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While imports of internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles nosedived in the past year, the imports of electric vehicles (two-wheeler, three-wheeler, and four-wheeler) have increased in an unprecedented manner in the current fiscal year. With the government imposing restrictions on the imports of e and motorcycles above 150 cc for eight months, the imports of electric vehicles surged by a whopping 96.98 percent in the first five months of FY 2022/23. The latest foreign trade statistics of the Department of Customs show there has been a remarkable increase in imports of electric four-wheelers (cars, SUVs, micro-buses and buses) and two-wheelers in the review period. The government policy of excise duty waiver and low customs duties on the imports of EVs along with auto loans up to 80 percent offered by banks and financial institutions have been instrumental in the expansion of the EV market in Nepal in recent years. The department's data show the import of electric cars and SUVs has increased by 48.19 percent while the imports of electric two-wheelers jumped 440.12 percent in the review period. The growth in the cars and SUVs segment has been driven by the surge of electric four-wheelers up to 100kW. The change in the tax arrangements on electric vehicles by the government in the current fiscal year's budget has helped in the market boom of 100kW EVs. Finance Minister Janardan Sharma in the budget for FY2022/23 levied excise duty on top of the existing customs duty on electric vehicles above 100 kW capacity. The government has imposed a 30 percent excise duty on vehicles with 100-200 kW motors. Similarly, a 45 percent excise duty has been imposed on the imports of vehicles with electric motors of 201-300 kW capacity and a 60 percent excise duty on vehicles with more than 300 KW motor capacity. The changes in tax structure have made EVs above 100 kW costlier in the market. Official statistics show the imports of EVs up to 100 kW have gone up by 328.57 percent in the first five months while imports of EVs above 100 kW have declined by 95 percent. The biggest growth has been seen in the motorcycle/scooter segment. The imports of electric motorcycles/scooters have increased by a whopping 440 percent in the current fiscal year. Nepal has imported 4483 units of electric motorcycles/scooters in the first five months of the current fiscal compared to 830 units during the same period of the last fiscal. The electric three-wheelers and micro-bus segments also grew by 22 percent and 85.71 percent, respectively. Nepal has imported 3837 electric three-wheelers and 78 electric micro-buses in the first five months of the current fiscal year. Import of Electric two-wheeler, three-wheeler, and four-wheeler  

The government has been collecting huge amounts of money in cash penalties from the traders found involved in market anomalies. However, consumers fail to receive benefits largely in the absence of an effective monitoring mechanism. The records with the Department of Commerce, Supplies and Consumers Protection (DoCSCP) show that Rs 770,000 was collected in cash penalties from such traders in the last one week. Out of the market monitoring conducted in 89 outlets in the Kathmandu Valley, 36 traders were slapped with cash fines. These operators of the outlets were charged with fines ranging from Rs 5,000 to Rs 100,000 per outlet. Of them, a grocery shop in Dhunge Adda and a dealer of drinking water in Mulpani were fined Rs 100,000 each and a grocery in Chabahil was slapped with Rs 50,000. The actions were taken against the stores for not renewing their business operating licenses. According to DoCSCP officials, most of the penalized outlets were related to drinking water and food supplies. Likewise, the traders were accused of not maintaining price lists of goods, not cooperating with the monitoring officials on the spot, and not having renewed licenses, among others. Due to the lack of effective government monitoring, the selling of expired food items and price hikes are rampant in many places across the country. But the department officials blame insufficient budget, lack of manpower and inadequate logistics for unrewarding results from poor market monitoring. Consumer rights activists said weak government mechanisms for market monitoring has allowed unscrupulous traders ample room to cheat consumers. “In fact, the protection of consumers’ rights is not the priority of the government authorities,” said Madhav Timilsina, President of Consumer Rights Investigation Forum. The Consumer Protection Act prohibits traders from cheating consumers by engaging in adulteration, giving short measures, or surcharging. As per the law, the government authority can impose a cash penalty from Rs 5,000 to Rs 300,000 on the spot. According to Mahesh Bhattarai, Director General of DoCSCP, the random cross-checking of the outlets alone might not help reduce the misconduct going on in the market. He says the lack of a proper data-keeping system, consumers lacking awareness to deal with billing and lack of resources with the department have led to poor outcomes from the market monitoring. “We have planned to develop a separate software to maintain market records and to coordinate with other government agencies related to the market system and consumers,” he said.

Buffalo residents hovered around space heaters, hunted for cars buried in snow drifts and looked for more victims Monday, after 28 people died in one of the worst weather-related disasters ever to hit western New York, Associated Press reported.

The rest of the United States also was reeling from the ferocious winter storm, with at least another two dozen deaths reported in other parts of the country.

Up to 9 more inches of snow (23 centimeters) could fall in some areas of western New York through Tuesday, the National Weather Service said.

“This is not the end yet,” said Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz, calling the blizzard “the worst storm probably in our lifetime,” even for an area accustomed to punishing snow.

Some people, he noted, were stranded in their cars for more than two days.

President Joe Biden said his prayers were with the victims’ families, and offered federal assistance Monday to the hard-hit state.

Those who lost their lives around Buffalo were found in cars, homes and snowbanks. Some died while shoveling snow, others when emergency crews could not respond in time to medical crises, according to Associated Press.

Melissa Carrick, a doula, said the blizzard forced her to coach a pregnant client through childbirth by telephone. An ambulance crew transported the woman to a hospital about 45 minutes south of Buffalo because none of the closer hospitals were reachable.

“In any other normal Buffalo storm? I would just go because that’s what you do – just drive through the snow,” she said. “But you knew this was different.”

Scientists say the climate change crisis may have contributed to the intensity of the storm. That’s because the atmosphere can carry more water vapor, which acts as fuel, said Mark Serreze, director of the National Snow and Ice Data Center at the University of Colorado, Boulder.

Victor Gensini, a meteorology professor at Northern Illinois University, likened a single weather event to an “at-bat” — and the climate as your “batting average.”

“It’s hard to say,” Serreze said. “But are the dice a little bit loaded now? Absolutely.”

The blizzard roared across western New York Friday and Saturday. With many grocery stores in the Buffalo area closed and driving bans in place, some people pleaded on social media for donations of food and diapers.

“It was like looking at a white wall for 14 to 18 hours straight,” Poloncarz, the county official, said.

Relief is coming later this week, as forecasts call for temperatures to slowly rise, said Ashton Robinson Cook, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

Cook said the bomb cyclone — when atmospheric pressure drops very quickly in a strong storm — has weakened. It developed near the Great Lakes, stirring up blizzard conditions including heavy winds and snow, Associated Press reported.

Some 3,410 domestic and international flights were canceled Monday as of about 3 p.m. EDT, according to the tracking site FlightAware. The site said Southwest Airlines had 2,497 cancellations — about 60% of its scheduled flights and about 10 times as many as any other major U.S. carrier.

Southwest said the weather was improving, which would “stabilize and improve our situation.”

Based on FlightAware data, airports all across the U.S. were suffering from cancellations and delays, including Denver, Atlanta, Las Vegas, Seattle, Baltimore and Chicago.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul toured the aftermath in Buffalo — her hometown — on Monday, calling the blizzard “one for the ages.” Almost every fire truck in the city became stranded Saturday, she said.

President Bidya Devi Bhandari administered the oath of office and secrecy to newly appointed Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal and some ministers on Monday. Eight ministers including Prime Minister Dahal took the oath of office and secrecy amidst a program in Sheetal Niwas this afternoon. Two ministers from the CPN (Maoist Center), four ministers from the CPN-UML and one each from Rastriya Swatantra Party and Janamat Party took the oath today. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Physical Infrastructure Narayankaji Shrestha of the CPN (Maoist Center), Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Bishnu Paudel of the CPN-UML, Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane of the Rastriya Swatantara Party and Abdul Khan of the Janamat Party took the oath. Similarly, Jwala Kumari Sah, Damodar Bhandari, and Rajendra Rai also took the oath of office and secrecy as ministers. Maoist Center Chairman Dahal becam the prime minister with the support of seven political parties including the CPN-UML and some independent lawmakers on Sunday. Though the Rastriya Prajatantra Party and Nagarik Unmukti Party had extended support to the government, they have decided not to join the government.

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) gained 56. 88 points to close at 1,924. 09 points on Monday. Similarly, the sensitive index surged by 8. 38 points to close at 375. 45 points. A total of 5,653,053 unit shares of 250 companies were traded for Rs 2. 09 billion. Meanwhile, Gurkhas Finance Limited was the top gainer today, with its price surging by 10 percent. Similarly, Nepal Doorsanchar Company Limited was the top loser as its price fell by 5. 56 percent. At the end of the day, total market capitalization stood at Rs 2. 78 trillion.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal took the oath of office and secrecy on Monday. President Bidya Devi Bhandari administered the oath of office and secrecy to Prime Minister Dahal amidst a program organized in Sheetal Niwas this afternoon. The Maoist Center Chairman was appointed as the prime minister on Sunday. President Bhandari appointed him as the prime minister as per Article 76 (2) of the Constitution. The Maoist supremo became the prime minister with the support of seven political parties including the CPN-UML and some independent lawmakers.

Rastriya Swatantra Party Chairman Rabi Lamichhane became the Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister of the Nepal government on Monday. He took the oath of office and secrecy in Sheetal Niwas this afternoon.  

Amid the continuing agitation of the private sector, Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) is considering making amendments to the Guidelines on Working Capital Loans. The guidelines have aimed to limit the working capital loans to private firms making provisions that firms would get such loans based on their annual transactions only. Major private sector bodies such as the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) and the Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI) have been protesting against the guidelines saying that it has hit their business at a time when they grappling with higher interest rates and a sharp slowdown in economic activities. The central bank implemented the guidelines starting on Oct 18 this year. The essence of bringing working capital loan guidelines was to stop the misuse of the bank money taken to meet short-term commercial needs for an unlimited period of time and outside of the purpose. The central bank has sought to discourage practices of misuse of working capital loans, a significant portion of which businesspersons use to invest in real estate and the stock market, after getting such loans from banks and financial institutions. A month later, the central bank on Nov 16 sought advice from the stakeholders by Dec 26 if there is any problem to implement the provisions of the guidelines. In its first quarterly review of the current fiscal year’s monetary policy, the central bank also promised to make necessary changes based on suggestions. “We have already sought suggestions from the recommendations,” a senior NRB official said. “We will address the problems through the monetary policy review of the second quarter of this fiscal year.” Though the private sector wants the implementation of guidelines to be different by at least two years, the NRB has no such plans. The NRB is of the view that the main motive behind introducing the working capital guidelines is to deter the firms from diverting the loans in other areas than their business purposes. “The suggestions we have sought is not to suspend or defer the implementation of the guidelines,” another NRB official said under the condition of anonymity. “We are just asking the banks and financial institutions about the status of implementation and the problems in implementing it.” According to the official, based on the status of implementation, necessary revisions might be made to the guidelines. “Introducing the guidelines was necessary because we found misuse of working capital loans.” Business community members have been demanding that implementation of the guidelines is suspended for at least two years. In a press meet on Nov 30, FNCCI termed the Guidelines on Working Capital Loans as the ‘major obstacle to the business and private sector growth’. However, businesspersons have not been able to put up a strong case in the favor of their argument that the guidelines created disruption in business activities. Meanwhile, NRB officials have been defending the implementation of the guidelines. On Dec 1, NRB governor Maha Prasad Adhikari said businesses diverting short-term working capital loans to long-term investments could pose risks to the financial institutions. “We are open to discussing revising the guidelines as constitutions are also amenable. But we have to choose the right option,” he said.