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CPN (Maoist Centre) Deputy General Secretary Barshaman Pun, who has been suffering from hereditary hyper-bilirubinemia jaundice since long, has returned home from China after treatment. Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Narayan Kaji Shrestha, Minister for Federal Affairs and General Administration, Aman Lal Modi, and leaders of CPN (Maoist Centre) welcomed Pun at Tribhuvan International Airport. On the occasion, Deputy General Secretary Pun said he returned home becoming completely healthy due to the best wishes of all. Also, the former minister, Pun had left for China on February 13. He underwent treatment at Third People's Hospital, China.    

Energy Minister Shakti Basnet has asked the private sector to get ready for the power trade. Addressing the 21st annual general meeting (AGM) of the Independent Power Producers' Association Nepal (IPPAN) on Thursday, Basnet said the government is all set to open power trading for the private sector. According to Basnet, the Electricity Bill 2080 will be registered in the parliament soon and its parliamentary endorsement will pave the way for the private sector to engage in power trading. “The bill is currently reviewed by the ministries concerned,” said Basnet. The government, according to Basnet, is going to implement a campaign called ‘Energy for Development’ to further develop the energy sector. “The campaign is aimed at increasing production, distribution, transmission, trade, and consumption of electricity,” he said. IPPAN President Krishna Prasad Acharya said that the government should open the way as the private sector is ready for power trading. Stating that the country’s electricity generation increased after the entry of the private sector, Acharya said that the private sector should now be allowed to do power trade business in order to increase consumption and export of electricity. Private power producers have been lobbying for their involvement in power trading. This demand stems from the fact that the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) currently holds a monopoly on power purchase agreements (PPAs), leaving no other entity in the country authorized to sign such agreements with power producers. The power producers have been gearing up for power trading licenses by establishing power trade companies. According to the Department of Electricity Development (DoED), Nepal Power Exchange Ltd (NEPEX) and Power Trading and Energy Exchange Ltd (PTEEL) have applied for power trading licenses. Similarly, Nepal Infrastructure Bank has applied to the Ministry of Energy, on behalf of the Power Trading Company (PTC) Ltd, and the Himalayan Trading Company is also preparing to register an application for the license. While the private sector in Nepal is still awaiting the trading license to sell electricity in both domestic and foreign markets, some private entities have already signed memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with Indian companies for the cross-border trading of electricity. The Nepal Power Exchange Limited (NPEL), subsidiary of IPPAN has already signed an agreement with Manikaran Power Limited, India to carry out cross-border electricity trade. As per the MoU, the Indian company will buy 500MW of electricity from the Nepal Power Exchange Limited besides investing in the Nepali company itself. During the Power Summit 2023, Nepali and Indian companies signed initial deals for selling 2,200 MW of electricity to India. Karki elected new IPPAN President The 21st AGM of IPPAN also elected a new executive committee. Ganesh Karki has been elected as the new president of the association unopposed. Similarly, all office bearers including Mohan Kurma Dangi as Senior Vice President were elected unopposed. The meeting elected Ashish Garg, Bharat Kumar Khatri, Uttam Vlon Lama, Ram Prasad Acharya, and Anand Chaudhary as vice presidents of IPPAN. Similarly, Balram Khatiwada was elected as the General Secretary. Prakash Chandra Dulal as the Deputy Secretary General. Likewise, Bharat Prasad Nepal, Bharat Kumar Khadka, Kavita Pokharel, Vikram Bista, and Him Prasad Pathak have been elected as secretaries.

The government attorneys are giving the response pleading with the conclusion of the pleadings on behalf of the accused in the fake Bhutanese refugee scam. The government attorneys will today respond to the legal questions raised by the lawyers pleading on behalf of the accused and the time until 1 pm has been set for this purpose, said Laxman Upadhyaya Ghimire, the District Attorney and spokesperson for the District Government Attorney Office. Chief of the District Government Attorney Office, Joint Attorney Achyut Mani Neupane, District Attorney Ghimire, District Attorney Mahesh Prasad Khatri and Assistant District Attorney Nirmala Marasini will be making the response pleading at the Kathmandu District Court today. Ghimire said that they are preparing to conclude the pleading before 1pm. It is said the court order regarding whether or not the accused should be held in custody is expected by the evening today. Generally, the court decision regarding whether or not the accused should be held in custody is made the day the response pleading by the government attorneys concludes. The District Government Attorney Office had filed cases at the District Court, Kathmandu against the accused on May 24, based on the report submitted by the police in connection to the scandal. Cases have been filed against 30 people for their involvement in the scam. They include former Home Minister Bal Krishna Khand, former Deputy Prime Minister Top Bahadur Rayamajhi, Secretary Tek Narayan Pandey, Dr Indrajeet Rai who was the security advisor to the former Home Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa and Bhutanese refugee leader Teknath Rizal among others. They have been charged with fraud, cheating, organized crime and treason. Twelve accused in this case are still absconding.  

The Parliamentary Hearing Committee unanimously endorsed Supreme Court acting Chief Justice Hari Krishna Karki as the Chief Justice. A meeting of the Hearing Committee held in Singha Durbar on Friday unanimously endorsed Karki’s name as Chief Justice. Committee member Mahesh Bartaula informed that Karki’s name was unanimously endorsed as Chief Justice. Karki will be appointed as Chief Justice if President Ram Chandra Paudel appoints him to the top post of the Supreme Court. There is a constitutional provision that the President appoints the Chief Justice if the person recommended by the Constitutional Council is endorsed by the Parliamentary Hearing Committee. The Constitutional Council recommended Karki, also the acting Chief Justice, for the post of Chief Justice on April 28. More than 30 complaints were registered against him.  

The Ministry of Health and Population has directed the health institutions not to carry out any activities to identify the gender of babies in pregnant women. Under Secretary at the ministry Yekdev Khanal has written to the government, private and community health institutions to avoid sex-selective ultrasound. The Ministry has also directed the health institutions and laboratories to paste such information at their premises. The ministry's circulation to the health institutions comes as the recently released report of the National Housing and Population Census, 2021 has shown imbalances on sex ratio of newborns in the country. In recent years, the number of newborn boys is higher compared to the girls mostly due to sex-selective fetus abortion, which is a crime in the eyes of law.

What’s stopping Nepal, a country with good hydropower potential, from going electric? Before navigating the choppy waters for possible answers, it will be worthwhile to recall in brief what the then Prime Minister, Sher Bahadur Deuba, pledged on behalf of Nepal at the World Leaders’ Summit during the 26th Conference of Parties in Glasgow. While reiterating Nepal’s firm commitment to implementing the Paris Agreement, the PM pledged to decarbonize the national economy in all sectors with the aim of reaching a net zero emission by 2045. During the last 40 years, disasters have caused Nepal physical and economic damage worth $6 billion, he pointed, adding: We will ensure that 15 percent of our total energy is supplied from clean energy sources and maintain 45 percent of our country under forest cover by 2030. Fast forward World Environment Day (05 June, 2023). In his address on the big day, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal expressed confidence that the day will inspire all concerned to transform into results the several initiatives and commitments the government has made at national and international fora to combat environmental problems. PM Dahal pledged that his government will make the Environment Conservation and Climate Change Management National Council more effective. When it comes to swearing by the green cause, successive governments have not been lagging behind. But the status of implementation of their lofty promises leaves much to be desired. In this context, government pledges to develop one more cross-border pipeline (Siliguri-Charali), extend the Motihari-Amlekhgunj cross-border pipeline up to Lothar of Chitwan and develop more pipelines for easing oil supply within the country are likely to result in increased consumption of fossil fuel instead of the green energy (hydroelectricity), taking a heavier toll on environmental well-being and public health. India’s per capita energy consumption stands at 1255 MW against Nepal’s 300 MW (approx). Still, Nepal aims to earn big by selling the green energy to a monopsony market, despite reports that consumption of green energy within the country yield multiple benefits, electrifying the economy as a whole, whereas the sale largely benefits the buyers. Therefore, Nepal should focus more on increasing domestic consumption of the green energy. As the transport sector has a huge contribution to Nepal’s greenhouse gas emissions, the government should think seriously—and act—to switch to electric mass transit systems throughout the country, to begin with. Through policy interventions, it should create a conducive environment for the production of vehicles that run on electricity in Nepal itself. On the consumer end, reduced taxes on private electric vehicles like two-wheelers and four-wheelers will provide considerable relief.

Hydropower promoter and climate change activist Krishna Prasad Bhandari has taken an initiative to set up Climate Impact and Evaluation Fund (CIEF).

According to Bhandari, the main aim of the fund is to conduct study and research on the impact of climate change in hydropower projects and suggest ways for possible mitigation.

The main areas of research will be environmental balance and impact of climate change in hydropower projects and electricity centers. Bhandari has submitted an application to the Independent Power Producers’ Association (IPPAN), providing Rs 51,000 as seed money for the establishment of the fund. In his proposal, Bhandari has said preventive measures are necessary that the hydropower sector could face in the coming days due to climate change related disasters.

The clean energy that Nepal produces is a main source of green energy, and through such green energy we can produce green hydrogen that could power electric vehicles as well as contribute to the production of chemical fertilizers, Bhandari has proposed.

He has also drawn the attention of IPPN to play a vital role on how to maximize the benefit from carbon tax and carbon credit. As Nepal has already announced its plan to l achieve carbon neutrality by 2045, Bhandari said the government needs to promote clean energy policies. To implement such a policy, there is a need for strong and productive collaboration between government and private sector for the management of catchment and maintaining a status quo of watershed Management Conservation.

Adverse impacts of climate change are already seen in the Himalayas which are the sources of many rivers. The government and IPPN should take the environmental issues without any delay and with a sense of urgency, Bhandari said.

The date and organizer of Asia Cup 2023 have been finalized. Nepal have already been selected in the Asia Cup which has become indefinite due to the political dispute between India and Pakistan. Issuing a statement on Thursday, the International Cricket Council said that the Asia Cup will be held in Pakistan and Sri Lanka from August 31 to September 17. Four matches of the 16th edition of the Asia Cup will be held in Pakistan and remaining games in Sri Lanka. A total of 13 One-Day International (ODI) games will be played in the tournament where Nepal along with India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan will participate. The participating teams will be divided into two groups and the top two will make it to the ‘super four’. The top two teams from super four will make the journey to the finals. Nepal will play against Indian and Pakistan in the group stage. Similarly, Sri Lanka, Bagladesh and Afghanistan are in another group. Nepal were selected in the Asia Cup by defeating the UAE in the final of the ACC Men’s Premier Cup at home ground. Sri Lanka had become defending champion by defeating Pakistan in the final held in UAE.