CAN Infotech attracts young generation, NAST exhibits IT bus

Kathmandu, Apr. 23

The fourth day of IME Pay CAN Infotech 2022 witnessed a massive inflow of students and youths. The 27^th edition of CAN Infotech, which started on Wednesday, was more crowded with government and non-government employees and students on Saturday than any other day.

Those who came to the fair on Saturday said that they found out that the Infotech exhibition, which was postponed from January this year to now due to COVID-19 pandemic, offered many excitements in Information and Communication Technology sector.

According to Nawaraj Kunwar, President of Federation of Computer Association of Nepal (CAN Federation) – organiser of the event, this year's Infotech is very different from the past events as people are searching for knowledge and skills to make the use of information and communication technology more systematic and more effective in the post-pandemic scenario. Branding, fintech and startups are more popular than ICT accessories, he said.

According to him, there is a significant participation of observers in products including robotics, emerging technology, WiFi and internet. Stalls of software, networking and cloud solutions, electric and electronics, security solutions, laptop and desktop computers, printers, antivirus and banking solution software were also crowded with observers.

Vice President of CAN Federation and coordinator of the event, Ranjit Kumar Poddar informed that thousands of people have come to Infotech by buying tickets daily through IME-Pay, instead of buying physical ticket at Rs 100.

Popular singer Sushant KC, rapper Giris Khatiwada, singer Swapna Suman, PUBG player Indu Malla and other celebrities were present at the exhibition on Saturday. Dish Home has unveiled a new product 'Campus WiFi' on the occasion.

The exhibition attracted the attention of the observers at the first-ever Mobile Information Access Center available in the country. The facility was developed by the Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) with the support from Korean government.

According to Dr. Rabindra Dhakal, Head of the Faculty of Technology at the NAST, the IT-friendly bus has been developed targeting the areas and groups that do not have access to information technology and it has been exhibited for the information of the public.

Necessary facilities like WiFi, laptop, projector, screen, electronic podium, printer, visualizer, sound system, speaker, toilet etc. are available for the students inside the air-conditioned bus. The ICT mobile bus is designed to accommodate 18 passengers at a time.

The NAST aims to reach the rural areas of the country through a mobile bus and help bridge the gap between the educated and the uneducated in the field of ICT.  

Narayan Thapa, General Secretary of CAN Federation, said that CAN and NAST will work together to increase the training programme within NAST's bus for students and other curious people deprived of urban facilities through mobile information access centers with trainers up to local level in all 7 provinces with transportation access through its network in 74 districts outside the valley.

The exhibition will run till Monday. 

 Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 24 April 2022. 

US Congress delegation calls on PM Deuba

Kathmandu, Apr. 23

The United States congressional delegation led by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba on Saturday morning.

During the meeting, the two sides exchanged views on various aspects of Nepal-US relations and cooperation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) informed in a statement.

The Prime Minister thanked the US Congress for its continued support to Nepal, including during the difficult times of the 2015 earthquakes and the recent COVID-19 pandemic.

"Both sides underscored the importance of parliamentary interactions for the enrichment of the multidimensional Nepal-US friendship. Views were also exchanged on institutionalizing democracy and cooperation in climate change," read the statement.

Likewise, the US Embassy in Kathmandu said in a tweet that the two sides discussed ways to further bolster ties, including by addressing climate crisis and strengthening democratic resilience.

Earlier on Friday, the visiting US delegation had called on Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr. Narayan Khadka at the latter’s office where he appreciated the longstanding US cooperation to Nepal’s development endeavours and expressed hope that the visit by the US delegation to Nepal will contribute to further strengthening of the bilateral relations.

According to the MoFA, the US congressional delegation reaffirmed the commitment to working closely with Nepal on the matters of common interests. The matters related to agriculture and food security as well as Nepal’s role in the UN peacekeeping also featured during the conversation.

The Nepal-US Parliamentary Friendship Group in the Federal Parliament of Nepal also held an interaction with the visiting US congressional delegation which also includes Senators Sheldon Whitehouse, Cory Booker, Mark Kelly, and Representative Mondaire Jones. The delegation is on a three-day visit to Nepal which will conclude on Sunday.

This year marks the 75^th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Nepal and the United States.

 Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 24 April 2022. 

Government collections exceed expenditure

Kathmandu, Apr. 22

The government has been managing its expenditure from the income it has been making.

If the trend continues at the present pace, the government does not have to borrow additional money to finance its activities and development works.

By Thursday, total receipts of the government amounted to Rs. 856.3 billion while the expenditure was Rs. 835.9 billion, according to the statistics of the Financial Comptroller General Office (FCGO) – an agency under the Ministry of Finance.

It seems that the government mechanism to collect revenue is more efficient than the agencies implementing development works and mobilising funds. The revenue collected till April 21 is 69.03 per cent of the total revenue target for the current fiscal year 2021/22 – Rs. 1240.5 billion. On the contrary, the total expenditure made so far is 51.2 per cent of the total annual estimates of Rs. 1632.8 billion.

The government collected Rs. 738.9 billion tax revenue, Rs. 62.9 billion in non-tax revenue and Rs. 13.8 billion in grants while other receipts amounted to Rs. 40.5 billion.

Rs. 522 billion borrowing space

Out of total estimated expenditure, Rs. 1,050.8 billion will be financed through revenue mobilisation and Rs. 59.92 billion through foreign grants.

"This will lead to a deficit of Rs. 522.09 billion. Out of this total deficit including the amount allocated for fiscal arrangement, Rs. 283.09 billion will be covered from foreign loan and the remaining Rs. 239 billion will be financed through domestic borrowing," Finance Minister Janardan Sharma 'Prabhakar' had said in his Replacement Bill.

He had downsized the budget of this fiscal by Rs. 15 billion to bring it to Rs. 1632.8 billion from Rs. 1647 billion which was announced by former FM Bishnu Prasad Paudel. However, the process to prepare the Replacement Bill and get it passed from the Federal Parliament took about two initial months of the year which delayed the utilisation of capital allocation.

Pathetic capital spending

However, capital expenditure is not encouraging. While about 84 days of the fiscal year are remaining, only 28.24 per cent development budget is spent which means the government could spent Rs. 106 billion of the total capital budget of Rs. 378 billion.

It means there is a pressure to spend about Rs. 3.23 billion capital allocation a day to utilise the total development funds. Average spending so far is about Rs. 377 million a day.

Experts say that there is a risk of the country witnessing the trend of poor capital spending trend of the previous year when only 64.69 per cent of the Rs. 352.9 billion development budget was utilised. Last year, 89.7 per cent of Rs. 948.9 billion recurrent budget and 58.4 per cent financing of Rs. 172.7 billion was used up.

Through the replacement bill, FM Sharma has allocated Rs. 677.99 billion (41.52 percent) for recurrent expenditure, Rs. 378.10 billion (23.16 percent) for capital expenditure and Rs. 189.44 billion (11.6 percent) for fiscal arrangement.

The budget earmarked Rs. 387.30 billion (23.72 per cent) for intergovernmental fiscal transfer to provinces and local levels.

Out of total budget allocation for fiscal transfers, Rs. 325.75 billion (84.11 per cent) was for recurrent expenditure including equalisation grant and Rs. 61.55 billion (15.89 percent) was for capital expenditure. 

 Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 23 April 2022. 

Imark launches MuguShop

Kathmandu, Apr. 22

Imark Private Limited has introduced a billing and inventory management application, MuguShop.

The company said that MuguShop is a powerful POS Solution for all kinds of businesses. "It is comprehensive solution that helps to manage billing sales, customer invoices, inventory, payments, and discounts with an extremely simple way," said Director of Imark, Ashish Sharma.

In comparison to the previous traditional technique of documenting and evaluating day-to-day business transactions, this software makes bookkeeping much easier and more useful for a business, he said.

MuguShop app can be used by retail shops, grocery stores, spas, salons, restaurants and cafés. The company has launched the product after conducting a month-long test in the market.

Meanwhile, Imark organised an event on customer engagement and engagement in collaboration with Giift. Director of Giift, Deepa Swami and Sales President Dilip D. S. had informed the ways about maintaining the customer loyalty in business.

Imark has been providing fintech solutions to almost every bank in Nepal, and POS machine to more than 20,000 merchants. The company currently operates in Nepal, India, Bhutan, Myanmar, UAE and Barma.

 Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 23 April 2022. 

President Bhandari appeals for generous schemes for developing countries

Kathmandu, Apr. 21

President Bidya Devi Bhandari has appealed to the world community to come up with generous packages for the economic recovery of developing countries like Nepal.

In her address to the Annual Conference of the Boao Forum for Asia 2022 on Thursday morning, she stressed the need to forge partnership, collaboration and mutual cooperation among states in order to overcome the challenges facing the world, according to a statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA).

President Bhandari called for 'Whole of Region' and 'Whole of the World' approaches for the benefit of each and every country in the world.

Likewise, underlining the important lesson drawn from the pandemic, she stressed the need to invest in innovative and quality health education as well as in the development of health infrastructures.

The President also expressed hope that the deliberations at the forum would encourage countries to adopt the measures to control and prevent the pandemic as well as attain the economic recovery, read the statement.

She highlighted the adverse impacts of climate change on economy not least of mountainous and island countries and urged every country to implement its commitments to reduce carbon emissions to prevent global warming.

The Annual Conference is being held from 20 to 22 April in Boao, Hainan Province of China, under the theme of 'The world in COVID-19 and beyond: Working together for global development and shared future'.

 Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 22 April 2022. 

China claims Nepal's export boost contrary to 15 per cent slump

Kathmandu, Apr. 21

Contrary to Nepal's official trade records, China has claimed that Nepal's exports to the northern neighbour have gone up by 63 per cent.

At a virtual conference organised by the Chinese Embassy in Kathmandu, Ambassador Hou Yanqi said that according to the Chinese statistics, the total volume of trade between China and Nepal increased 67 per cent and reached 1.97 billion USD in 2021, of which Nepal’s export to China increased by 63 per cent.

But Nepal's exports were down by more than 15 per cent last year compared to the previous year. According to the statistics of the Department of Customs of Nepal, export decreased to Rs. 1.01 billion in 2020/21 from Rs. 1.19 billion in 2019/20. However, Nepal imported Chinese goods worth Rs. 233.9 billion in the last fiscal, up from Rs. 181.9 billion in 2019/20.

Nepal's trade deficit with China was Rs. 180.7 billion two years ago which went up to Rs. 232.9 billion last year.

Ambassador Yanqi said that the Chinese data proved that the so-called 'soft block' on Nepal is totally baseless. "We noticed that now Nepal’s economy has encountered some difficulties, mainly as a result of the slow recovery of global economy and the shock of the pandemic," she said.

According to her, Chinese side has made continuous effort to improve the capacity of one-way cargo transportation at the Kerung and Zhangmu border ports, and tried its best to ensure the supply of materials for production, living, anti-pandemic, elections and others to Nepal while fighting the pandemic on an ongoing basis.

She also maintained that the Chinese side attaches great importance to the desire of Nepal to resume export to China through land ports. The relevant authorities, neighboring provinces and border port authorities of the two sides are in constant communication and coordination in this regard.

 China firm in building cross-border infrastructure

Meanwhile, China has said that although it would take 'quite a time', China-Nepal cross-border railway project would be materialised.

"We have started our part to take the project ahead, however the difficult topography with fragility and environment issue will slow the progress of the project," Hou said.

The Cross-border Railway Project reflects the good expectations of the two peoples, she said while adding that the two sides have signed the technical assistance plan for the feasibility study project for it, marking another solid step in advancing the project.

Likewise, she said that China is willing to work together with Nepal to complement each side’s advantages, actively promote the power grid interconnection, and build a new channel for Nepal’s power export.

"It must be pointed out that these projects will come across many difficulties such as complex geological conditions, frequent natural disasters, and high construction cost. This requires both sides to formulate practical plans on technical standards, funding sources and so on in the spirit of seeking truth from facts," said Hou.

While the railway project would be developed as a part of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Hou said that the initiative launched by Chinese President Xi Jinping is not a grant support but a cooperation modality.

She expressed her belief that over time, the Trans-Himalayan Multi-Dimensional Connectivity Network will develop steadily and achieve new results. The Trans-Himalayan Multi-Dimensional Connectivity Network has gradually moved from a blueprint to a reality, she said while adding that since last year, BRI cooperation between Nepal and China was enhanced despite COVID-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, she also mentioned that BRI has never been a 'geopolitical strategy', but a road of development that helps countries along the road, especially developing countries to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and promote common development and prosperity.

Ambassador Hou said that China will gradually take back Nepali students who were studying there and have been stuck in Nepal due to pandemic. She said that the resumption of direct flights between the two countries will facilitate the task to taking them back. She also expressed concerns on the difficulties faced by the Chinese investors and contractors who are working in Nepal due to the policy instability here.

 Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 22 April 2022. 

BIMSTEC Energy Minsters agree to form coordination committee for grid connection

 Kathmandu, Apr. 20

The Energy Ministers of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multilateral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) have agreed to prepare a master plan on 'grid connection', facilitate energy trade and set up an energy trade centre.

The 'Grid Interconnection Coordination Committee' will be set up to implement the grid interconnection and prepare the necessary action plan, said the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation (MoEWRI) citing the BIMSTEC statement.

The third meeting of the BIMSTEC Energy Ministers organised virtually on Wednesday was chaired by Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, Pampha Bhusal.

The meeting agreed to formulate a master plan for the BIMSTEC Grid Interconnection Coordination Committee with the assistance of the Asian Development Bank. The meeting also agreed to develop policy and tariff system for energy trade. The BIMSTEC nations have agreed to develop a group of experts to plan cooperation on the modality of energy trade.

In her speech, Minister Bhusal maintained that the BIMSTEC Grid Interconnection Master Plan Study, to be conducted with the technical support from ADB, is expected to identify different transmission projects to be built in the matching timeframes with the power generation projects planned in different BIMSTEC countries.

"A rigorously thought-out plan will be critical to facilitate the intra-regional power trade and enhanced energy cooperation," she said.

Similarly, BIMSTEC Energy Centre will be established for energy related research and to strengthen experience sharing and cooperation among member countries. For that, it has been mentioned in the statement that master plan and action plan will be developed, structure will be prepared and necessary funds will be managed for its operation.

The establishment of BIMSTEC Energy Centre was envisaged during the first BIMSTEC Energy Ministerial Meeting held in India in 2005.

Energy Minister Bhusal suggested increasing the use of clean and renewable energy.

Stressing on the need for adequate financial investment in energy promotion, she said that technology transfer should be promoted in the BIMSTEC.

She stated that the 3E nexus between energy, environment and economy is remarkably vital for achieving sustainable economic growth in the BIMSTEC region. "Over the past decades, we have been conventionally following the course of fossil fuel-based energy production and consumption. This trend needs to be changed as much as possible since it has enormously added stress on our environment," she said.

Minister Bhusal said that the agreement carries high importance for Nepal since the country accords high importance to clean energy, energy cooperation among the members in the region and cross-border energy trade.

"Nepal has a huge hydropower potential. Our hydropower export to the Member States of the BIMSTEC will benefit not only Nepal but also the entire region for reducing non-renewable energy generation and providing sustainability to the system," she stated.

However, most of the energy trade in our region is bilateral in nature. The existing intra-regional energy trade is limited to electricity and petroleum products.

"To diversify this trade, we must chart out short-, medium-, and longer-term power trading projects that can gradually ensure transition to renewable energy production with emphasis on achieving the goals of a carbon-neutral economy," said Minister Bhusal.

Likewise, addressing the meeting on behalf of Nepal, Secretary at the Ministry of Energy Devendra Karki said that progress was being made in energy cooperation with the neighboring countries. He expressed the belief that mutual trust, cooperation and partnership among the BIMSTEC nations would help in adapting and upgrading the development efforts of the member countries.

According to him, 93 per cent of Nepal's population has access to electricity. 

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 21 April 2022. 

Thai Airlines show interest to operate flights to GBIA

 Kathmandu, Apr. 20

Ambassador of Thailand to Nepal, Vosita Vorasaph has said that several airlines in Thailand have shown interest to fly to the Gautam Buddha International Airport (GBIA) in Bhairahawa.

"Lumbini, the birthplace of Gautam Buddha, holds high importance among Thai people and they want to visit it at least once in their life, so airlines want to come here," he said while speaking at an event organised by Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) New Delhi Office in Kathmandu on Wednesday.

Vorasaph also said that promotion of Buddhist Circuit that includes Lumbini in Nepal, Bodhgaya, Sarnath and Kushinagar in India, is an important agenda of the BIMSTEC of which Thailand is also a member. "So, promotion of Lumbini and GBIA is our agenda, too," he said.

According to Thai embassy in Kathmandu, discussions about conducting direct or indirect flights from Bangkok to Lumbini have been going on but there has not been any significant progress.

TAT said that it was positive about resuming the 'on-arrival visa' for Nepali tourists while entering Thailand. "We will talk to the high authorities in Thailand," said the agency's New Delhi director Vachirachai Sirisumpan while making presentation about 'Amazing Thailand' a new tourism-promotion campaign of the country.

He said that Bangkok, Pataya, Phuket, Khao Iak, Krabi, Koh Samui and many other locations in Thailand are the favourite destinations of Nepali tourists. President of Nepal Association of Travel and Tours Agents (NATTA) Ramesh Thapa said that there was a significant tourists exchange between Thailand and Nepal.

Thapa said that collective efforts are needed to revive tourism in the region. Stating that Nepalis were facing problems in obtaining visa to Thailand, he said that it should be provided as prior to COVID-19.

Nepali tours operators complained about insurance issues that was troubling Nepali visitors bound to Thailand. In response, TAT representatives said that travelers had problems in claiming their insurance after returning to Nepal after being COVID-19 positive in Thailand and staying in quarantine in a hotel there.

They suggested Nepal to develop an insurance policy covering COVID-19 in foreign countries.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 21 April 2022. 

Household taps to dispense Melamchi water from Sunday

Kathmandu, Apr. 19

The Kathmandu Upatyaka Khanepani Limited (KUKL) is making preparations to send water from the Melamchi Water supply Project (MWSP) to the households in the Kathmandu Valley from coming Sunday.

"If things went as planned and projected, we will be able to supply water to our consumers in the next five days," said Prakash Kumar Rai, Deputy Manager of KUKL.

Earlier, the Ministry of Water Supply had announced that the water from the Melamchi in Sindhupalchok would be brought to the valley on the first day of the Nepali New Year, 2079. Tuesday is the 6^th day of the year.

KUKL's supply pipeline network is ready to pump water but in the first phase, water would be transmitted through the old network. However, households connected with the new supply network could get the water depending upon the amount of water arriving in the Kathmandu valley.

Rai said that the water utility had designed the supply plan in a way it would benefit maximum consumers.

The MWSP had sent water to the tunnel last week and the water reached Sundarijal side in the valley on Tuesday. The water will be held in the tunnel for about five days to get it filled and clean up.

According to Bashu Dev Paudyal, Executive Director of the Melamchi Water Supply Development Board, it will take maximum five days to fill up the 26.5 km long tunnel of the project.

He said that that after filling the tunnel, the water would be flown to the treatment plant in Sundarijal and within 5-6 hours it would be sent to the distribution networks.

Meanwhile, the work to clean the debris deposited by the floods and landslide upstream of the Melamchi River in Sindhupalchowk on July 15 last year. Head works and a part of tunnel of the national pride project were damaged in the disasters caused by torrential rains. The structures were buried about 15 metres down in the debris.

The work to restore the project had begun by the end of January this year. "About 75 per cent debris is removed from the site and top of head works is visible now. The site would be cleared and assessment would be conducted before the coming monsoon," said Paudyal.

When the floods hit the head works, project had completed the construction of civil works of the head works and only a small amount of hydro-mechanical and electrical work was remaining.

Earlier, on 2 April 2021, President Bidya Devi Bhandari had inaugurated the distribution of Melamchi water by letting a tap flow at the Bhrikutimandap, Kathmandu.

The project was conceptualized about five decades ago and construction was started about two decades ago. It witnessed multiple deadline extensions and cost overrun, which has almost doubled by now. In the first phase, the project is supposed to bring about 170 million litres of water a day in Kathmandu.

In the second phase, 340 million litres of water from Yangri and Larke rivers would be added to the system. 

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 20 April 2022. 

WHO Director General arriving tomorrow

Kathmandu, Apr. 19

Director General of World Health Organisation (WHO) Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus is paying a visit to Nepal from Thursday to Saturday.

He is coming here at the invitation of Minister for Health and Population Birodh Khatiwada said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) in a statement on Tuesday.  

Dr. Tedros will be accompanied by Dr. Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director of WHO South East Asia Regional Office, and other officials of the WHO.   

During the visit, he will call on President Bidya Devi Bhandari, Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, and chairman of National Assembly Ganesh Prashad Timilsina.

 The visiting Director General will also meet Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr. Narayan Khadka and Health Minister Khatiwada. 

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 20 April 2022. 

Young Women Entrepreneurs' Summit to be held on Apr 23

Kathmandu, Apr. 19

Nepalese Young Entrepreneurs' Forum (NYEF) is organising Young Entrepreneurs’ Summit - Women (YESW) in the capital on April 23.

The flagship event of NYEF has been organised since 2013. "The event is being organised with the objective of showcasing women entrepreneurs running businesses in different sectors. This year, YESW-2022 is taking place with the theme - Beyond Barriers," NYEF said in a statement.

The event is expected to draw 150 or more participants, including entrepreneurs, working professionals, experts, startups and students.

Sangita Pandey from Aamako Achar, President of Federation Women Entrepreneurs Association of Nepal (FWEAN) Neeru Rayamajhi Khatri, Vidhusi Rana from Goldstar, Subhash Sharma from F1soft International, and Aanchal Kunwar, CEO of Daraz Nepal are among the panel's speakers.

The event will also feature up-and-coming startups and new ventures such as BiheNepal, Educase, Makkuse, and Suiro led by young women entrepreneurs.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 20 April 2022. 

Economy in urgent need of transformation: FM

 Kathmandu, Apr. 15

Finance Minister Janardan Sharma said on Friday that the Nepali economy immediately needed transformation in agriculture and government mechanism to implement development programmes.

"The country is lagging in terms of development and growth and currently facing economic challenges because it has failed to manage available resources. There are challenges in utilization of the resources," he said in a meeting with the Nepal Association of Financial Journalists (NAFIJ) at his office.

According to him, revolutionary changes are needed to transform the agriculture sector in order to make it able to substitute the imports that has reached Rs. 300 billion a year. The country is facing pressures on its foreign currency reserves as it is importing the goods that could be grown here.

FM Sharma had initiated his budget-related discussions from agriculture. He believes that the national economy could be strengthened with the development in agriculture, reduction in the imports of petroleum fuel, increase in the generation and consumption of hydroelectricity, and attraction of tourists to Nepal.

Similarly, the government mechanism to implement development budget need an overhaul. Although the country has been ushered to the federalism, the mentality of bureaucracy and leadership is centralized which has created challenge in implementing the rights devolved to the subnational governments, he said while adding, "Reforms are needed to change this scenario. The country wouldn't gain much from the current structure."

FM Sharma expressed worry over the high inflation rates which has severe repercussion on the foreign currency reserves leading to economic challenge for the country. According to him, the country had paid about Rs. 100 billion for petroleum imports although the quantity of goods is more or less the same. Nepal imports petroleum fuel worth about Rs. 1 billion a day. Meanwhile, the government has planned to reduce the use of fossil fuel by 20 per cent in its applications.

Likewise, hike in the price of goods like iron and steel, cooking oil, and vehicle spare parts had inflicted additional burden to the balance of payment.

"We are also planning to shift the subsidy given to the LP gas to the electric cooking appliances in order to strengthen the national economy by reducing imports," said the finance minister.

He said that his vision is to develop Nepal as a productive economy and upcoming budget will have programmes and projects to support this theme.

Meanwhile, FM Sharma indicated that the claims of COVID-19 insurance would be paid in near future.  However, he did not disclose the details.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 16 April 2022. 

After SC order NRB Governor Adhikari to resume office today

Kathmandu, Apr. 19

The Supreme Court on Sunday issued an interim order in the name of the Prime Minister's Office asking the latter not to implement the decision to form an inquiry committee which automatically suspended Governor of the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) Maha Prasad Adhikari.

In its order, the SC said that the governor should be allowed to perform his responsibility. Citing the Nepal Rastra Bank Act, 2002, it said that the committee formed to conduct an investigation into Governor Adhikari was against the law.

The interim order issued by the single bench of Justice Hari Phuyal has paved the way for Adhikari to resume his duties until the final verdict.

Governor Adhikari had filed a writ petition at the SC against his suspension.

According to the Apex Court, the issue of governor's dismissal is related to the stability of the entire economy, NRB and monetary policy.

It has summoned both the parties to the court to explain their cases.

 Meanwhile, Governor Adhikari said that he would resume his office from Wednesday.

The government had formed an inquiry committee on the governor on April 8. 

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 20 April 2022. 

Access to online payment sees a boost

Kathmandu, Apr. 17

Access to online payment system and its usage witnessed a significant progress from mid-February to mid-March this year with a growth of Rs. 37 billion payment through ConnectIPS gateway in a month.

ConnectIPS witnessed a growth in terms of transaction and amount paid.

From mid-January to mid-February Rs. 236.42 billion was transacted via ConnectIPS which increased to Rs. 273.85 billion in mid-February to mid-March, states the latest report published by the Nepal Rastra Bank’s Payment Systems Department. Its users increased to 3.14 million to 3.33 million in a month’s period. By mid-March there were about 817,197 ConnectIPS users.

However, the amount transacted through the ConnectIPS in mid-February was decreased compared to mid-September to mid-October in 2021 when Rs. 239.14 billion was paid via its app.

Likewise, there was the growth of 364,000 users of wallet and Rs. 2 billion in payment through it in a month. About 11.01 million wallet users had paid Rs. 14.53 billion in mid-January to mid-February while about 11.35 million users made the payment of Rs. 16.6 billion.

Number of QR-based payments has crossed 23 million, however, payment through it is small – just Rs. 7.7 billion. There is a slow growth in QR-payments as Rs. 6.09 billion was paid through it five months ago.

Similarly, transaction amount through the use of debit and credit cards, prepaid cards, internet and mobile banking and point of sales also witnessed a significant increase. For example, Rs. 107.1 billion was paid via mobile banking by mid-March against Rs. 92.7 billion by mid-February, states the NRB.

There are 16.8 million mobile banking and 1.6 million internet banking customers, 11,488 payment service providers (PSPs), while 10.2 million debit cards and 219,946 credit cards are issued.

After the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the central bank had launched a nation-wide campaign to promote QR-based payments in business from groceries to service industry.

Meanwhile, the NRB has started studying the possibility of using the digital currency to replace the currency. It is analysing the opportunities and challenges of using services related to cloud technology. 

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 18 April 2022. 

Tourism Board honours BBC Master Chef's team

Kathmandu, Apr. 17

Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) on Sunday honoured the finalists of BBC Master Chef: The Professional 2020.

In a program organised in Kathmandu, the team of chefs including Alex Wave, Alex Wave, Bart van der Lee and Philli Armitage along with Master Chef Santosh Shah was received by the Chief Executive Officer of the Board, Dr. Dhananjay Regmi as well as board members and directors.

Dr. Regmi said that Shah has added a new dimension to Nepal's tourism by introducing Nepali cuisine to the world.

"Nepal is considered as a beautiful destination by tourists but after Master Chef Santosh Shah introduced Nepali food to the world, it conveyed the message that Nepal is also an important destination in terms of culinary tourism,” he said.

Shah said that he was proud to bring Nepali food to the world stage. He also urged the team that came with him to come back to Nepal and experience Nepal up close again. Similarly, Wave, Lee and Armitage said that they were happy to visit Nepal and learn about the art and culture here.

Nepal's tourism sector was devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic but is slowly returning to normalcy.

A team of Chefs including Shah has been in Nepal since April 7 during the 'Master Chef Finalist Tour to Nepal' tour programme organised by the Nepal Chapter of Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) under the promotion of post-epidemic tourism revival campaign promoted by NTB. 

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 18 April 2022. 

USAID's Rs. 18 billion grant to be disbursed soon

Kathmandu, Apr. 16

After about one-and-a-half months of the ratification of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC)'s grant assistance, the United States of America has decided to provide US$ 659 million (Rs. 79.71 billion) grant support to Nepal for development programmes identified by the latter.

Cabinet had decided to accept the support on Wednesday.

The development assistance will be provided to Nepal through the USAID over five-year period, and Rs. 18 billion of it will be disbursed immediately. According to the Ministry of Finance (MoF), a meeting will be held within a week to release the money.

This is the largest ever grant support extended to Nepal by the USAID. "It is the largest grant support provided to Nepal by any donor agency. Nepal had obtained a large-scale loan support prior to this," said Ishwori Prasad Aryal, Chief of the International Economic Cooperation Coordination Division at the MoF.

This support marks a significant shift in Nepal-USA cooperation as the grant will be mentioned in the annual budget of Nepal and the financial activities will be audited by the Auditor General here.

So far, the US grant support has been mobilised by the USAID in the areas prioritised by it. "This is a framework agreement and we will jointly select the programmes primarily in the social sectors like education, health, disaster management and utilisation of natural resources," said Aryal. Infrastructure development in these areas could also be developed through the grant, he added.

According to him, the details of programmes and implementation modalities are being finalised and the MoF will soon publish it.

Representatives of Nepal government and USAID had rigorous discussions for about eight months to finalise the modality of the framework of the support.

The support will be provided to Nepal from 2022 to 2027. Meanwhile, the MoF said that the USAID could increase the support and make it US$1 billion.

In 2019/20, the USA had provided about Rs. 15.5 billion support to Nepal. Earlier in February, Nepal had ratified the US$ 500 million MCC grant for Nepal Compact that would be mobilised in the development of cross-border transmission lines and upgrading of national highways.

The MCC is a five-year grant and in case of inability to spend it, the remaining support would be returned to the USA.

According to USAID's Country Development Cooperation Strategy 2020-2025, it will make significant investments to increase self-reliance, prosperity, and inclusiveness that will advance Nepal's development trajectory and allow it to make impressive development gains.

It includes building capacity and institutions necessary the journey to self-reliance, and advancing federalism, democracy and human capacity. 

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 17 April 2022. 

Nepal for furthering SAARC process

Kathmandu, Apr. 13

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) has said that Nepal is putting its efforts to further the process of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).

"As the current chair of the regional association, Nepal wants to continue the SAARC process," Spokesperson of the MoFA, Sewa Lamsal said at a press meet organised by the ministry.

Nepal is the chair of the SAARC since November 2014. Prolonged tensions between India and Pakistan has disturbed the SAARC process and the organisation has failed to organise regional summit since 2014. The last summit was held in Kathmandu.

Likewise, Lamsal said that Nepal and Bangladesh are planning for the secretary-level meeting which would be held soon.
The two countries are doing homework to finalise agenda for the meeting.
"Agenda are yet to be set. However, trade, energy, investment, high-level exchange as well as exploiting trade and business opportunities wi be priority agenda," said Lamsal.

Similarly,  Bangladesh and Nepal are strengthening climate change cooperation.
We are also studying Bangladeshi model for LDC graduation, she said.
Bangladesh is graduating from the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) in 2026. Since Bangladesh is faring better than Nepal in terms of business development, investment attraction and economic progress, the latter can learn from it.
Meanwhile, Nepal and Bangladesh are celeberating golden jubilee of their diplomatic ties. Presidents and prime ministers of both the countries have recently exchanged congratulatory notes.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 14 April 2022. 

Govt for proper utilisation of land: PM Deuba

 Kathmandu, Apr. 14

Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has said that the government was taking special initiative for proper utilization of land.

Addressing the centenary celebrations of land registration in the land administration on Thursday, he informed that the land use regulations for the protection of land are in the stage of approval and will be approved soon.

"It is necessary to make the land administration clean, transparent and systematic by resolving the problems seen in the land administration," he said.

The land registration was approved on the first day of the Nepali New Year a century ago.

PM Deuba said that the government has accorded a high priority to solving the problems of landless squatters, Dalits and unorganized settlers.

he said the government was moving towards implementing the issues ensured by the constitution including providing access to agricultural land to farmers, managing landless squatters, freed Kamaiyas, Haliyas and unorganized settlers.

According to PM Deuba, National Land Commission has been formed to solve the problems of landless squatters, dalits and unorganized settlers across the country forever. The commission has already started the work of identification, verification and registration of landless people in different places and distribution of spare parts.

He also showed concerns over the decline in production and growing food insecurity due to improper use of land, widening trade deficit caused by agricultural imports, growing trend of government land encroachment, and impact of climate change.

Speaking on the occasion, former PM Jhala Nath Khanal stressed on the need to pay special attention to modernise the land administration with the adoption of technology, and consolidate the land to solve the land and people's land related problems.

He said that Nepal's border was yet to be finalized, so it is necessary to mark it scientifically through diplomatic initiative.

Minister for Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation (MoLMCAP), Shashi Shrestha said that work has already started to make the services at the land administration user-friendly. "We have given special emphasize on the use of technology in service delivery," she said.

Minister Shrestha said that land use regulations are being passed to protect the cultivable land which is rapidly declining due to uncontrolled urbanisation and destruction of productive land. The regulations will help in the consolidation and protection of agricultural land, increment in agricultural produces and productivity, and creation of jobs.

She said that work has been started to solve the land related problems of landless Dalits, squatters, unorganized settlers as well as Haliya, Kamaiya, Kamalari, Harwa, Charwa, and Badi community.

He also said that an interaction and discussion has been held with the stakeholders for the drafting of Guthi Act and the law is being drafted in such a way that everyone can take ownership of it.

Secretary of the MoLMCAP, Ram Prasad Thapaliya said that special emphasis has been laid on the use of new technologies to make the land administration sector more effective and customer-friendly.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 15 April 2022. 

EPS agreement to be renewed soon

 Kathmandu, Apr. 12

Ambassador of South Korea to Nepal Park Chong-suk said that necessary preparations will be made to renew the Employment Permit System (EPS) agreement with Nepal as soon as possible.

During a courtesy call on Minister for Labor, Employment and Social Security, Krishna Kumar Shrestha on Tuesday, he said to expedite the work to renew the agreement which is the process since 2020.

Minister Shrestha had urged Ambassador Park to conclude the bilateral agreement on the EPS.

The last bilateral agreement on the EPS between Nepal and South Korea signed in 2007 was last renewed in 2018 and has been in the process of renewal since 2020.

Minister Shrestha had requested the ambassador to make arrangements to take 10,000 Nepalis who have passed the Korean language test to Korea, and increase the quota for Nepal under the EPS.

South Korea has been taking Nepali workers since 2008 by allocating quotas. Under the EPS system, foreigners from 16 countries take the Korean language test for employment and work in Korea. Ambassador Park said that the South Korean government is positive to increase the number of Nepali workers under EPS.

Stating that 2,000 Nepalis who passed the language test under EPS in 2018 could not participate in the process due to the expiration of their stay in the roster, Minister Shrestha requested to extend the deadline and include them in the process. He said that the ministry is making preparations to start language test for those going to South Korea for employment under the EPS from May 30 this year.

He also urged Ambassador Park to include the Nepali flag carrier Nepal Airlines Corporation to be listed in Korea since a large number of Nepalis go to the country for employment. It will make air fares cheaper. Minister Shrestha also informed that Nepal Airlines Corporation was trying to operate Kathmandu-Korea flight.

On the occasion, the minister also expressed interest in the opportunity for seasonal workers in South Korea. He said that the government is ready to move ahead by maintaining policy clarity on the issue.

He also requested South Korean support for the ministry's plan in establishising skill development training in provinces as well. 

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 13 April 2022. 

Price of oil, vegetables, milk products goes soaring

 Kathmandu, Apr. 13: 

The economic crisis has its toll on price inflation of goods and services.

Consumer price inflation more than doubled to reach 7.14 per cent in the eighth month (mid-March) of Fiscal Year 2021/22 compared to 3.03 per cent a year ago, according to the Current Macroeconomic and Financial Situation report of the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB).

Food and beverage inflation stood at 7.51 per cent whereas non-food and service inflation stood at 6.84 per cent in mid-March. In mid-April 2021, food and beverage inflation was 3.80 per cent and non-food and service inflation stood at 2.42 per cent.

Price of ghee and oil went up by 26.34 per cent, vegetable by 13.96 per cent, milk products and eggs by 11.30 per cent, and pulses and legumes rose by 10.30 per cent on year-on-year basis.
Likewise, under the non-food and services category, the prices of transportation, miscellaneous goods and services and education sub-categories rose by 16.27 per cent, 9.01 per cent and 8.79 per cent respectively.

In the review month, hill area experienced the highest inflation of 7.69 per cent. The Kathmandu Valley, Terai and Mountain witnessed inflation of 6.31 per cent, 7.36 per cent and 7.56 per cent respectively. Inflation in these regions was 2.50 per cent, 3.25 per cent, 3.40 per cent and 1.31 per cent respectively in mid-March 2021.

Remittances continue to slump
Remittance inflows decreased by 1.7 per cent to Rs. 631.19 billion by the end of the eighth month of the fiscal year against an increase of 8.7 per cent of the previous year.
Number of Nepali workers taking approval for foreign employment increased significantly to 227,900 in the review period. It had decreased by 82.9 per cent in the same period of the previous year. The number of Nepali workers taking approval for making re-entry for foreign employment increased by 240.9 per cent to 178,262. It had decreased by 70.2 per cent in the same period of the previous year.

Net transfer decreased by 2.0 per cent to Rs. 704.33 billion in the review period. Such a transfer had increased by 7.2 per cent last year.

Current account deficit reaches Rs. 463 billion
The report states that the current account remained at a deficit of Rs. 462.93 billion in the eighth month of this year compared to a deficit of Rs. 151.42 billion in the same period of the previous year.

Likewise, capital transfer decreased by 41.2 per cent to Rs. 7 billion and net foreign direct investment (FDI) increased by 60.0 per cent to Rs. 16.30 billion. In the same period of the previous year, capital transfer and net FDI amounted to Rs. 11.91 billion and Rs. 10.18 billion respectively.

BOP deficit continues to grow
Balance of Payments (BOP) remained at a deficit of Rs. 258.64 billion against a surplus of Rs. 68.01 billion of the previous year.
Similarly, gross foreign exchange reserves decreased by 16.3 per cent to Rs. 1171 billion in mid-March 2022 from Rs. 1399.03 billion in mid-July 2021.
The central bank said that based on the imports of eight months of 2021/22, the foreign exchange reserves of the banking sector is sufficient to cover the prospective merchandise imports of 7.4 months, and merchandise and services imports of 6.7 months.

Similarly, deposits at Banks and Financial Institutions (BFIs) increased by 4.1 per cent in the review period compared to an increase of 11.0 per cent in the corresponding period of the previous year.
Private sector credit from BFIs increased by 12.8 per cent this year compared to an increase of 17.4 per cent last year. 

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 13 April 2022. 

Awasthi appointed DG of FNCCI

Kathmandu, Apr. 12

Gokarna Raj Awasthi has been appointed as the Director General of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI).

He is serving the organisation as the Deputy DG until now.

The ninth meeting of the executive committee of the FNCCI on Sunday had decided to appoint him to the post.

Awasthi, who holds a Master's Degree in management from the Tribhuvan University, has a diploma in Development Journalism from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication.

He is well-versed in economics, private sector, sustainable development and other issues, and was earlier the chairman of the Nepal Economic Journalists' Society (SEJON) and the economic editor of Kantipur daily. He has been an economic journalist for more than two decades and also has experience working as an advisor to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 13 April 2022. 

Public-private partnership vital for development: Speaker Sapkota

Kathmandu, Apr. 11

 Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Federal Parliament, Agni Prasad Sapkota, has said that Nepal was bestowed with natural resources and immense potential but it lacked willpower, commitment and vision to exploit them.

"We have been putting our efforts to achieve  the short-term goals while long-term policy, planning and development have been largely ignored," he said while addressing the inaugural session of the 57^th annual general meeting of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), and Industry and Commerce Day, 2022 in Kathmandu on Monday.

Stating that the country was facing an economic challenge, Speaker Sapkota said that a joint effort by the government and private sector should be launched to resolve it.

"They are the two wheels of a chariot in terms of leading the country on the path of economic development. Since economic development cannot  happen without the participation of the private sector, the government must take their demands seriously," he said.

He also said that a good entrepreneur is a good leader. Saying that it is not easy to do business, he suggested continuing public-private dialogue to improve business and investment environment in the country.
Speaker Sapkota said that the private sector should always be given high priority in consideration of  their contribution to  the country's economy, employment, capital formation and investment attraction.

FNCCI President Shekhar Golchha urged the government to make the investment process easier.

"We invest, make the process simple. We produce, don't interrupt. We provide employment, don't strike. We export, encourage. We bring tourists, welcome. We pay the revenue, don't let us be insulted," he said.

Since Nepal's upgrade from the Least Developed Countries in 2026 will affect international trade, especially exports to Europe, the United States and Canada, Golchha urged the government to take proactive steps to support the businesses in export promotion.

"We want the policy to be formulated with the cooperation of the government and under our leadership as the private sector will be most affected by the upgrade," he said.

Expressing concerns over the growing gap between remittance inflows and trade deficit which has reached Rs. 475 billion, he said that remittances can no longer cover the losses.

Likewise, FNCCI Senior Vice President Chandra Prasad Dhakal said that Nepal has about 57 per cent working age people, and it must utilise the strength for economic development.

"If we do not make full use of it within the next few years, there will be more difficult days for us," he said.

He expressed worries over the recent irregular supply of electricity. He said that the discount given on hydropower should also be available to the indigenous investors. Likewise, government facilitation is needed in tourism infrastructure, and the sector requires revenue exemption.

Likewise, according to him, revenue rebates and other facilities are required for the revival of entertainment sector including movies.

On the occasion, senior expert of the FNCCI, Hansa Ram Pandey, and office assistant Shri Krishna Shrestha, who have been serving the federation for 25 years, were honoured with cash and certificates.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 12 March 2022.