Submit your Article

The Karnali Province government got full shape on Thursday after three newly appointed ministers of the Nepali Congress took oath of office and secrecy. Bedraj Singh, Khadga Bahadur Pokharel and Krishna Kumar BC took oath of office and secrecy this afternoon. Singh was appointed as the Minister for Economic Affairs and Planning while Pokharel and BC were appointed as the Minister for Social Development and Minister for Tourism, Forest and Environment respectively. Meanwhile, Urmila Bishwokarma, who was earlier appointed as the state minister for Energy, also sworn in as the Minister for Energy. The number of ministries in the Karnali Province has also been made eight.  

Police have arrested two persons in possession of illegal gold ornaments weighing around five kg from a hotel in Nepalgunj on Wednesday. Chief District Officer of Banke Bipin Acharya said that they were arrested with different types of gold ornaments weighing 4.924 kg. The duo were held acting on a tip-off, said police.  

Worried by the dramatic decline in revenue collection, the government has decided to lift restrictions on the plotting of lands after 10 months in a bid to improve the real estate business which has slumped massively over the past year. Introducing the Land Use Regulations 2022, the Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives, and Poverty Alleviation (MoLMCPA), halted the plotting of land. According to the regulations, the local governments across the country were required to classify lands on the basis of residential, commercial, agricultural and other purposes. However, of the 753 local levels, only a handful of local governments were able to conclude the classification of lands under their jurisdictions. According to businesspersons, this delay and other factors have hit the real estate sector hard. In a bid to improve real estate transactions, MoLMCPA put forward a proposal to amend the Regulations which was approved by a cabinet meeting on Tuesday. Prior to the introduction of the Land Use Regulations, the plotting of land up to 855 square feet, equivalent to 2.5 aanas, was allowed in the Kathmandu Valley. With the new arrangement in place, it was increased to 1,403 square feet which is equivalent to 4.1 aanas. With the government reversing its earlier decision, lands in the capital valley can be partioned up to 2.5 aanas. The new provision is expected to ease real estate business and partition of property. Earlier, the government had classified land into 10 zones–agricultural, residential, commercial, industrial, mines and mineral zone, forest zone, public use and open space zone, cultural and archaeological zone, importance, and others. As per the decision, MoLMCPA wrote to local governments to classify agricultural and non-agricultural lands. However, after locals in many areas across the country demanded their lands be classified as non-agricultural, local governments failed to classify lands as directed by the federal government. Of the 753 local units, only 160 were able to classify lands. Likewise, the government has also decided to extend the time for the local units to classify lands. According to people in the real estate and housing business, the lifting of restrictions related to classification on lands only cannot bring normalcy to the realty business. "The business directly depends upon financing and interest rates. As the economy is in the doldrums, we are not excited that the real estate business will see a sudden rise,” said Iccha Bahadur Wagle, President of Nepal Land and Housing Developers' Association. “Currently, the loan-to-value ratio for real estate is at 30 percent. Also, the interest rate is massive. In these difficult times, it is less likely that real estate business will see a rise." According to him, the banks previously used to offer loans of 50 percent of the real estate valuation which has now come down to 30 percent. "This means customers are now required to invest 70 percent of the money themselves which is difficult for many to bear in a single payment,” Wagle told the Annapurna Express. “This is the reason why the real estate sector is in a massive downfall.” Commenting on the loan-to-value ratio, Wagle further said that the ratio should be fixed at 50 to 60 percent as consumers are not able to invest a huge amount at once. “If the loan-to-value ratio is increased, the real estate sector would revive in just 10 days.” Similarly, realty sector businesspersons also demand loans at a single-digit interest rate from banks. “Lately, banks have reported increased liquidity. However, the interest rate on loans has not been reduced.” Recently, the Nepal Bankers’ Association decided to reduce the interest rate on deposits to single digits, but no decision has been made on the interest rate of loans. According to Wagle, real estate transactions declined by up to 85 percent after the introduction of the Land Use Regulations.

The Confederation of Nepali Industries (CNI) has sought an additional one percent cash subsidy from the government on exports of goods under the "Make in Nepal Swadeshi” campaign. The private sector body has demanded that subsidy for members associated with the “Make in Nepal Swadeshi” campaign while exporting using the collective logo of the Swadeshi, be increased to nine percent from the existing eight percent. “Make in Nepal Swadeshi” is a multi-year campaign initiated by the CNI in partnership with the government of Nepal. Its core goal is to create an ecosystem that promotes domestic industrial production, enhances the competitiveness of local firms, and stimulates demand for Nepali goods and services. Launched in 2021 amid the Covid-19 pandemic, it aims to establish more than one thousand new industries and increase manufacturing sector contribution to 26 percent of the gross domestic product by 2030 from the current level of less than 14 percent. It also plans to boost the country's export to $5bn annually in the next five years, which is currently less than $1bn. According to CNI, it is initiating to get a collective symbol for Make in Nepal products. Ram Chandra Tiwari, Director General of the Department of Industries, says that the department will expedite the process to provide a collective trademark to the members of the campaign at the earliest. In a discussion about “Make in Nepal” with the key stakeholders of the government organized earlier this week, CNI office bearers stressed the need to increase cash subsidy on exports which would help resolve the problems of domestic producers. The discussion was attended by secretaries from the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies, and National Planning Commission, among other officials. CNI President Vishnu Kumar Agrawal said that Nepal needs to increase the consumption of domestic products for the development of a self-reliant economy. “In the current challenging economic situation, the CNI aims to create a positive environment in the industrial sector and encourage entrepreneurs to establish a favorable business environment. The campaign is an effort for the same,” said Agrawal. Toya Narayan Gyawali, Secretary of Ministry of Industry, Commerce, and Supplies said that CNI's campaign is crucial for promoting exports and replacing imports. “The government is serious in implementing the suggestion of the private sector to stop illegal imports, and increase import duties tax differentiation between raw and finished goods for the development of domestic industries,” he said, urging the private sector to suggest the government for the annual budget for the next fiscal year. Speaking on the occasion, Kewal Prasad Bhandari, Secretary of National Planning Commission, said the contribution of the manufacturing sector to the country's gross domestic product (GDP) had decreased to 5 percent. “In such a situation, both the government and the private sector need to join hands to boost the manufacturing sector.”

The silence period for the by-election to the House of Representatives will come into effect from Thursday midnight. The by-election is taking place in Tanahun-1, Bara-1 and Chitwan-2 on April 23. The Election Code of Conduct, 2079, issued by the Election Commission on April 7 for the by-election has made provision for a silence period from 48 hours before the voting day until the voting is closed in order to hold the election in a free, fair and fearless environment. Assistant Spokesperson at the EC Surya Prasad Aryal said that the silence period will come into effect from midnight today till the polls are closed on April 23. Election campaigning and any type of discussion, interaction, assemblies, workshops and gatherings are prohibited during the silence period. The EC has drawn the attention of all not to solicit votes through online, social networking sites, print or any medium in favor or against any candidate or party. The EC urged the concerned sides not to publish and broadcast any press release or any content related to prediction about the victory or defeat of a candidate through media, including social sites.    

A crowd apparently scared by gunfire and an electrical explosion ran in panic at an event to hand out money during Ramadan in Yemen’s capital late on Wednesday, with the resulting crush killing at least 78 people and injuring at least 73 others, according to witnesses and Houthi rebel officials, The Guardian reported.

The tragedy was Yemen’s deadliest in years that was not related to its long-running war, and came ahead of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan this week.

Armed Houthis fired into the air in an attempt at crowd control, apparently striking an electrical wire and causing an explosion, according to two witnesses, Abdel-Rahman Ahmed and Yahia Mohsen. That sparked a panic, and people including many women and children, began running, they said.

The crush took place in the Old City in the center of Sana’a, where hundreds of poor people had gathered for a charity event organised by merchants, according to the Houthi-run interior ministry, according to The Guardian.

People had gathered to receive about $10 each from a charity funded by local businesses, witnesses said. Wealthy people and businesses often hand out cash and food, especially to the poor, during Ramadan.

Abdel-Khaleq al-Aghri from the interior ministry blamed the crush on the “random distribution” of funds without coordination with local authorities.

Motaher al-Marouni, a senior health official, said 78 people were killed, according to the rebels’ al-Masirah satellite TV channel. At least 73 others were injured and taken to the al-Thowra Hospital in Sana’a, according to hospital deputy director Hamdan Bagheri.

The rebels quickly sealed off a school where the event was being held and barred people, including journalists, from approaching.

The interior ministry said it had detained two organisers and an investigation was under way.

The Houthis said they would pay about $2,000 in compensation to each family who lost a relative while the injured would get about $400, The Guardian reported.

Yemen’s capital has been under the control of the Iranian-backed Houthis since they descended from their northern stronghold in 2014 and removed the internationally recognised government.

That prompted a Saudi-led coalition to intervene in 2015 to try to restore the government.

The conflict has turned in recent years into a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran, killing more than 150,000 people, including fighters and civilians and creating one of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters.

More than 21 million people in Yemen, or two-thirds of the country’s population, need help and protection, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Among those in need, more than 17 million are considered particularly vulnerable.

In February the UN said it had raised only $1.2bn out of a target of $4.3bn at a conference aimed at generating funds to ease the humanitarian crisis.

The price of gold has dropped by Rs 500 per tola in the domestic market on Thursday. According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the yellow bullion is being traded at Rs 109, 800 per tola today. The yellow metal was traded at Rs 110, 300 per tola on Wednesday. Meanwhile, tejabi gold is being traded at Rs 109, 300 per tola. It was traded at Rs 109, 750 per tola. Similarly, the silver is being traded at Rs 1,445 per tola today.

As public enterprises (PEs) continue to bleed money, with no returns on the money invested from the state coffer, the government has formed yet another task force to reform such institutions. A cabinet meeting on Tuesday formed a committee under the leadership of former finance secretary Shankar Adhikari for reforming PEs. This is the third committee formed in the last four years to revive the ailing PEs. The last committee was formed in November 2021 according to the announcement in the federal budget presented by the then Finance Minister Janardan Sharma. The committee led by Joint Secretary Chandrakala Paudel was tasked to study the issue of either reforming PEs or transforming them into a company model. The Adhikari-led committee has been asked to suggest that it be taken by the government for the reform of public enterprises. The committee has Bhupal Baral, Head of the Financial Sector Management & Corporation Coordination Division of the Finance Ministry, and Chandrakala Paudel, Head of the Industrial and Investment Promotion Division of the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies as members. The committee has been given three months to submit its suggestions to the government. The new committee was formed as per the government's commitment to the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The government has recently sought $200m from ADB in the form of budgetary support to finance the resources gap amid failing revenue collection in the current fiscal year. One of the conditions put forth by ADB to sanction the fund has been the implementation of public enterprise reform measures. The latest report of the Office of the Auditor General (OAG) sheds light on the need for the reform of the PEs. According to OAG's 60th annual report, the return on the loan and share investments in PEs have been dismal. "The government till last fiscal year has invested Rs 374bn in loans and Rs 357bn in share investment in PEs," reads the report, "However, the returns have been negligible." Since most of the PEs are in losses, they have not even paid interest to the government. OAG has suggested that the goals and current needs of PEs having low returns should be analyzed and a necessary policy review should be carried out. Even though government investments in PEs have grown, the returns from such investments have been below par. A recent report by the Public Debt Management Office (PDMO) shows the dividend paid by the PEs to the government in the last fiscal year was the lowest in 13 years. As per the 'Initial Annual Report on Share and Loan Investment of the Government 2021/22', the government received only Rs 4.24bn in dividends from the PEs.   The PEs' dividends to the government had reached a 13-year high of Rs 23.64bn FY 2019/20. Since then, the dividend amount has been in a downward spiral, shrinking to Rs 12.75bn in FY 2020/21 and declining further in FY 2021/22. Among the PEs, only nine have distributed dividends to their shareholders in the last fiscal year, according to the PDMO report. PDMO says that Nepal Telecom, Rastriya Banijya Bank, Agriculture Development Bank, Butwal Power Company, Nepal Stock Exchange, Salt Trading Corporation, Citizen Investment Trust, Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal and Sajha Sewa have distributed dividends from their profits. Nepal Telecom was the largest dividend payer with Rs 2.74bn in the last fiscal year. While the government has been forming committees for reforming PEs, their recommendations have rarely been implemented. The earlier Poudel-led task force in its report recommended to re-open 7 PEs that were either closed or running in losses. The report suggested bringing back the operation of Janakpur Cigarette Factory, Gorakhkali Rubber Industry, Nepal Orind Magnesite Pvt Ltd, Biratnagar Jute Mill, Hetauda Textile Industry, and Butwal Spinning Mills. The Finance Ministry report shows 42 out of 44 PEs are in operation in the country. But there is no uniformity in the law, procedures, and ownership of public institutions. The report says 33 PEs are being operated under the Companies Act while others are under various acts. Budget announcement on PEs

• The federal budget 2022/23 stated that "a policy of making the potential public enterprises under the government self-reliant and enhancing their capability to mobilize additional sources of investment would be adopted by transforming them into fully government-owned company models as per the need and listing them in the capital market."
• The federal budget of FY 2020/21 announced that the sick and closed industries would be revived with the participation of the private sector through additional investment, using new technology, and professional management.
• The federal budget of FY 2019/20 said that arrangements would be made to operate closed and sick industries in partnership with cooperatives and the private sector based on feasibility
• The federal budget of FY 2018/19 stated that arrangements would be made to operate closed and sick industries in partnership with cooperatives and the private sector based on feasibility.