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The Finance Committee of the House of Representatives on Tuesday issued a directive to open brokers’ new license process. A meeting of the Committee held in Singha Durbar this afternoon directed Securities Board of Nepal, the regulatory body of capital market, and Nepal Stock Exchange to open the brokers’ new license process. The Committee, which had issued a directive to stop the process of distributing new licenses earlier, directed Sebon and NEPSE to open the brokers’ new license process today after holding a discussion. Committee President Santosh Chalise said that the directive to proceed with the process was issued after the ambiguity in this matter was removed. Chalise said that the meeting decided to direct Sebon and NEPSE through the Finance Ministry to issue the permits to brokers and traders if they meet the standard. During the meeting, Sebon Chairman Ramesh Hamal said that the permits will be issued to those who meet the set standard and process. He said that the decision to issue the permit was made by the board of directors, not by individuals.    

With the government gearing up to increase the minimum wage of workers effective from the start of the new fiscal year 2023/24, negotiations are ongoing between government officials and representatives of the private sector, and labor unions. As per the country’s labor law, the minimum wage of workers should be reviewed every two years. Since the government increased the minimum wage in mid-July 2021, it is planning to fix the new wage by mid-July 2023. The monthly minimum wage of workers is currently Rs 15,000 which was increased from Rs 13,450 in mid-July 2021. The government set the daily wage at Rs 577 and the hourly wage at Rs 77. Of the Rs 15,000 monthly wage, Rs 9,385 is monthly salary and Rs 5,615 is dearness allowance. In addition, organizations have to provide additional facilities including gratuity and contributions to the Social Security Fund. While tripartite talks are going on, it is yet to be known how much the minimum wage will be increased this time around. While the government is preparing to revise the salary on the basis of inflation and the consumer price index, the private sector is hesitant to increase the minimum wage at this time citing the economic slowdown for the inability of businesses to raise the salaries of their employees. The Ministry of Labor, Employment, and Social Security (MoLESS) has formed a recommendation committee for wage determination under the leadership of Joint Secretary Danduraj Ghimire. The committee also has representatives of concerned stakeholders that include the Department of Labor, Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI), and labor unions. The committee has been mandated to recommend the new minimum wage to MoLESS. While the labor law does not specifically state how much the wage should be increased, the minimum wage is fixed taking account of inflation, price index, and the last salary increment. According to a member of the committee, they are now in the final stage of drafting the report to be presented to the Labor Ministry. Nepal Rastra Bank, FNCCI and CNI, and General Federation of Nepalese Trade Unions (GEFONT) have submitted separate reports for determining the new wage. The private sector bodies have submitted reports demanding that wages should not be increased as the business sector is facing problems due to the economic downturn. On the other hand, GEFONT has submitted a report with the demand to increase the salary. All these reports will be discussed in the committee’s meeting on June 21. According to private sector representatives, the capacity utilization of industrial enterprises has declined due to the slump in market demand, making it difficult for businesses to increase the minimum wage this time. “Because of the economic slowdown, there is a situation where we have to cut down the jobs. This is the time the government and the private sector need to work together to save employment,” said Rajesh Kumar Agrawal, Senior vice president of CNI. “If the wages are increased at this time, businesses will be affected and it will be difficult to save the employment. Businesses are not in the position to bear the additional financial burden.” According to Agrawal, the minimum wage can be increased once the economy comes out of the slump. “We are positive about increasing wages. And, it is also necessary. But we are not ready for it now because of the economic situation of the country,” he said. While employers have their reservations over the wage increment, trade unions are of the view that their minimum wage should be increased to Rs 26,000. According to them, wages should be determined scientifically. Trade unions have asked the government to set the minimum monthly wage of workers at Rs 26,000. The minimum wage should be on par with the salary of civil servants, they say. “Currently, the salary of the lowest-level government staff i.e., office assistant is Rs 26,348 rupees. We have demanded to raise the minimum wage of workers to this level,” said Janak Chaudhary, Vice President of GEFONT. “If not, the government should make a separate arrangement for the protection of workers. Additional facilities such as providing subsidies, arranging ration cards, and making mandatory contributions to the Social Security Fund should be guaranteed.”

The price of gold has dropped by Rs 200 per tola in the domestic market on Tuesday. According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the yellow bullion is being traded at Rs 111, 800 per tola today. The gold was traded at Rs 112, 000 per tola on Monday. Meanwhile, tejabi gold is being traded at Rs 111, 250 per tola. It was traded at Rs 111, 450. Similarly, the price of silver has dropped by Rs 10 and is being traded at Rs 1,430 per tola today.

Two persons died after a landslide buried them at Gunadi in Myagde Rural Municipality-1 of Tanahun district on Monday evening. The deceased have been identified as Bhim Bhujel (33) of Shivasatakshi Municipality-1 in Jhapa district and Bal Bahadur Rai (40) of Katari Municipality-7 in Udaypur district, according to the District Police Office, Tanahun. The landslide buried them while they were constructing a wall on the road side along the Muglin-Pokhara road section. Bhim died in course of treatment at Damauli Hospital while Bal Bahadur in Pokhara, said DSP Mohan Bahadur Khand. Similarly, Krishna Lingden (45) of Shivasatakshi Municipality-7, who was injured in the incident, is receiving treatment at Ratnahari Hospital, Damauli and his condition is normal, said police.    

Search for those missing in a landslide at Mehele in Sidingba Rural municipality-6 of Taplejung on June 18 is underway. Locals and police personnel have been carrying out a search operation for the missing ones. The landslide that occurred on Saturday swept away four persons including three members of a single family. Of them, one was found dead on Sunday morning while three members of a single family—Bhagimaya Budha Chhetri (63), her daughter-in-law Sandhya (30) and grandson Prajjwal, (9), are still missing, according to spokesperson at the District Police office, Taplejung, Kushum Ram Karki. According to the District Police Office, Keshar Bahadur Rai (67) of Mehele and his son were found dead in a landslide on Sunday morning. Similarly, injured Raj Kumar Rai (45) has been airlifted to Neuro Hospital, Biratnagar, on a chopper of Nepali Army this morning for further treatment from Panchthar District Hospital, according to the District Disaster Management Committee.  

An earthquake measuring 4.0 on the Richter scale jolted Darchula district on Tuesday. The earthquake with its epicenter at Khandeshowri in the district was recorded at 4:55 am today, according to the National Seismological Centre, Lainchour. Earlier on June 12, the earthquake measuring 4.4 on the Richter scale was also recorded in Bajura district.

The country witnessed a marked increase in temperature this summer. In many districts of the Tarai plains, the mercury has soared above the 40°C mark, affecting everyday life. In this context, ApEx caught up with Sanot Adhikari, an environmental expert, to know more about the effects of sudden rise in temperature. Weather in Nepal now is different from what it used to be. How worse can it get? This year, the temperature all over Nepal rose drastically. The same thing had happened in the year 2005. So the possibility for the temperature rise was always there. But with the increasing climate change, predicting weather has become challenging. When we analyze the weather changes seen in the past few years, none of them have followed a certain trend. It’s random. For instance, even this year, it snowed during February and March, rather than December and January. There is a possibility that the weather in the coming years might get worse, but we can’t say that with certainty since the weather changes now have become unpredictable. Is there anything that can be done to improve the climate or is it already too late?  Sadly, it’s too late to go back to stabilize the weather. Climate change has had a severe effect on global weather, and the impact isn’t reversible. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t things we can do to not let this get worse. First would be to reduce the emission of harmful gasses like carbon monoxide. But the problem is, emission of harmful gasses is a global problem, while the effect is being seen locally. It’s true that Nepal, in some percentage, has contributed to climate change, but it’s mostly the developed countries that have made the climate change worse. So, it all comes down to how the emission of such gasses can be reduced globally, rather than what can be done only in Nepal. How has this weather change affected our ecosystem? Recently, I came across a news article that said there was a landslide in Sankhuwasabha. It’s a district located in himalayan region. There, a layer of snow is usually hidden inside a layer of mud, since the region is quite cold. Since the temperature rose, the snow melted, resulting in a severe landslide. This is just one example of how the ecosystem of Nepal is slowly being affected with this rise in temperature. Similarly, the amount of water has been decreasing in 70 percent of water sources all across Nepal. And since Nepal’s ecosystem is quite diverse, the effects vary from one region to another. But the bottom line is that climate change has put many living organisms as well as civilization at risk of unprecedented disasters and ecological changes. How has climate change affected people’s general lifestyle? Climate and weather contribute a lot to public health issues. Firstly, looking at the current heat and the ultraviolet (UV) rays that everyone is subjected to, most people are at risk of getting skin-related diseases. Secondly, since most of our water resources are drying up, there is also a problem of proper sanitation and hygiene in rural areas. Also, it’s during the summer when people often suffer from health issues like diarrhea, cholera and dysentery. With the increasing temperature, these health issues become more contagious. Are we on the verge of losing some rare floras and faunas because of this drastic weather change? Definitely. Climate change is one of the major reasons behind biodiversity loss. Every flora and fauna has a specific kind of habitat, and cannot sustain when the characteristics of that habitat changes. I can’t exactly name the organisms that have gone extinct, but there are many who haven’t been able to survive because of weather changes we have been witnessing within the past few years. If this continues, we will lose several rare floras and faunas due to unprecedented changes in their habitat.

A four-party Socialist Front has been announced on Monday. The announcement was made by the senior leaders of the four leftist parties by signing the agreement paper of the Socialist Front Nepal amidst a program organized at Bhrikutimandap-based Rastriya Sabha Griha this afternoon. CPN (Maoist Center) Chairman and Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, CPN (Unified Socialist) Chairman Madhav Nepal, Janata Samajbadi Party Chairman Upendra Yadav and Communist Party of Nepal General Secretary Netra Bikram Chand signed the agreement. A 15-point policy commitment was also issued during the program. The Socialist Front was formed to be the third largest party after the Nepali Congress and the CPN-UML. The CPN (Maoist Center) has 32 lawmakers, CPN (Unified Socialist) and Janata Samajbadi Party have 10 and 12 lawmakers respectively in the House of Representatives. With the formation of a four-part front, the number of lawmakers has reached 54. Leaders said that the front was formed to end instability seen in the government and to make it easier to move ahead by uniting everyone. Rajendra Shrestha, a member of the Front, said that progressive forces will also be included in the Front. He said that the senior leaders will lead the Front on the rotation basis. An agreement has been made to do the same.