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The Indian automobile giant Tata Motors has been in Nepal for over four decades now. The company has been regularly launching new vehicles in the Nepali market. Recently, Shailesh Chandra, Managing Director of Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Ltd and Tata Passenger Electric Mobility Ltd, was in Kathmandu for the launch of Tata Nexon EV Max. ApEx caught up with Chandra to talk about Tata’s plans for Nepal, and market prospects of electronic vehicles (EVs), among other topics. Excerpts: Tata Motors has a very special presence in Nepal. What significance does the market hold for Tata? It’s been four decades since we are present here. Starting with commercial vehicles, it’s been 30 years since we have been in the passenger vehicle segment in Nepal. Just our presence consistently for 40 years with a very strong longtime dealer partner Sipradi Trading has made it possible for us to really make a difference with a very high market share in the commercial vehicles segment. At the same time, last year we held 50 percent market share in passenger vehicles also. For Tata, it has been quite a journey in the passenger car business from selling more multipurpose vehicles (MPVs) and multi-utility vehicles (MUVs) to now selling personal cars. This has been one of the key transitions for us in Nepal over the past three years. The other big transition is happening in the electric vehicles (EVs); the four-wheeler EV market in Nepal is unfolding in a similar manner to India which is also very important for us. We will be highly committed to this market. We will not only bring products that will look attractive but also take the responsibility of the electrification of the automotive market and supporting what the Government of Nepal is also trying to do. We have all the wherewithal in terms of the range of products for the Nepali market. At the same time, we are also committed to developing the ecosystem which is more important. Besides charging stations, we have also established an EV learning center here. Similarly, there is a repair center for batteries; we have such facilities, one each in India and Nepal. We want to bring new things to this market where there are very discerning customers and people who are ready to transition to new technology. In Nepal, the transition to EVs has happened in just two years. This kind of transition does not happen so easily in the world. The automobile market in Nepal is going through a slump due to last year’s restrictions on imports and the rise in interest rates. How have these factors affected the business of Tata Motors in Nepal? The ban, which lasted for eight months, caused a 60 percent decline in vehicle sales. Typically, about 12,000 vehicles are sold in Nepal in a year. After the import ban, the number of sales went down to about 4,000-6,000. However, there has been a 30 percent increase in our EV sales. The Tata Nexon EV Prime and the Tata Tigor EV played a key role in our success in the EV market last year. Moving forward, the Nepal government is also providing a congenial environment for EVs to get promoted, which is going to further support the growth of EVs and our portfolio. Tata Motors is currently in Generation 1 EVs and is said to be rolling out Generation 2 EVs. When will the company roll out the Generation 2 EVs and how different will they be from the current ones? We have followed a very evolutionary approach to bringing products, which means that when the market is not mature and the volumes are low, the consumer mindset is not in favor of a certain technology. This is where we start small. This is why we started with Gen 1 vehicles which are conversion products. It has worked well because there was a familiarity with that kind of product in the market. As battery prices have declined in the international market, there is a greater acceptance of EVs. Our Gen 2 will be a major intervention in the current Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) architecture where we will create orthogonal spaces in the floor of the vehicles to accommodate more batteries. This will increase the range and even the exterior look of the vehicle will change. Similarly, Gen 3 vehicles will be pure EVs, where there will be no possibility of making petrol or diesel vehicles on that architecture. One product that we have already showcased is Tata Avinya. So, when will Tata Avinya be commercially launched? We had already mentioned in our auto expo that Avinya will hit the market by the end of 2025. This is what we are targeting for the Indian market. The Tata EVs, first through Nexon and now with the Xpress T—are making strong inroads into the Nepali EV market. How do you see the future of Tata EVs in the Nepali market? I think it is very important to hit the right balance of things and Nexon EV has been able to do that. While conceptualizing the Nexon EV, we asked ourselves whether we should give it a higher range. Higher range means higher cost, right? What if I want to keep my prices low, come with a lower price? Then you’ll have to reduce the range and then range anxiety starts. So, you have to bring the balance of range price features in a manner that is acceptable to a customer. The consumers had already accepted the aspirational product Nexon in the ICE world. Also when it comes to the EV world, the price is not twice of an ICE but just 25-30 percent more. And with all the features, customers have loved it. And I think with all the support that the government was giving in terms of reduced duty structure, it was aggressive on the price also. So, I think it has worked well. And that’s why a majority of electric vehicles sold in Nepal are Nexon EV today. But I would also say that the charging infra that our partner has put on the highway, which is about 20 charges that as a combination was important to give confidence to the people that they can not only be used within the city, but they can also go for outdoor sea experiences. So, I think that also has a major role. When do you think EVs will be the mainstream in the South Asia region? In our part of the world, EVs are already mainstream. It is because EVs currently have over 50 percent penetration rate. EVs are more feature-rich vehicles and are a pleasure to ride. The vehicles have low operating costs. Earlier, the range of EVs was an issue of big concern for customers. But we have resolved the range issues with products such as Nexon EV Max. Will a market like Nepal continue to get ICE vehicles? While you would like to change faster, the world changes at its own pace. Manufacturers can promote and bring attractive products, but customers will take their time to adopt new things. Some of them are fast adopters, some are late adopters and later the majority will come. So, it will go through the adoption phase and value chain preparation for new technology. There will be a period when both technologies will co-exist. Till there is a demand in the market, we will serve our customers in both the ICE and EV categories.

Agricultural expert Madan Rai has been arrested on the charge of sexually abusing children on Friday. A team deployed from the District Police Office, Khotang nabbed Rai, also the operator of the Shubhadra Madan Foundation, after he was accused of sexually abusing children studying at the foundation. Police said that Rai (75) was apprehended from the foundation at around 12 pm today. According to the students, Rai used to touch their sensitive parts and ask them for sexual intercourse, the Setopati reported. They said that Rai even used to ask them to touch his private parts. Police said that they are investigating the case.    

The price of gold has dropped by Rs 800 per tola in the domestic market on Friday. According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the yellow bullion is being traded at Rs 110, 800 per tola today. The yellow metal was traded at Rs 111, 600 per tola on Thursday. Meanwhile, tejabi gold is being traded at Rs 110, 250 per tola. Similarly, the silver is being traded at Rs 1,375 per tola today.

With the government struggling to maintain a balance on fiscal management, Finance Minister Prakash Saran Mahat has requested development partners for loans and substantial grants to Nepal. Mahat made such a request during a discussion with the international development partners on Thursday, saying that as Nepal has been affected by global climate change despite the country’s negligible carbon emission, the aid should also be mobilized in the form of grants. The meeting was attended by the representatives of multilateral development partners including World Bank, Asian Development Bank, International Monetary Fund, and International Finance Corporation, as well as bilateral partners including USAID, Japan, Korea, Switzerland, Norway, Finland, European Union, and Germany. During the discussion, Mahat briefed the development partners about the priorities of the government and the guidelines and principles of the upcoming federal budget. Stating that the debt of the government has been increasing, he said that Nepal is very aware of the debt obligations that will be created in the future. In response, the representatives of the foreign development agencies pledged to support the goals and priorities taken by the government. They, however, expressed concern over the reforms in capital expenditure. Since the government has not been able to spend the capital expenditure as allocated by the budget, the funds committed by the development partners are not being mobilized. The development partners also expressed concerns about improving the management of public institutions, reducing duplication of expenditure, preparing a reform plan for internal resource mobilization, etc. According to the press statement issued by the Ministry of Finance, the development partner suggested expanding the scope of taxation, improving low capital expenditure and gradually transforming the informal sector into the formal sector. The development partners also emphasized the need for better planning for projects, prioritizing major reform agendas, improving inter-agency coordination, and making full use of concessional loans.

Nepal received less than Rs 3bn in net foreign direct investment (FDI) during the first nine months of the current fiscal year 2022/23 reflecting the economic predicament that the country finds itself in. According to the latest macroeconomic data of the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), net FDI inflow as of mid-April stood at Rs 2.62bn, which is just nearly 16 percent of the total FDI the county received during the same period of the last fiscal year. The country received FDI worth Rs 16.51bn during the first nine months of FY 2021/22 Economists and business community members attribute the decline in net FDI to the current political environment of the country. According to them, the political environment is one of the factors that affect the overall investment climate including FDI. Even after the general elections held last November, Nepal is finding itself in a political mess where there is no majority of a single political party. After the elections, a new coalition government was formed in late December involving CPN (UML) and CPN (Maoist Centre) as major parties. Then, in February, another coalition government of the Maoist Centre, Nepali Congress and other smaller parties was formed. “The sharp decline in FDI inflows reflects the current sorry state of the political and economic situation of the country,” an economist said. “At a time when domestic investors are reluctant to invest, we cannot expect foreigners to invest in the country.” For a long time, Nepal has remained among the countries that receive the lowest FDI in the world. Despite many talks on attracting foreign investments in the country, the country has failed to attract foreign investors as targeted. At less than 1 percent of GDP, Nepal’s current levels of FDI are the lowest among similar economies. Economists say it is necessary to improve the existing policy and structural system to bring more foreign investment into Nepal. According to them, while the immediate reason for the decline in FDI might be the global recession and domestic political situation, there are structural and procedural obstacles in Nepal that discourage investors. Despite introducing a one-door system in the Investment Board Nepal and Industry Department, FDI has not come in as expected. “It has failed to facilitate FDI so far because it has failed to become a complete one-stop service center,” the economist said. In the second week of March, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal had said that the government is seriously working on further simplifying the procedures, fully operationalizing the one-stop service, and developing necessary rules for the automatic approval of foreign direct investments (FDIs) applications. Of late, the government has eased procedures related to FDI. The Department of Industry (DoI), the government agency responsible for providing services to foreign investors, has developed a mechanism to approve foreign direct investments (FDIs) through the online channel. The mechanism allows the department to approve FDI worth Rs 100bn automatically. The government has already published a notice in this regard in the Nepal Gazette and the system will be implemented on Jestha 1. “Through the newly-developed mechanism, investors can get online approvals for FDI worth Rs 100bn,” said Ram Chandra Tiwari, Director General of DoI. Citing the complaints about the higher threshold for FDI, the government in November last year lowered the threshold to Rs 20bn from Rs 50bn. At the same time, the government tightened the business visa issuance system to prevent misuse of the facility following rising cases of investment pledges not being fulfilled after the applicant had obtained the visa. As per the new rule, the Industry Department will recommend a business visa for three months by which time the investor has to submit a certificate of company registration. While the actual flow of FDI plunged sharply during the first nine months of the current fiscal year, the amount of FDI pledges made by foreign investors has also come down during the period in the current fiscal year. According to DoI, Nepal received FDI pledges of Rs 28.11bn during the nine months of the current fiscal year compared to Rs 33.42bn in the same period of the last fiscal year. Net FDI in Nepal (First nine months)

The police probe into the Bhutanese refugee scam has thus far netted 12 people, including a former home minister and a government secretary, while another former minister remains at large. Why the long arm of the law failed to get hold of him while he was attending a program in Arghakhanchi or right after remains a mystery. The police probe follows complaints from about 100 people against a powerful group involved in scamming gullible Nepali people by promising to send them abroad as Bhutanese refugees through forged papers. Leaders of different hues and shades blowing hot and cold amid the probe indicates that there may be skeletons in their cupboards as well. Also in the wake of the probe, the top leadership of the Nepali Congress, the largest party in the parliament and the CPN-UML, the second largest party, have met more than once with Prime Minister and CPN (Maoist Center) Chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal. Prime Minister Dahal has tried to clarify that these meetings have nothing to do with the scam, but the timing of these meetings give enough ground for suspicion. Not to be forgotten is the fact that a large majority of people have lost faith in the tried and tested political leadership because it has failed to deliver even after getting popular mandates for change over the decades. Prime Minister Dahal, Home Minister Narayan Kaji Shrestha, Nepal Police leadership, new political parties and change-seeking leaders of the old parties should keep in mind that the refugee scam is but one among many scandals plaguing the country for decades. This probe has offered the people, tired of endemic corruption in the country, a glimmer of hope. It is clear that the people want investigations into all cases of corruption, policy corruption in particular, and action against the guilty. Over the decades, corruption has gotten institutionalized in every walk of life—from Singhadurbar to combatants’ camps, from the parliament to the streets, from Baluwatar to the very huts, from the public enterprises to the private firms and from the mountains to the deserts. For the political leadership, waging a war against corruption may be more difficult than waging a clandestine war. It will need tremendous political will to open stacks of files related to corruption and bring the ‘proverbial’ big fish to justice, which may not always bring results favorable to them and their respective parties. But a long, in-depth and failproof investigation into corruption cases is the only way to cleanse the federal republican governance system and start the process of restoring public faith in it.

The government has started preparations to release Resham Chaudhary. The government on Thursday registered a bill in the Parliament to free Resham Chaudhary, who is serving a life term in connection with the Tikapur carnage of August 2015. The Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs registered the bill in the Parliament to amend the law to withdraw the case filed against Chaudhary, a source at the Ministry said. The government has added a point in section 116 of the Civil Code of Criminal Procedure 2074 through the bill. In which, there is a provision that the cases filed against parties, leaders and cadres, who have agreed to join the peaceful politics, can be withdrawn. Chaudhary’s case is being heard in the Supreme Court.

The Election Commission has directed 82 political parties to make public their audit report. A meeting of the poll body held on Wednesday directed 82 parties that have submitted the audit report for the fiscal year 2078/2079 within the given time to publish the report through the concerned party’s office, website, mass media (newspapers, radio, television etc), social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) within seven days and inform the Commission about it. According to sub-section (1) of Section 41 of the Act on Political Parties, 2073, there is a legal provision that political parties that are registered with the Commission must be audited by a licensed auditor within six months of the end of the fiscal year and submit the audit report to the Commission within a month. Muskan Sena Nepal Party, Shiva Sena Nepal, Aam Aadmi Party Nepal, Rastriya Janmukhi Party Loktantrik and Nepal Communist Party Loktantrik, which have not submitted the audit report for the fiscal years 2077/78 and 2078/79, have been directed to furnish clarification why they should not be taken action as per clause (a) of sub-section (5) of section 54 of the Political Parties Act, 2073.