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President of India Droupadi Murmu held a telephone conversation with her Nepali counterpart Ram Chandra Paudel on Friday. The President, who is currently on a tour to Kerala, called up President Paudel and congratulated him on assuming the office of the President of Nepal, read a statement issued today. Both Presidents noted the unique and multifaceted relations between India and Nepal. They also discussed ways to further advance bilateral cooperation and strengthen the strong bonds of friendship between the peoples of our two countries, the statement further read. The President expressed confidence that India-Nepal bilateral relations would reach even greater heights under the guidance of President Paudel.  

Ram Sahaya Yadav has been elected as the third Vice-President of Nepal. In the election held at the Lhotse Hall of Parliament building in New Baneshwor on Friday, Janata Samajbadi Party leader Yadav was elected as the Vice-President. He was elected as the Vice-President defeating Astha Laxmi Shakya of the CPN-UML and Mamata Jha of the Janata Samajbadi Party. Out of 52,628 weightage-based votes, Yadav secured 30, 328 votes while his closest contender Shakya garnered 16, 328 votes. Similarly, Jha obtained 2, 537 votes. Yadav was supported by ruling coalition parties—Nepali Congress, CPN (Maoist Center), CPN (Unified Socialist), Janata Samajbadi Party, Janamat Party and Rastriya Janamorcha Party. According to the Election Commission, out of 332 voters of federal Parliament and 550 voters of Province Assembly, 829 cast their votes. The weightage of a vote cast by a member of federal Parliament was equivalent to 79 whereas the weightage of a vote cast by a PA member was equivalent to 48. The Election Officer’s office said that 53 lawmakers were absent in the election. A total of 42 lawmakers of Rastriya Prajatantra Party and four of Nepal Workers and Peasants Party did not cast their votes. Two types of ballot papers were printed for the election. The ballot for the federal Parliament members was of red color while it was of green color for the Province Assembly members. The Vice-President shall be assigned to look after affairs in the absence of the President. The tenure of the Vice-President is five years. Parmananda Jha was elected as the first Vice-President of Nepal in 2008 while Nanda Bahadur Pun from the UCPN (Maoist) was elected as the second Vice- President of the country in November 2015. Who is Vice-President elect Ram Sahaya Yadav? Ram Sahaya Yadav was born on July 24, 1970. He started his political career from the Nepal Sadhbhawana Party. Yadav was elected as a member of the first Constituent Assembly in 2007. He became the General Secretary of the Federal Socialist Party formed after the unification of Madhesi Janadhikari Forum Nepal and Federal Socialist Party in 2015. Yadav, who was seriously injured during the Madhes Movement in 2015, was elected as a member of the House of Representatives from Bara-2 in 2017. He also became the General Secretary of the Samajbadi Party formed after the unification of Federal Socialist Forum Nepal and Naya Shakti Party in 2018. Yadav, who was appointed as the Minister for Forest and Environment in 2021, was re-elected as a member of the House of Representatives from Bara-2 in 2022.      

At a time when the inflow of remittances has surged due to the increasing number of Nepalis going for foreign employment and a strong US dollar, remittance outflow from Nepal has declined marginally in the seven months of the current fiscal year. Data published by the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) show remittance outflow has declined by 0.56 percent in the review period. According to NRB, foreigners working in Nepal have sent Rs 4.01bn through official channels in the seven months of FY 2022/23 compared to Rs 4.03bn during the same period of FY 2021/22. With more foreigners now coming to Nepal to work, the remittance outflow from the country has been increasing gradually in the past few years. Outward remittances in FY 2021/22 stood at Rs 7.67bn according to central bank data. NRB officials say remittance going out of the country is the money sent by foreigners who came to Nepal for work after obtaining a work permit. This number does not include Indians who do not require work permits to live and work in Nepal. As per the existing legal arrangements, foreign workers who come to work here are allowed to send 75 percent of their earnings to their home country and have to spend 25 percent of the money in Nepal. Foreign nationals are also working in multinational companies, hydropower projects, banks, and insurance companies operating in Nepal. The number of expats is high in companies with foreign direct investments, development assistance projects, and banks with foreign investments. Of late, there has been growth in the number of Chinese technical workers working in Nepal in hydropower and other infrastructure projects. The decline in outward remittance in FY 2022/23, according to NRB officials, might be due to the decline in the number of people coming to Nepal for work. "There is no study on this matter," said Prakash Kumar Shrestha, Executive Director of NRB, adding, "As of now, the size of outward remittance is not big and hence we've not prioritized and studied this aspect." NRB data show foreign nationals, except Indians, have sent around Rs 32bn in remittances to their country in the last five years. As per NRB, Rs 31.87bn were sent from FY 2017/18 to FY 2021/22. While there is an assumption that Nepalis working in India send huge sums of money back to their country, the reality is remittance outflow to India from Nepal is much higher than what Nepal receives from the southern neighbor. The World Bank data shows Indians working in Nepal remit home thrice the amount Nepalis remit from India. According to the World Bank's Bilateral Remittance Matrix, Nepal received remittances worth $1.02bn from India in 2017, whereas remittance outflows from Nepal to India stood at $3.01bn. According to the statistics of the Labor Department, there are currently 2, 316 foreign workers in Nepal. The citizens of 73 countries have come to Nepal for employment and received work permits to work in the country. The department says the majority of foreigners receiving work permits are Chinese. The Labor Department says currently, 1,635 Chinese citizens are working in Nepal. Similarly, 94 citizens from the UK have received work permits followed by 93 citizens from the US. Remittance Outflow from Nepal (First Seven Months)

The Federation of Contractors' Associations of Nepal (FCAN) has demanded the government to pay Rs 60bn immediately to the contractors. Making public the 27-point Kathmandu Declaration after its 24th Annual General Meeting, FCAN has said that the government is yet to make the payment of the works that have already been completed. Speaking on the occasion, FCAN President Rabi Singh said the government has not yet cleared the bills presented in the last fiscal year for the completed works. " Contractors are facing financial difficulties as they have not received payments for the works they've already accomplished," he said. He said that the contracts that the state cannot pay immediately should be terminated as per the law and should be taken forward only when the resources are arranged. According to Singh, contractors have not been able to process many contracts since the government has failed to provide the money. "The budgetary operation is currently in deficit. In this situation, it would be better to terminate the contract if the government is not in a position to make payments to the contractors," he said. FCAN is of the view that the government should issue a white paper if it is unable to make payments to the contractors. It has also demanded that the recent price increment should be adjusted in the contract amount. An agreement was reached between the federation and the government on May 26, 2022, to address the excessive and unexpected increase in the price of construction materials. "Based on that agreement, guidelines should be issued for the price adjustment," said FCAN. Similarly, the federation has requested to extend the deadline of the contract projects which are sick. According to FCAN, the works of the projects that are under construction have been affected due to elections, crusher shutdown, excessive royalty collected by the local level at various places, non-availability of project sites due to delay in compensation, payment issue, and liquidity problems, among others. Such projects' deadlines should be extended, said FCAN. Similarly, the federation also demanded that 20 percent of the mobilization advance should be compulsorily provided as stated in the Public Procurement Act. In addition, it has also demanded that the demands of the contractors should be fully addressed while amending the Public Procurement Act.  

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has announced a cash prize of Rs 300,000 each to the Nepali cricket players for securing a berth at the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifiers. The Prime Minister announced the award while honoring the winning cricket players at his official residence in Baluwatar this morning. “I am very much happy by the performance you performed yesterday. This is not only your winThis is the victory of the country. May you perform well in the future also. I wish you all the best in advance,” he said. “May you get success in the World Cup Qualifiers. I will be with you in sad and happy times,” PM Dahal said, adding, “The government had provided Rs 200, 000 each to the Nepali cricket players earlier also. Today, I announced to provide Rs 300, 000 each to you.” On the occasion, he directed the National Sports Council to install lights and score boards in the Kirtipur-based TU Cricket Ground. The Prime Minister said, "I on behalf of the government express commitment to make necessary arrangements to accelerate construction of under construction cricket grounds at different places of the country including Mulpani and Chitwan." Nepal defeated the UAE by nine runs to secure a place at the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifiers on Thursday. The game was decided by Duckworth-Lewis (DL) method as the second innings had to be reduced to 44 overs due to bad light.

Voting is underway to elect a new President of Nepal at Lhotse Hall of the federal Parliament Building, New Baneshwor on Friday. Astalaxmi Shakya (Bohara) of the CPN-UML, Mamata Jha of the Janamat Party and Ramsahaya Prasad Yadav of the Janata Samajbadi Party are in the race. Voting that started at 10 am will end at 3 pm today, Assistant Election Officer, Amrita Kumari Sharma said. Separate voting centers have been determined for the members of federal Parliament and Province Assembly. Two types of ballot papers have been printed for the Vice-Presidential election-2079. The ballot for the federal Parliament members is of red color while it is of green color for the Province Assembly members. The names and photos of candidates have been printed in the ballot papers. The weightage of a vote cast by a member of federal Parliament will be equivalent to 79 whereas the weightage of a vote cast by a PA member will be equivalent to 48. There are 332 voters of the federal Parliament and 550 voters of the PA in the election. Arrangements have been made to count votes shortly after voting, said Sharma. The Vice-President shall be assigned to look after affairs in the absence of the President. The tenure of the Vice-President is five years. This is the third Vice-Presidential election since the country adopted the federal democratic republic system in 2008.      

The Madhes Province government has decided to facilitate the Nepali cricket team players—Gulsan Jha and Arif Sheikh—with a cash prize of Rs 200, 000. The government announced to provide the cash prize of Rs 200,000 each to --Jha and Sheikh, expressing happiness over Nepal's qualification to the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifiers. The provincial government decided to provide the cash prize to both the players of Madhes Province as an incentive. Extending gratitude to the Nepali cricket team over its improbable win against the UAE, Chief Minister Saroj Kumar Yadav announced to provide cash prize to the cricketers.  

Voting for the election to the post of Vice-President of Nepal is taking place today. Astalaxmi Shakya (Bohara) of the CPN-UML, Mamata Jha of the Janamat Party and Ramsahaya Prasad Yadav of the Janata Samajbadi Party are in the race. All the preparations for voting taking place at Lhotse Hall of the federal Parliament Building, New Baneshwor from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm have been completed, according to Assistant Election Officer, Amrita Kumari Sharma. Separate voting centers have been determined for the members of federal Parliament and Province Assembly. Two types of ballot papers have been printed for the Vice-Presidential election-2079. The ballot for the federal Parliament members is of red color while it is of green color for the Province Assembly members. The names and photos of candidates have been printed in the ballot papers. The weightage of a vote cast by a member of federal Parliament will be equivalent to 79 whereas the weightage of a vote cast by a PA member will be equivalent to 48. There are 332 voters of the federal Parliament and 550 voters of the PA in the election. Arrangements have been made to count votes shortly after voting, said Sharma. The Vice-President shall be assigned to look after affairs in the absence of the President. The tenure of the Vice-President is five years. This is the third Vice-Presidential election since the country adopted the federal democratic republic system in 2008.