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The mandatory opening of branches of insurance companies in rural areas, expansion of the National Health Insurance Program across 77 districts, and mandatory life insurance for people going to foreign employment alongside third-party liability vehicle insurance have played a role in the growth in insurance penetration and usage in the past decade. The new report titled "Nepal Financial Inclusion Report 2023" published jointly by International Finance Corporation (IFC) and United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) shows the uptake of insurance has seen a notable growth from 11 percent in 2014 to 29 percent in 2022. "With banks starting cross-selling insurance products post-2014, 7 percent of adults have accessed insurance services via banks in 2022, and 22 percent of adults accessed insurance through other formal sources which are primarily insurance companies," reads the report. The usage of formal insurance has increased in both rural and urban areas, while rural areas have seen a significant increment from 8 percent in 2014 to 26 percent in 2022. The report has attributed various government-driven social security/insurance schemes as the primary reason driving insurance usage in rural areas. There has been a significant rise in access to insurance among female adults, from 7 percent in 2014 to 28 percent in 2022. Among the target groups, salaried workers have the highest access to formal insurance services at 44 percent which was 29 percent in 2014, followed by remittance receivers, up to 34 percent from 9 percent in 2014. The contribution-based social security scheme that includes insurance introduced by the government mandates salaried workers to enroll in the scheme. The implementation of the Agricultural and Cattle Insurance Directive 2020 has been a catalyst in the growth of agri-insurance. "The access to insurance by farmers increased to 23 percent in 2022 from 8 percent in 2014, which can be attributed to the increase in uptake of agriculture insurance driven by the implementation of the Agricultural and Cattle Insurance Directive 2020, which requires non-life insurance companies to allocate 5 percent of their insurance portfolio to agriculture and cattle insurance products, says the report. The government has increased the subsidy on agriculture insurance premiums from 50 percent in 2014 to 75 percent in 2019. According to the report, the overall increased access to insurance is primarily driven by the expansion of life insurance services. In the last four years, the number of life insurance policies sold has increased by a whopping 413.4 percent, from 2.73 million in FY 2016/17 to 13.09 million in FY 2021/22. The life insurance sector is primarily driven by endowment products which are with-profit policies where the net surplus received by the insurers determines the amount of bonus payable to the insured. At the same time, the non-life insurance sector is mainly driven by mandatory motor insurance followed by property insurance. "The bundling of insurance products with banking products has also resulted in increased insurance uptake," says the report. CEOs of insurance companies attribute the growth to increased awareness about insurance among the common public. The Nepal Insurance Authority has been conducting insurance awareness programs at the local level. Union Life Insurance CEO Manoj Kumar Lal Karn said that insurance access has increased as people have now started to understand that insurance is a basic need. "Insurance companies have also emphasized business expansion, which has helped to increase the access," he said.

The government has brought an ordinance to take action against loan sharks. President Ram Chandra Paudel issued the ordinance presented by the government on Wednesday. The President’s Office said that Paudel issued the Ordinance to Amend Some Nepal Acts Related to the Civil Code 2080. A cabinet meeting on Tuesday had decided to send the ordinance to the president to resolve the problems of loan shark victims. The government has introduced an ordinance to criminalize loan sharking and make it legally punishable. Bringing the ordinance, the government is amending the Criminal Code, Criminal Procedure Code, Civil Code, and Civil Procedure Code. The government has already formed a commission to address the loan sharking issue. A cabinet meeting on April 3 had formed the commission under the leadership of the former Chairman of the Special Court, Gauri Bahadur Karki. Former Assistant Inspector General of Nepal Police Uttam Bahadur Subedi and former Deputy Attorney General Ganesh Babu Aryal are the other members of the commission. The Karki-led commission has recently requested that loan shark victims submit their applications to the commission. Issuing a notice last Thursday, the commission requested the victims of predatory lending to file their applications within 15 days starting from Sunday. The commission has said that victims can register their applications online or through district administration offices with the necessary proof. The commission, formed as per a five-point agreement reached with loan shark victims on April 1, has been given three months to prepare a report and recommend solutions to resolve the problems of loan shark victims. The commission has opened its office in Janakpur, the capital of Madhesh Province, as it will be easier for the victims to share their problems. Most of the loan shark victims are from districts of the Terai region. The government and the victims on April 1, had also reached an agreement to expedite the process to amend the laws to criminalize unscrupulous lending. Currently, loan sharking is essentially categorized as an offense under the civil code. In this condition, the victims have to fight the deep-pocketed loan sharks alone. However, the acts of blackmailing, extortion, and other exploitations in the guise of loan sharking fall under criminal offenses. A report prepared by a task force formed by the government last year after a similar agitation launched by loan shark victims pointed out how the case filed by the loan sharks against the borrowers put the borrowers at a disadvantage.  

The price of gold has increased by Rs 1, 200 per tola in the domestic market on Thursday. According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the precious yellow metal is being traded at Rs 111, 800 per tola today. The gold was traded at Rs 110, 600 per tola on Wednesday. Meanwhile, tejabi gold is being traded at Rs 111, 250 per tola. It was traded at Rs 110, 050. Similarly, the price of silver has increased by Rs 10 and is being traded at Rs 1,445 per tola today.

Newly appointed Chief Minister of Gandaki Province Surendra Raj Pandey is seeking a vote of confidence on Thursday. He is scheduled to seek a vote of confidence in the Province Assembly at 2 pm today, according to Spokesperson at Province Assembly Secretariat, Prem Prasad Subedi. Province Chief Prithvi Man Gurung, on Monday, had called the Province Assembly session upon the recommendation of the Council of Ministers for today. Nepali Congress Parliamentary Party leader Pandey was appointed as the chief minister on April 27 with the support of 35 lawmakers- 27 from Nepali Congress, seven from CPN (Maoist Centre), and one from CPN (Unified Socialist). He is the fourth chief Minister of Gandaki Province.  

Prixa Technologies, a leading technology company, has been awarded the National ICT Innovation Award by the Ministry of Information and Communications for their continuous effort in innovative AI and cutting-edge solutions. “We are thrilled and honored to receive the National ICT Innovation Award that will further propel us in our vision to take cutting-edge solutions from Nepal to the world,” said Manish K. Sharma, CEO of Prixa Technologies. “This award is a testament to our team’s hard work and dedication to pushing the boundaries of technology in Nepal. We are proud of our innovative solutions, which have made a significant impact on the industry and society.” The National ICT Innovation Award recognizes Prixa Technologies’ continuous efforts to innovate and their significant contribution to Nepal's ICT sector. As a recipient of this award, Prixa Technologies is poised to continue leading the way in technology innovation and positively impacting society, a press statement released by the company says. Prixa Technologies is innovating through its product lines like RiRi, Nepal’s first AI-powered Nepali language conversational platform, and Snowberry, a giga-scale traffic handling news media management system.

Parliament member Top Bahadur Rayamajhi said that he has no involvement in the case of fake Bhutanese refugees. Rayamajhi made it clear that he has no involvement in the case of fake Bhutanese refugees after police issued an arrest warrant against him. Talking briefly with journalists in Arghakhanchi on Wednesday, Rayamajhi said, “I have no involvement in this case.” The former energy minister, however, said that he has been taking initiatives to resolve the long-term problem of Bhutanese refugees. The Kathmandu District Court today issued an arrest warrant against former minister Rayamajhi. He was elected as a member of the House of Representatives from Arghakhanchi in the November 20 elections. An arrest warrant was also issued against his son Sandeep. SSP Dan Bahadur Karki, Chief at the District Police Range, Kathmandu, said that arrest warrants were issued against Rayamajhi and his son in the case of fake Bhutanese refugees. Earlier this afternoon, police arrested Tek Narayan Pandey, Secretary at the Vice President’s Office, for his alleged involvement in the same case. On Tuesday, police had apprehended Indrajit Rai, security advisor of former Home Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa. An arrest warrant has also been issued against his son Niraj. But he is on the run. Sita Ram Rijal, spokesperson at the District Police Range, Kathmandu, said that two complaints have been filed against Rayamajhi saying that he was involved in sending people to the United States making them refugees. Based on the complaints, seven people have been arrested so far. Rayamajhi’s aide Sanu Bhandari, Keshav Dulal, former personal secretary of Nepali Congress leader Sujata Koirala, Sagar Thulung, Tanaka Gurung and Sandesh Sharma Pokharel have already been arrested.  

Nepal reported 91 new Covid-19 cases on Wednesday. According to the Ministry of Health and Population, 336 swab samples were tested in the RT-PCR method, of which 27 returned positive. Likewise, 2, 196 people underwent antigen tests, of which 64 tested positive. The Ministry said that no one died of the virus in the last 24 hours and 59 infected people recovered from the disease. As of today, there are 220 active cases in the country.    

Three persons died and five others were injured when a truck hit a house in Bandipur. Police identified the deceased as Ayush Bhujel (12), Chet Bahadur Gharti (50) and San Bahadur Bhujel (69) of Bandupur Rural Municipality-1. DSP Mohan Bahadur Khand said that all of them died in the course of treatment at the Purano Medical College in Bharatpur. Police said that the incident occurred after the driver lost control of the vehicle (Na 4 Kha 1973) and hit the houses belonging to Sanumaya Bhujel and San Bahadur Bhujel near Aadhikhola in Bandipur Rural Municipality-5 of Tanahun along the Prithvi Highway. The injured have been identified as Ayusha Bhujel (6), Jasmin Bhujel (10), Ishwor Bhujel (10), Samir Bhujel (8) and Santosh Bhujel (5). Following the incident, locals obstructed the highway for four hours.