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The Securities Board of Nepal (Sebon) has formed an evaluation committee for the issuance of licenses for a new stock exchange and commodities exchanges. The five-member committee is headed by Phanindra Gautam, Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Law, Justice, and Parliamentary Affairs and has Ritesh Kumar Shakya, Joint Secretary at Ministry of Finance, Mukunda Kumar Chhetri, Executive Director at Nepal Rastra Bank, Muktinath Shrestha, Executive Director at Sebon, and Ambika Giri, Deputy Executive Director at Sebon as members. The Gautam-led committee will study the applications submitted by the companies for new stock exchange and commodities exchanges and recommend the names to the board. Sebon plans to complete the process of license issuance for a new stock exchange and commodities exchanges within a month. The board has received applications from three companies for a new stock exchange and four companies for two commodities exchanges. The top corporate groups of the country are in a race to get the license to operate a new stock exchange. Himalayan Stock Exchange, National Stock Exchange, and Annapurna Stock Exchange have applied for the license to start a new stock exchange. Making a second amendment to the Securities Market Operation Regulation, 2064 BS in the second week of September 2022, Sebon initiated the process to establish the second stock exchange in the country. On September 18, 2022, Sebon invited applications for a new stock exchange, commodity exchanges, and stock brokerage firms. However, the process stalled for five months after advocate Deepak Bikram Mishra went to the Supreme Court demanding to stop the licensing process. The licensing process was stalled after the apex court dismissed Mishra's writ petition on October 21, 2022. Following the court's verdict, the Sebon on April 13 again invited applications from interested parties for new stock exchange and commodities exchanges. According to Sebon, the new stock exchange should have a paid-up capital of Rs 3 billion, of which 70 percent will be institutional investments.  

Police have arrested four persons in possession of brown sugar in Jhapa. The District Police Office, Jhapa identified the arrestees as Arun Danuwar (28), Ashwin Rai (23) of Damak Municipality-9, Neusan Rai (25) of Kamal Rural Municipality-6 and Abhishek Rai (20) of Damak-2, the District Police Office, Jhapa said. Acting on a tip-off, a police team deployed from the Area Police Office, Damak apprehended Arun and Ashwin with 300 milligram brown sugar, a digital weighing machine and Rs 60, 750 in cash from their room. Similarly, Abhishek and Neusan were nabbed with 800 milligram brown sugar and a digital weighing machine. They have been kept at the Area Police Office, Damak for investigation.  

The price of gold has dropped by Rs 200 per tola in the domestic market on Monday. According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the yellow bullion is being traded at Rs 109, 000 per tola today. The yellow metal was traded at Rs 109, 200 per tola on Wednesday. Meanwhile, tejabi gold is being traded at Rs 108, 500 per tola. It was traded at Rs 108, 700. Similarly, the silver is being traded at Rs 1,415 per tola today.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has claimed that the coalition government would last for five years. He was speaking at a program organized in Chitwan on Monday. Claiming that he was working to show results in favor of people, Prime Minister Dahal said that there is no possibility of a change in the government. Saying that the government is ready to open any files of corruption cases, the prime minister said that he would not compromise on the issues of corruption. Prime Minister Dahal said so after the Rastriya Prajatantra Party said that it would be meaningless to join the government if the files of corruption cases are not opened. Meanwhile, he urged the Rastriya Swatantra Party to join the government. “This government has never said that it will not open the files of corruption cases. I am ready to open any files of corruption cases,” he said. On a different note, Prime Minister Dahal said that he has already expressed his commitment to address the demands of Mahabir Pun. Pun has been staging a protest demanding that the government give priority to innovation and research in the country. He went on to say that no political party had tried to attack the vehicle of CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli. Prime Minister Dahal further said that the decision to release Rs200,000 each to the disqualified fighters was not made by this government. The government has just implemented the decision made in 2014.  

The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors on Friday approved $100 million in financing for the Nepal Quality Health Systems Program operation. The program will improve the quality of healthcare services and increase the coverage of health insurance, and enhance the capacity of the healthcare system to prepare for and respond to health emergencies in Koshi and Gandaki provinces. The program will be implemented by the Ministry of Health and Population with the coordination of the Health Insurance Board at the federal level, and provincial and local governments in Koshi and Gandaki provinces to help achieve the strategic objectives of Nepal’s Health Sector Strategic Plan, 2022-2030. These include enhancing efficiency and responsiveness of the health system, promoting sustainable financing and social protection in health, and promoting equitable access to quality health services. “The program supports the implementation of federalism and builds on Nepal’s first Program for Results in the health sector to address the challenges of access and quality and to build a resilient public health sector,” said Dr. Feng Zhao, Practice Manager for Health, Nutrition and Population, South Asia Region. “The results achieved under this Program have the potential for scale-up to other provinces.” The financing for the program is complemented by a $3.84 million grant from the Health Emergency Preparedness and Response (HEPR) Trust Fund. The HEPR Trust Fund supports eligible countries and territories to improve their capacities to prepare, prevent, respond, and mitigate the impact of epidemics on populations.

When the night falls Where the night goes We are under the sky Where does our mind go   We are under the shining stars Wishing to go to the mars On our beautiful eyes The billions of stars shines   The moon is a ball of bright It makes me go very light The dark sky shines Feeling like I’m up to the atmosphere lines   Hanifa Banu Class 6 Whitefield Secondary School, Khusibu 

Due to the effects of climate change, earth is suffering from many troubles. The temperature of the earth now is very hot. Due to which the sources of water such as ponds, wells and rivers are becoming dry day by day.  Because of climate change, production of crops is decreasing which is a big problem for us and farmers. So we should use electric vehicles to stop climate change because vehicles that we use from petrol and diesel are polluting the earth. Because of the effects of climate change, new diseases like covid, dengue, have emerged which are killing people day by day. The effects of climate change are industrialization, deforestation. We should reduce water pollution, solid waste and deforestation to save our earth. We should cut down trees less and we should plant more. There are many causes and results of climate change for the existence of life on the earth. Please adopt the following methods: stop deforestation, industrial revolution, plant trees and use less fossil fuel. Prabesh Bhattarai, Class 6 Global Pathshala, Kausaltar 

Games and sports keep one physically and mentally fit. They keep one away from diseases relating to heart, obesity, mental stress and sleeplessness. They instill in the player a spirit of self-confidence, self-reliance, discipline, justice, fair play and patriotism. Games provide us with recreation and enjoyment. It enhances our social skills by teaching us to maneuver different social situations by using a set of skills. It increases the circulation of blood, boosts metabolism, burns calories and improves respiration and digestion. They develop so many good traits in students. They enable people to follow other virtues like discipline, honesty, integrity, loyalty and patriotism. Games are an important part of our life. Schools should give equal importance to games and studies. No doubt, by doing hard work in their studies, they shall get what they want to achieve but at the cost of their health. What's the use of wealth, if there is no health to enjoy that? Today we see children with different health problems. Many of the children are suffering from obesity. This is because of the passive lifestyle the students have adopted. Students should bring balance between their studies and games. Even short games have an important place in life. IN order to get maximum benefit from them, they must be played properly. There should be a balance between games and studies. It is important to note that devoting all time to games at the expense of studies is also not good. Games are very essential for students, IN our schools, however, games and sports are not given much importance. A period of half an hour or forty five minutes should be dedicated to games every day in schools. Some schools dedicate this timing for games once a week only. Children find it difficult to pursue a game in the specified period. Some schools cannot afford funds for sports equipment. Similarly, some schools do not have a playground. Many schools do not employ any physical instructor to guide the children in various games. Even parents want their children to complete their home assignments after school hours rather than play games. They fail to realize that games make children strong both mentally and physically. It is a known fact that a sound mind is the result of a sound body. A person who plays games shows better focus on books than the one who spends an entire day just reading books and doing no other activities. The fact is that academics without any inclusion of games and physical activities are incomplete. The education system needs to be reformed, and equal importance needs to be given to sports and games. Bidisha Shrestha Grade: 9 Campion School, Lagankhel