, treasurer, and coordinators will be held on 21-22 March, 2022.

Stating that it received the details of the representatives for the General Convention on 14 February, it asked them to submit the evidences of their non-resident Nepali status and a selfie.

The names of the voters will be published on 23 February and the final list of the candidates will be published on March 12.

The committee has also informed that the nomination fee for the candidates of president is Rs. 1 million, vice president Rs. 700,000 and general secretary Rs. 600,000.

Likewise, candidates of secretary and treasurer have to deposit Rs. 500,000, joint treasurer Rs. 400,000 and coordinators Rs. 350,000 each.

 Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 17 February 2022. 

Khalti offers bluebook renewal

Kathmandu, Feb. 16

Online payment service provider company, Khalti Digital Wallet, has introduced a new service to facilitate bluebook renewal for private vehicle owners using Khalti.

Khalti has started providing this service through its app so that the users can renew their Bluebook online without any hassle, said the company in a statement.

However, at present, this service is launched in Bagmati Province and the company has informed to roll it across the country soon.

To obtain the service, users must first fill up the details to register their vehicle through the online Vehicle Registration System (VRS) before making a payment. This can be done easily through NagarikApp or TMIS website.

This process needs to be fulfilled so that the vehicle is recognised by the Government of Nepal.

Once the registration process is complete, users can now renew their Bluebook by choosing 'Government Services' and Bluebook Renew. Then, they can fill in the required details and proceed to pay.

According to Khalti, the paid tax bill will be received instantly in Khalti app whereas the formal bill will be received by the users in 10 minutes.

"To avoid any confusion to the users, sample bills are provided explaining the details. Users can get both bills from Khalti’s Transaction section in the homepage. For further processing, users should visit the concerned government office and submit the formal bill within 30 days," read the statement.

 Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 17 February 2022. 

Voters’ cut-off date May 12, voters’ number reaches 17.9 million

Kathmandu, Feb. 13

The Election Commission of Nepal (ECN) has decided to make the day before the upcoming local elections as the cut-off date for the young voters to complete their 18 years of age in order to make them eligible for voting the next day.

This means any Nepali citizen completing 18 years of age on May 12 can vote in the local level elections slated for the next day, May 13, 2022.

A Nepali citizen can obtain citizenship certificate after completing 16-year age but voting right could be exercised only after completing 18 years.  

According to the ECN, this provision is being implemented for the first time in Nepal’s election history. It will ensure the voting rights for the additional 200,000 youth. The total number of voters on May 12 will be 17.9 million.

In the earlier elections, the election management body used to take the day on which the government announced the election date as the cut-off date.

There were 15.42 million voters in the elections in 2017 while on 20 December 2020, the number of voters had reached 16.24 million.

For the local elections, the ECN had stopped the voters’ registration activities since 8 February, the day after the government announced the dates for the polls. It is now updating the voters’ names.

“The ECN wants to ensure the voting right of every Nepali completing 18-year age. The voters’ registration process is stopped as per the legal provision of not continuing it after the announcement of the date for the polls,” Spokesperson of the ECN, Shaligram Sharma Poudel said.

Meanwhile, the election body said the preparation for the budget has reached its final phase. “About Rs. 12 billion is needed for the local polls and a proposal has been sent to the government for the same. While the budget is in the approval process, the ECN has expedited the process for the procurement of election materials with the approval from the Ministry of Finance,” read a statement issued by the ECN.

It has already approved the standards and specification for the tenders to be opened to buy equipment and materials.

Similarly, it has finalised the election schedule that includes the preparation for the final voters’ list, political party registration, preparation of voters’ education materials and launching campaign for it, making decision about the polling centres, human resource training, printing of voters’ identity cards and their distribution, election security and other election related activities.

The office time of ECN and offices under it is changed to 9 AM to 6PM and they will remain open in the holidays as well.

Earlier, the commission has formed a committee to study on the possibility of the use of electronic voting machines in the upcoming local polls. According to the Chief Election Commissioner Dinesh Kumar Thapaliya, the ECN is mulling to use the EVMs in six metropolitan cities and municipalities in the Kathmandu Valley.

 Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 14 February 2022. 

KMC distributes prize to winners of Medipuzzle

Kathmandu, Feb. 13

The Department of Pharmacology at Kathmandu Medical College has distributed prizes to the winners of the All Nepal Inter-College Pharmacology Quiz Competition organised via online app.

The competition was organised via app-based platform called Medipuzzle which is available in both android and IOS platforms. This is the very first time that a nationwide competition was virtually organised in the field of medical education, said the organiser in a statement on Sunday. 

The competition was held in weekly formats for four consecutive weeks from December 2, 2021 to January 18.

“The event was planned amidst the coronavirus crisis and therefore was developed as a virtual app based competition. There was an impressive participation of students from various medical and pharmacy colleges throughout the nation,” said Snjaya Mani Dixit, lead organiser of the event.

Participants from Kathmandu University School of Medical Sciences Sharad Kotriwala and Smriti Bhatta were the top scorers for first two weeks respectively. Likewise, Abhay Kushwaha from Patan Academy of Health Sciences was the top scorer in the third week and Santosh Sapkota from Kathmandu Medical College was the top scorer in the final week of the competition.

According to Dixit, who is an Assistant Professor of Pharmacology at KMC, prize worth over 1 lakh including books and cash were handed over to the top 10 winners in all four weeks.

Now that the competition is over the game based learning app in Pharmacology, the Medipuzzle app is now free for everyone to use.

“Game based learning in the field of medicine is almost non-existent and that is why the students find it enjoyable and fun to learn pharmacology in Medipuzzle,” said Dixit.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 14 February 2022. 

Sunday, February 13, 2022

Development ministries poor in budget performance

Kathmandu, Feb. 11

Budget performance of the ministries executing development projects across the country has remained poor in the first half of the current fiscal year 2021/22.

Five ministries responsible for the development work have failed to cross 20 per cent budget mobilisation with the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport (MoPIT) achieving just 17.10 per cent progress by mid-January 2022, according to the report on the mid-term review of the budget of the current fiscal published by the Ministry of Finance (MoF) the other day.

The MoPIT that got the allocation of Rs. 156.2 billion for the current fiscal has utilised just Rs. 26.7 billion in the first six months. The ministry is responsible for infrastructure development including roads, railways and bridges.

Likewise, the Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD) has used just 18.72 per cent budget.  

The MoUD had got allocation of Rs. 30.7 billion of which only Rs. 5.7 billion is used up while capital expenditure has remained at Rs. 5 billion out of Rs. 28 billion.

The Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Adminstration's progress is more pathetic with just 12.15 per cent budget mobilisation. Out of Rs. 18.9 billion, it has spent only Rs. 2.3 billion.

Similarly, the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation and the Ministry of Health and Population are among the poor performers with 16.62 per cent and 18.59 per cent spending progress respectively.

The Energy Ministry has Rs. 100.9 billion allocation but it could use only Rs. 18.77 billion in the first half of this year.

The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation achieved about 27.48 per cent budget progress by spending Rs. 1.63 billion in Rs. 5.94 billion allocation. Likewise, the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development has mobilised 24.74 per cent budget. Of the Rs. 36.2 billion budget, it spent Rs. 8.97 billion.

Ministries like Home Affairs (MoHA), Foreign Affairs and Defense have better performance record with 41.35 per cent, 47.9 per cent and 42.7 per cent progress respectively. However, most of their budget is recurrent. For example, of the Rs. 164.5 billon total budget of the MoHA, Rs. 7.8 billion is capital allocation.

In the same line, the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology has high recurrent budget, and it has achieved the progress of 35.14 per cent by spending Rs. 20.4 billion in Rs. 58.2 billion allocation.  

The Ministry of Forest and Environment has achieved 26.94 per cent progress in Rs. 12.02 billion budget, and the Ministry of Finance 20.34 per cent in Rs. 38.04 billion.

Of the worst, Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security has mobilised just 4.53 per cent of its Rs. 5.97 billion budget. 

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 12 February 2022. 

KMC taxes payable from Khalti App

Kathmandu, Feb. 11

The online payment service provider company 'Khalti' has added a facility to pay tax to the Kathmandu Metropolitan City via online app from their home.

Taxpayers will be able to pay the taxes of the metropolis like land, house, rent, vehicle, means and business through Khalti.

Binay Khadka, Chief Executive Officer of Khalti, said, "We are confident that it will be easier for the residents of the area to pay their taxes and service charges online at the local level. We also hope that it will be easier and safer to use the service at home during the current COVID-19 pandemic.”

However, taxpayers should first register them at the KMC's taxpayer portal eservice.kathmandu.gov.np to use the online tax payment facility. The app will assess the tax details needed to pay to the KMC.

Khalti has more than 2 million active users throughout the country alongside a network of 30,000 agents, the company said in a statement.

From Khalti, the users can top-up their phone, TV, pay their internet bill, insurance premiums, government revenues, waste management bills and buy domestic flight tickets. 

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 12 February 2022. 

Govt adjusts budget size, hopes higher capital expenditure in second half

Kathmandu, Feb. 10

The government has lowered the estimates for the mobilisation of the development budget to Rs. 340 billion – 90 per cent of the total allocation Rs. 378 billion.

Launching the half-yearly review of the budget of the current fiscal year 2021/22 on Thursday, Finance Minister Janardan Sharma said that amidst the low performance of the development ministries and agencies, the ministry has rethought about the total performance of the capital allocation.

He also lowered the size of the total budget to Rs. 1546 billion – about 95 per cent of the total budget. This adjustment is made keeping the expenses for the local elections, vaccines against COVID-19, chemical fertilisers procurement, compensations to the farmers for the damage on their paddy and liabilities to the large projects into consideration.

In terms of recurrent expenditure, about Rs. 1035.4 billion – about 97.2 per cent – is expected to be utilised. Likewise, 90 per cent of financing budget will be used up.

FM Sharma had announced that the government would mobilise at least 30 per cent capital budget by the end of the first half of the current fiscal on 14 January 2022 but by Wednesday only 15.74 per cent of it is used up, according to the Financial Comptroller General’s Office.

“The public finance management system in the country needs structural changes but since reforms couldn’t be made in the system, the trend to spend 40 per cent of the capital allocation in the last two months of the year is likely to continue this year as well,” said Minister Sharma.

He maintained that the estimate about the budget mobilisation is kept at 90 per cent amidst the poor performance in the first half with the expectation that the expenses will go up in the second half.

 

Poor project preparedness

According to Minister Sharma, the trend of not utilizing the budget allocated to certain programmes but demanding additional budget for new progrmmmes went unabated. Some projects in the budget were included without proper arrangement of resources which means they couldn’t be implemented even by the end of this year as the time will be consumed in making initial preparations.

The Minister also stated that the selection of programmes as per the politicians’ whim or recommendations without preparedness, legal complexities and poor accountability of the project managers are the major obstacles in the development process. “There is a need of clarity about the roles and responsibilities of the governments at various levels in order to give the much needed impetus to the development work,” he said.

 

Rs. 50 billion demanded for elections

Finance Minister Sharma said that the government is under pressure to manage resources for the upcoming elections. “The government has allocated Rs. 10 billion budget for the local elections but there is a demand of Rs. 50 billion. There is high demand of budget for recurrent expenditure,” he said.

Speaking on the current impasse on the Millennium Challenge Corporation’s grant to Nepal, FM Sharma said that the project is politicized and the government is putting efforts to forge consensus among political forces and creating an environment to utilise the grant.

Speaking at the programme, Governor of the Nepal Rastra Bank, Maha Prasad Adhikari said that the provision to maintain 100 per cent cash margin while opening the Letter of Credit was implemented to nutralise the balance of payment deficit.

“It won’t have much impact on the revenue collection. We are forced to announce and implement the provision amidst growing imports and depleting foreign currency reserves,” he said.

Meanwhile, FM Sharma assured that the provision was used as a temporary measure and won’t persist for long.

Through the mid-term review of the budget, the MoF has expected a good progress at the national pride projects. It has said that the crypto currency, hyper funds and online gambling have risen as the new challenges for the government. FM Sharma expressed his commitment to check the misappropriation of foreign currencies with a thorough monitoring and regulation of such activities. 

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 11 February 2022. 

Single phase election is cost-effective: CEC Thapaliya

 The government has set the date of the elections for the local levels for May 13 this year, and the Election Commission of Nepal (ECN) has expedited the preparations for the polls, second edition of the polls to select representatives for the local governments after the country was ushered into the federal structure. The polls are crucial to solidify the foundations of the federalism, take the government and public services at the doorsteps of the public and exercise grassroots democracy. In this context, Modnath Dhakal of The Rising Nepal talked to Chief Election Commissioner, Dinesh Kumar Thapaliya. Excerpts:

 

What preparations are being made for the upcoming local level elections?

The government has announced the dates of the local level elections for May 13 this year in consultation with the Election Commission of Nepal (ECN). So with the mentality of conducting elections on the stipulated date we have launched preparations at various levels. We are finalising the voter list, formulating election policy, working procedure and guidelines and approving them, finalising budget with the consent from the Ministry of Finance, and conducting meetings with the development partners and other agencies for monitoring and foreign support. Meanwhile, the ECN is studying the applications received to register political parties. Registration of new parties will be concluded before the local level elections. Management of resource and equipment including vehicles for the elections are also in the priority. ECN is working as per the approved work schedule.

 

Has ECN been feeling any pressure or challenge as the political parties differ in their perspectives on local level elections?

The biggest challenge for us is to educate the voters through the modal ballot paper with the list of symbols for the total candidates in each local body so that they could be sensitised on casting their votes properly. There is a need to create 6743 types of ballot papers for each ward across the country and send them to all local levels. It can be done in the final 15 days before the election day. So, we are highly sensitive on this matter. In the previous election, ECN has printed 70 ballot papers in six different design and sent them to the local levels.

Election should be held with greater political consensus but political parties in the country don't have the same perspective on the election. Coordination with all political parties and other stakeholders will be enhanced in the days to come. ECN is ready to face these challenges and move ahead with the required preparations to make the polls successful. As per the international practice, 120 days are needed to hold national elections successfully. But elections can be organised in three months since the date of announcements, we are making preparations for the same.

 

The government has decided to hold local level elections in single phase. What sorts of benefits and challenges have you assessed of this method?

It is cost effective since there is uniformity in promotion, advertisement, sample ballot paper, documents, trainings and orientations. If we organise it in single phase, election in a place doesn't affect polls in another location. Likewise, it is not easy to store the ballot boxes safely until the second phase of elections if they were held in multiple phases. ECN has always been advocating for single phase polls for all elections. However, it increases burden for the election management body while mobilisation of security forces would also be challenging since every unit across the country need security. But as per our assessment, there isn't any security threat for elections.

 

You said that holding elections across the country at a time creates challenges in terms of security and human resources. How do you manage the manpower required for the polls?

The Commission is formulating a guideline for the management of human resources (HR) for the upcoming elections. There will be a need of 753 election officers for each local body, 753 assistant election officers and about 9 staff in every election office. About 23,500 polling centres would be needed according to the present voters' number. This means if we deploy just 5 staff at a centre, 120,000 staff are needed, however this HR is needed for the final seven days. We are planning to utilise the HR available at the local level. Existing government staff and teachers of community schools in each local body could be enough to address the need for HR for the polls.

 

And, what is the plan to manage security personnel for the polls?

Security strategy is developed jointly with the Ministry of Home Affairs and security agencies but will be implemented by the latter. 5-10 security personnel are needed to be mobilised at each polling station. Temporary police will be hired to support the security agencies in the polls. Patrolling by security personnel will also be practiced.

 

What are the ECN's expectations from the three levels of governments in holding the election?

The greatest support in the elections will be coming from the federal government. It will support us with human resources, technology, security and budget. The ECN designs programmes and activities in close coordination with the line ministry. Local governments can help us in establishing well-facilitated as well as disabled-and-senior-citizen friendly polling stations, running election education and awareness, employee and technical equipment. They can check the activities run to influence the voters. Provinces can support ECN's office in each province with physical facilities, HR and documents.

 

There have been recurrent examples of the violation of the election code of conduct and misuse of resources to influence the voters. Is ECN making any preparations to check such practices?

ECN is preparing a new election code of conduct on the basis of its experiences in the previous polls. It is prepared with the consultations from all stakeholders, including media reports, and will be approved within a week from now. Implementation of this code of conduct will be ensured in cooperation with all political parties by the election officers in each local body. The new code of conduct has a provision that the monitoring of the polls will be conducted by the Election Offices set up at the respective local bodies. The monitoring will be conducted by a team including the representatives from the political parties contesting the polls. Independent monitoring will be conducted in some of the risk-prone areas. We are in discussion with various agencies like National Human Rights Commission, General Election Observation Committee, National Election Observation Committee and Transparency International to map such areas. ECN has also formulated new procedures for the election observers. Likewise, we are planning to install CCTV cameras in all polling stations to monitor the election day activities.

 

There have been concerns over the large election expenses by the candidates. Do you have any strategy to check such practice?

So far as the expenditure by the government in election concerned, it is modest with around Rs. 7 per capita cost. Per capita cost in elections is gradually going down in Nepal. The ECN, security agencies, party and candidates are the major mobilisers of resources during the polls.  But the concerns are for the party and candidates for their haphazard expenditure. They pour in a large sum of money in the elections and create a fuss against it. People are sovereign. Is that sovereignty a commodity which could be bought or sold? If yes, this is unfortunate. It would only harm the health of democracy. Until and unless the parties and candidates don't understand the spirit of election and democracy, much can't be done in this regard.

 

There were illegal activities during vote counting in the previous elections. How do you think it could be checked in the upcoming elections?

To check such acts, we have changed the design of vote counting places in the recent elections. We are in the process to hold step-wise discussions with the election observation agencies. Strong legal actions and punishment will be taken against perpetrators.

 

Non-resident Nepalis and migrant Nepali workers are demanding their rights of vote. What is ECN's take on this?

Current law maintains that to cast a vote in elections, Nepali citizen should have their name in voters' list. But it doesn't allow to install a polling booth outside the boundary of the country. Therefore, those who have their name in the voters list can cast their votes from their respective polling stations in the country. However, the ECN will formulate a law with a provision to facilitate Nepalis in foreign countries to vote in elections in their home country. It has recently obtained the agreement in principle from the government to create an integrated law for all polls.

 

Some groups have demanded that the voters' registration be opened again. Is it possible to open registration for now?  

If voters' registration is kept open for the period after the announcement of the elections, there could be malpractices to shift voters from one constituency or local level to another. The ECN needs about 40 days to update the voters' details, so if we open registration now, elections can't be held in time. If anyone is left to get registered, they should understand this complexity and get their names listed as voters after the local level elections so that they could cast their votes in subsequent polls.

To reduce number of vote cancellation, digital communication campaign would be launched. Notices and reminders would be sent to the mobile numbers of voters on the day of polls while social media and online media will be used extensively. We are mulling a new concept on voters' awareness, to educate them at the polling station before casting their votes by setting up a help desk and mobilising two educators at each station. Such education will be conducted in local language, if needed. It is cost effective and will have full coverage.

 

The ECN has started preparations for the use of Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) in the polls. What is the progress regarding the application of technology in the elections?

The commission is for the use of EVM to reduce the cost and complexity in the polls. It will use the machines developed by youth scientists – Ram and Laxman –  after proving their accuracy and authenticity. If the economic resources allowed and voters could be made ready to use the machine, the ECN is planning to use EVMs in six metropolitan cities and municipalities in the Kathmandu Valley in the upcoming local elections. A team led by joint secretary (technical) at the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology is studying the prospects for the use of EVM in the local level polls. We will implement their recommendations as per the consensus among the political parties. 

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 11 February 2022. 

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