Month: April 2024

Kathmandu: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Health and Population, Upendra Yadav, informed the international community that Nepal adopts right-based approach while dealing with the issues of population and development. "Nepal is committed towards a rights-based, inclusive, innovative, and sustainable approach to population and development," he said while addressing the fifty-seventh session of the Commission on Population and Development in New York on Monday. On the occasion, the DPM underlined the full implementation of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) is critical to attaining the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, according to a press statement issued by the Permanent Mission of Nepal to the UN. He also shared that Nepal had given utmost priority and importance to the implementation and attainment of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development since its adoption in 1994. The DPM informed the international audiences across various policies, plans, and programmes Nepal has been enforcing to enhance the quality of life of every citizen in a bid to create a just, inclusive, and equitable society. Meanwhile, DPM Yadav also addressed an informal plenary meeting organized by the President of the General Assembly to mark the thirtieth anniversary of the International Conference on Population and Development. Addressing the meeting, he said that thirty years since the landmark ICPD, the world has witnessed significant progress in poverty reduction, improved health systems, reduced fertility and mortality, increases in life expectancy, access to primary education, promoting gender equality, and advancing health and reproductive rights. "However, the progress we made is uneven within and among countries and there remain significant gaps and inequalities. Multiple challenges including pandemics, conflicts, geopolitical competitions, cost of living crises, and climate change, have impacted our efforts to ac hieve SDGs and the realization of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development," he mentioned. The DPM reminded Nepal's firm commitment to advancing people-centered development, human rights, gender equality, and sexual and reproductive health and rights. The preventable maternal mortality must be reduced, comprehensive sexuality education promoted, youth participation enhanced in decision-making processes, and the National Population Data system for the full realization of the plan of action of the ICPD strengthened, he underlined. Source: National News Agency RSS

Kathmandu: The Nepal Oil Corporation has reduced the price of diesel and kerosene. The price of diesel and kerosene has been decreased by two rupees per liter with effect from Wednesday. Accordingly, the NOC has set the price of diesel/kerosene at Rs 156.50 paisa per liter for the first category of location, Rs 158 per liter for the second and Rs 159 per liter for the third category. However, the corporation has increased aviation fuel (domestic) by Rs 1 per liter and aviation fuel (international) by US$ 7 per kilolitre. As a result, the price of aviation fuel (domestic) has reached Rs 137 per liter and the price of aviation fuel (international) has reached US$ 1.042 per liter. The price of petrol and LPG (or cooking gas) remains the same, said NOC spokesperson Manoj Thakur. Source: National News Agency RSS

Kathmandu: The special court has acquitted three persons, including Pashupati Area Development Trust member secretary Dr Milan Kumar Thapa, in connection with the Pashupatinath temple jalhari case. A divisional bench of special court chairperson Tek Narayan Kunwar and member Murari Babu Shrestha today acquitted PADT's member-secretary Dr Thapa, then member-secretary of the Trust Dr Pradeep Dhakal and store keeper Arun Kumar Shrestha. The Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) had filed a graft case at the special court against three persons for allegedly committing irregularities while installing jalhari at the Pashupatinath temple last October 23. A corruption case was registered claiming irregularities of around 1.5-kg gold worth amounting to Rs 11.7 million in course of installing the jalhari in the temple. Source: National News Agency RSS

Kathmandu: President Ramchandra Paudel has said internal production and productivity should be increased by ensuring an enabling environment for decent labour within the country. In a message of the best wishes on the occasion of the International Labour Day 2024, the President argued that the internal labour market should be robust for the nation's economic prosperity and building a self-reliant-oriented economy. For entrepreneurship development, the contributions of entrepreneurs for investing their capital and the workers for their labour and skills are equally important to make higher production and productivity by creating a favourable environment, according to the President. In his message on the 135th Labour Day, the President has stressed the use of domestic productions and added that this day would inspire all towards providing respect to labour, self-employment, appropriate wages and social security and assurance of other rights of the labourers. The International Labour Day (May Day) is being c elebrated on May 1 worldwide including in Nepal in commemoration of the workers' movement in Chicago, USA in 1886 that demanded respect and rights for workers. Likewise, the President has expressed his confidence that this day would unite the world's working-class people in a unity thread for the protection of their rights, welfare and freedom. He has also stated that the working-class people would also benefit from the materialization of the constitutional provision of developing a socialism-oriented economy based on democracy. Meanwhile, Vice President Ramsahaya Prasad Yadav has urged one and all for the respect of labour and labourers, safeguarding their rights and developing an equitable and inclusive society. In a message today on the occasion of May Day, the Vice President has said all should assist in developing an environment conducive for the workers' security and career development and favourable working stations for the workers. He has also called for ensuring appropriate wages and social secu rity for the workers, and an end to workplace exploitation, discrimination and inequalities. Yadav has stated that May Day is an important occasion to recall the sacrifices and dedications of the workers and pay tributes to them adding that the workers are the foundation pillars of a society who make tireless efforts to meet our needs. "Their contribution to our economy is invaluable," the Vice President said. Vice President Yadav has argued that this day should be taken as an opportunity to renew the unity, compassion and firm determination among the labourers. Expressing his tribute to all workers for their contributions in making society, country and economy, the Vice President has wished for happiness, peace, prosperity and progress to all working-class sisters and brothers at home and abroad. Source: National News Agency RSS

Kathmandu: Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' has said that the incumbent government was working seriously to lay foundation for prosperity and respect for labour by prioritizing manufacturing along with employment in the upcoming fiscal year's policies, programme and budget. In his message to all Nepali workers at home and abroad on the occasion of the International Labour Day, also known as May Day, that falls on May 1, Prime Minister Dahal shared that contribution-based social security programme was implemented to secure welfare of the workers working abroad and those engaged in government and semi-government sector as well as social sector. Stating that the Constitution of Nepal had recognized labour rights as the fundamental rights, Dahal asserted that the constitution guarantees the rights of the workers to run trade unions, to unite for their cause and indulge in collective bargaining among others to protect and promote their rights. Acknowledging the working class was also the basis for the multifaceted development of the State, the Head of the Government clarified that equality, dignity, social justice and prosperity would not be possible until the rights and welfare of the working class was ensured. Furthermore, the Prime Minister in his message said, "The Constitution of Nepal has guaranteed the welfare of the workers by embracing this reality. It is our important responsibility to put the same constitutional provision into practice." Reaffirming the commitment of the government towards International Labour Organization conventions as well as other labour related conventions ratified by Nepal, Dahal assured that the government was continuously working to generate adequate employment opportunities at home to prevent brain drain among the youth and intellectual human resources. Reiterating the government's commitment to leverage knowledge, skills and energy of the youths for the greater good of the country, the Prime Minister spoke of the need to make foreign employment sector safer, dig nified and well-regulated until there were sufficient employment opportunities in the country. Wishing workers all over the world on the occasion, he also expressed his happiness towards the Nepali workers, trade unions and organizations working for the cause of workers for becoming more united, capable, professional and maintaining professional dignity lately. The Prime Minister also expressed his confidence that the day would further inspire one and all to establish the rights of the workers. The International Labour Day is being observed on May 1 worldwide including Nepal in commemoration of the workers' movement in Chicago, the USA, in 1886 that demanded respect and rights for workers. Source: National News Agency RSS

CPN (UML) Chairperson and former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli expressed his belief that Ilam district would attain more prosperity with the recent victory of Suhang Nembang. Chairperson Oli said so addressing a victory assembly at Ilam Chowk Bazaar in Ilam district after his party candidate Suhang Nembang got elected as the member of House of Representatives (HoR) from Ilam constituency no-2 through the April 27 by-election. Suhang emerged victorious by securing 27,722 votes against his nearest rival Nepali Congress's Dambar Bahadur Khadka who got 21,942 votes. Extending gratitude towards the voters for electing youth leader Suhang, Oli assured, "Now onwards Suhang will take charge of development of Ilam while I take charge of him." The septuagenarian leader claimed that only his party had the action-plan to make country economically strong and prosperous. He also asserted that his party had led all the development works in the country so far. Stating that Suhang was the right candidate to bring to frui tion the development related campaign his late father Subash Nembang had initiated, Oli recalled late leader Nembang and said, "Subash was the promulgator of the Constitution of Nepal and a warrior who fought for the people." On the occasion, he extended thankfulness to CPN (Maoist Centre) for lending support to Suhang to win in the recently held by-election. It may be noted that CPN (UML) is a partner of the coalition government led by CPN (Maoist Centre). Similarly, newly elected HoR member Suhang pledged to work with honesty and integrity and serve the people of Ilam. "I forayed into politics to fulfill the incomplete dreams of my late father. I will deliver in such a way that the UML does not have to ask for vote with voters reaching at their doorsteps in the next parliamentary election in 2084 BS. I will never do works that will let the people of Ilam and voters down." Source: National News Agency RSS

Kathmandu: Press Chautari Nepal has said its attention has been drawn to the Supreme Court's order in connection with the content published under 'the dark file' series of sidhakura.com online and youtube channel. The attention has been drawn to the order, stated a press release issued by Chautari's deputy general secretary Shurojung Pandey on Tuesday. "A prestigious institution like the Supreme Court that has been established as the final interpreter of the Constitution, protector of fundamental rights and a centre of hope of the people for justice has imposed restriction on the constitutionally-guaranteed fundamental rights", the statement reads. The Article 19 of the Nepal Constitution i.e. right to communication under the fundamental rights guarantees that there shall be no prior restriction on the publication and dissemination of any news, editorial, article, composition or any other text, audio, audio-visual material or information dissemination or printing in any medium including electronic publicat ion, transmission and printing. There is a provision not to ban the publication, broadcast, not to seize print or other material, nor to cancel the registration. It may be noted that the Supreme Court on Monday had ordered to omit the news content published by the online portal within 24 hours. Source: National News Agency RSS

Kathmandu: The government is set to immediately implement the key issues raised in the third Nepal investment summit that concluded in Kathmandu on Monday. The government has made preparation to execute the issues raised in the two-day summit that was held on Sunday and Monday under the aegis of the Investment Board and Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI). Investment Board's Chief Executive Officer and Member-Secretary of Investment Summit 2024 Direction Committee, Sushil Bhatta said the summit was successful while making commitment for moving ahead with routine follow-up mechanism. "In the case of 12 projects linked to the Investment Board or in the work area, we have already published a notice on Sunday giving a deadline of 45 days. We will seek a sealed proposal and move ahead with concrete projects", he said. Bhatta claimed that Nepal has been successful in conveying the message that it has created a conducive and competitive environment for the promotion of investment. A ccording to him, the projects showcased in the third investment summit have received immense interest from businessmen, entrepreneurs and investors from all over the world. Bhatta said Nepal has been able to present its attractive investment destination by showcasing priorities and potential projects in the areas of energy, information technology, tourism and infrastructure. Similarly, domestic investors have also said that an investment-friendly environment is being created in Nepal. Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) Chairperson Chandra Dhakal said the conference was successful. "Due to lack of follow-up, some of the commitments made in the previous investment conclaves could not be implemented," he said, adding, "The conference has given investors that there is an investment opportunity in Nepal and can give good profits." Dhakal said that the ordinance issued after the start of the third investment conference was trying to encourage the private sector. "We had suggested to the government to amend the particular laws to enable environment for investment," he said. Investors and development partners coming from India, China, the US and other countries said there is a possibility of investment in Nepal. This has also sent a very positive message. He said the investors were keen to invest in Nepal's hydropower, tourism, agriculture and information technology sectors. He also said that the commitment made by all political parties in the investment conference has given an important message. According to him, it is now necessary for the government to follow-up the investors who have made investment commitments to make regulations, procedures and regulations. Investment-friendly environment has been created with all political parties coming and committing together in the investment conference. Source: National News Agency RSS

Kathmandu: The National Statistics Office (NSO) has projected an economic growth rate of 3.54 percent in the current fiscal year. However, the government through the budget announcement had targeted to achieve the annual economic growth rate of 6 percent. The NSO made such projection on Tuesday by unveiling the Annual National Accounts Statistics for the fiscal year 2080/81. However, the Office has said that economic activities in the country are expected to accelerate compared to the first and second quarters of the current FY. Issuing a press release, the NSO has said the country's economic growth rate will be 3.87 percent in the consumer price and has projected that the country's size of economy will be Rs 5705 billion in the current fiscal year. The size of the country's economy was Rs 5348 billion in the last fiscal year, the NSO stated. According to the NSO, the growth rate of agriculture, forestry and fishing sector will be 3.05 percent while the growth rate of the non-agriculture sector will be 3 .75 percent. Likewise, the primary sector will witness a growth rate of 3 percent while the secondary sector will be limited to 1.2 percent and the tertiary sector will have a better growth rate of 4.5 percent in the current fiscal year. The Office has projected that the nominal per capita in GNI will be 1,456 US Dollars and the per capita in GNDI will be 1,843 US Dollars. Source: National News Agency RSS

Kathmandu: The government has appointed Vice Chancellors in Purbanchal University and Midwestern University. Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Universities Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' today appointed Prof Dr Dhruva Kumar Gautam as the Vice-Chancellor of the Midwestern University and Prof Dr Vijukumar Thapaliya as the Vice-Chancellor of the Purbanchal University, according to the Prime Minister's Secretariat. Following an announcement by the Prime Minister that the vice-chancellors would be appointed on the basis of merit-based competition, Gautam and Thapaliya were selected and appointed as Vice-Chancellors through an open competition. Source: National News Agency RSS

Around 150 houses have been gutted in a fire that broke out in Mahadev Rural Municipality of Saptari today. The fire in Ward No. 1 Chimti tole of the rural municipality started from the house of local Shatrudhan Yadav and immediately engulfed the entire village with the heavily blowing winds, according to Ward President Jaya Kishore Das. More than 150 houses in this settlement inhabited by Yadav, Musahar and Muslim communities have been destroyed by the fire. Meanwhile, efforts continue to extinguish the fire with the help of Nepal Police and locals aided by fire tenders from Rajbiraj, Shambhunath, Hanumannagar Kankalini Municipalities. Source: National News Agency RSS

Kathmandu: Parliamentarians have voiced that upcoming fiscal year's budget should be focused on sports tourism, development of tradition skills and re-operating the defunct industries among others. In the discussion on pre-budget report in the National Assembly's Committee for Development, Economic Affairs and Good-Governance here today, they drew the attention of the government towards preventing 'labour drain', holding discussions on budget clearance and conservation of indigenous and native seeds among others. Chairperson of the Committee, Kamala Pant, lamented that many ministries could not spend their budget. According to her, those ministries had mainly stressed on spending on remuneration, allowance and construction works. She lamented there were concerns ranging from climate finance, social security and good-governance. Committee's Secretary Dr Rojnath Pandey, presenting the report, suggested that the entire budget should mandatorily be responsive to issues such as climate change, gender and Susta inable Development Goals (SDGs). The report stated that fiscal discipline was found violated by the government agencies since there was no budget coding in all three-tier government in accordance with the SDGs and issues such as inability to spend the budget despite the allocation and spending budget only by transferring it without authorization was rampant in the public offices. Pandey urged the government to take steps towards increasing revenue by considering measures such as clearing arrears, investigating misappropriation in the revenue collection and expanding the scope of taxes. Parliamentarian Urmila Aryal viewed that the upcoming budget should prioritize strengthening the industries. According to her, the recently held third Investment Summit had only emphasized hydro power and tourism sector. She argued that re-operating the sick or defunct industries should be highly prioritized by the government. Krishna Prasad Poudel expressed his concern over the increasing exodus of migrant workers due to l ack of proper reverence towards them. "It is not a brain drain but labour drain," he assessed the increasing number of Nepalis aspiring for foreign employment. "There is no proper record keeping of the labour. Labourers are being exploited at the hands of commercial establishments as they are not getting minimum wages either," he voiced his concern adding, "The rate of drop-out among the students is also increasing. We should pay attention so as to retain them in the schools." Similarly, Bamdev Gautam saw the need to create an enabling environment at home to encourage domestic production. "Emphasis should be laid on mass production. Production, construction and scientific research be prioritized," he mentioned. Likewise, Jhakku Prasad Subedi asserted that we should be able to identify our priorities at first. Gauging tremendous potential in the hydro power sector of the country, he underscored investment in this sector for, he argued, that it would yield quick results. Source: National News Agency RSS