Submit your Article

With Dipendra Singh Airee’s unbeaten 85 runs, Nepal thrashed Scotland by three wickets in the tri-nation ODI series under the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup League 2 on Friday. Nepal won the toss and invited Scotland to bat first. Scotland posted a total of 274 in the allotted 50 overs. The host reached the target in the 47 overs by losing seven wickets in the second inning. Singh, who came to bat at number seven, played an unbeaten half-century innings with eight fours and one six off 116 balls. Prior to him, Kushal Malla completed 50 runs off 42 balls with the help of six fours and three sixes. Malla, who came to bat at number five, scored 81 runs hitting nine fours and four sixes before being dismissed in the 28th overs. Nepal’s opener Kushal Bhurtel and Gulsam Jha contributed 16 runs and 17 runs respectively and Sompal Kami scored unbeaten 24 runs. Other players failed to score in double numbers. Sandeep Lamichhane took three wickets for the team. Similarly, Kushal Malla, Sompal Kami, Kushal Bhurtel and Dipendra Singh Airee took one wicket each. This is the second win of Nepal in the series. In the first match, Nepal outplayed Namibia by two wickets. Likewise, Scotland defeated Namibia by 10 wickets on Wednesday. With the victory, Scotland has already become the champion of World Cup Cricket League 2. Nepal will play with Namibia in the second match of the series on Saturday. In addition to that, Nepal and Scotland will lock their horns in the last match of the series on Tuesday.  

Nepali Congress leader Chandra Bhandari, who was injured in the cooking gas cylinder explosion on Wednesday, is undergoing treatment at the National Burn Center in Mumbai, India. Yograj Kandel, who is currently in the hospital, said that Bhandari underwent first successful surgery on Friday. Chief surgeon Dr Sunil Keshwani said that Bhandari underwent surgery of both the legs. He said that the decision about the second surgery will be taken after the observation. Leader Bhandari’s mother, who was also injured in the incident, breathed her last during the course of treatment at the Kirtipur Hospital.  

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has reached Balkot to meet CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli on Friday. As the presidential election is approaching nearer, PM Dahal has reached Balkot to hold further discussion on the issue. A concrete decision has not been made yet on who to field for the election. The UML leaders have been claiming that they should get the President as per the December 25 agreement in one hand. On the other hand, the Nepali Congress leaders have been piling pressure on the Prime Minister that they should get the post of President for being the largest party in the Parliament and also for giving a vote of confidence to the CPN (Maoist Center) led government.  

The Independent Power Producers' Association, Nepal (IPPAN) has announced the Power Summit 2023, the biggest event in Nepal dedicated to power. According to IPPAN, the eighth edition of Power Summit will be held on March 28-29 in Kathmandu with the theme "Broadening Green Energy Markets". According to IPPAN, power projects totaling 5,000 MW will be showcased from the Project Bank of Investment Board Nepal and the private sector during the summit. "The investors will have an opportunity to discuss and understand power projects for investments," said IPPAN in a press statement. IPPAN has stated that Nepal has now entered into an era of self-reliance in electricity generation and heading towards being an energy-surplus nation. With the recent addition of the 86MW Solu Dudhkoshi Hydropower project to the national grid, the installed capacity has reached 2520 MW. An additional 600MW capacity shall be added in 2023 with the total installed capacity of power projects reaching 6,700 MW by 2027. The private sector contribution is expected to reach 80 percent of installed capacity from the present 55 percent. According to IPPAN, with the sluggish peak demand at 1,700MW, the current year's wet season surplus is expected to reach 1,000MW, and the time has come for Nepal to seriously explore the market for the energy. With Nepal making improvements on the supply side of green energy, IPPAN has said it is  high time to focus on the demand side. "We are now ready to 'broaden green energy markets' first at home, and then in the region," reads the statement, adding, "Demand will dictate the way we manage the supply side of green energy." Broadening the green energy markets, according to the IPPAN means enabling transportation, agriculture, industry, cooking, and commerce to both grow rapidly and make a complete switch to green energy away from fossil fuels which Nepal has to import at a huge cost to the economy. "The discussions during the summit are expected to pave the way for identifying and opening doors for markets for Nepal’s green energy," said IPPAN.  The summit aims to provide a forum for discussion, discourse, and debate by all key experts of the power sector. The summit will have 13 sessions to cover issues ranging from markets for Nepal’s power, transmission infrastructure, demand for Nepal’s hydropower, technology and innovation, thinking beyond hydropower to solar, hydrogen, regulatory framework, cross-border power trade, sustainable and climate-resilient development, environment social and governance, regionals interest and energy security. IPPAN expects there will be 800 participants from all across the power sector including 300 international delegates from more than 30 countries.

At a time when the resource crunch has affected the development activities in the country, the government has targeted to receive Rs 65.65 billion in budgetary support in the current fiscal year 2022/23 to use in the priority sectors. According to the mid-term review of the budget 2022/23, the government has aimed to receive the amount from major development partners including the World Bank Asian Development Bank, International Monetary Fund, and the European Union. It will be around 31 percent of the total foreign aid expected to be received in the current fiscal year. In the mid-term review of the budget, the government has lowered the target for foreign grants and loans to Rs 209 billion from the initial target of Rs 297.71 billion. The government has prioritized receiving foreign aid in the form of budget support which Nepal can utilize in its priority areas. The government’s International Development Cooperation Policy (DPC)-2019 has highlighted that budget support is the country’s most preferred official development assistance modality. “This is because budget support inherently ensures coherence with the principle of country ownership. It is predictable, allows for better development planning, lowers fragmentation, and leads to more effective use of pooled resources,” states the Finance Ministry in the Development Cooperation Report 2020-21. According to the ministry, budgetary support allows for greater responsiveness to development needs, reduces transaction costs associated with managing various implementation channels, and helps build government capacity, contributing to more sustainable results. However, most of the foreign aid is being received in the form of project support. However, multilateral donors have increasingly been supportive to provide aid in the form of budgetary support in recent years. In the mid-term review of the budget, the finance ministry has stated that the government has already received Rs 15 billion in budgetary support while the rest will be received in the due course as they are in different phases of completion. According to the ministry, development policy credit (DPC) worth Rs 12 billion has been received from the World Bank for Green, Resilient, and Inclusive Development (GRID). In August last year, the two sides signed a the concessional financing agreement of USD 100 million (equivalent to Rs. 12.7 billion) for the GRID. The proposed budgetary support aims to support improvements in the enabling environment in Nepal toward green, climate-resilient, and inclusive development. This is the first in a programmatic series of three concessional loans on GRID, according to the World Bank. Likewise, the ministry said that the government also received Rs 3 billion from the Asian Development Bank under its policy-based lending heading which is also budgetary support. Preparation is underway to receive DPC worth Rs 12 billion under Finance for Growth from the World Bank by the end of the current fiscal year, according to the ministry. The government of Nepal and the World Bank signed a $150 million ‘Finance for Growth’ Development Policy Credit (DPC) in May last year to strengthen financial sector stability, diversify financial solutions, and increase access to financial services in Nepal. The ministry also said that preparation is also ongoing to receive an additional DPC (Fiscal) worth Rs 12 billion by the end of the current fiscal year, according to the ministry. Extra funding of Rs 1.49 billion will also be received this fiscal under program-based result financing from the World Bank. “Preparation is being made to sign a concessional financing agreement for program-based result financing,” the ministry said. Likewise, the government said it aims to receive a total of Rs 22.5 billion as budgetary support in the current fiscal year of which Rs 3 billion has already been received. As much as Rs 13 billion will be received under Strengthening Public Financial Management and Devolved Service Delivery Program while Rs 6.5 billion will be received under SASEC Customs and Logistic Reform Program. The government expects Rs 6.6 billion under the extended credit facility (ECF) of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The amount is expected to be received in February. In early 2022, the IMF approved ECF worth SDR 282.42 million (about USD 395.9 million) and it will provide the funding on an installment basis. The 38-month financing package will help mitigate the pandemic’s impact on health and economic activity and protect vulnerable groups; preserve macroeconomic and financial stability; and support a reform agenda that leads to sustained growth and poverty reduction, the IMF said. Likewise, the government aims to receive budgetary support of Rs 1.56 billion from the European Union (EU) under the EU Contribution to Agriculture and Rural Development (CARD) Program. The government has been encouraging donors to pour money aid under budgetary support for a long time. Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Bishnu Prasad Paudel last month asked the World Bank to increase its aid to Nepal in the form of budget support. Such a request was made during his meeting with the World Bank’s Country Director for Nepal Faris Hadad-Zervos on January 19. As Nepal seeks more resources to fulfill its financing needs, the share of budgetary support has increased in the past decade. According to the Development Cooperation Report 2020/21, the share of budget support stood at 30.27 percent of the total disbursed official development assistance in FY 2020/21. As much as USD 509.99 million was disbursed as budget support in that fiscal year. In FY 2019/20, the share of budget support was 36.52 percent. In the earlier years, the share of the budget support was lower with 15 percent being disturbed as budget support in FY 2018/19, according to the Development Cooperation Report 2018-19. Budgetary support by donors in this fiscal year

The price of gold has dropped by Rs 500 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 102, 500 per tola today. The yellow metal was traded at Rs 103, 300 per tola on Thursday. Meanwhile, tejabi gold is being traded at Rs 102, 000 per tola. It was traded at Rs 102, 500 per tola. Similarly, the price of silver has dropped by Rs 10 and is being traded at Rs 1,275 per tola today.

The Nepal Insurance Authority (NIA)  is preparing to take action against life and non-life insurance companies that fail to meet the new paid-up capital requirement by mid-April 2023. With only two months left for the insurance companies to meet the new paid-up capital requirement as directed by the NIA, the majority of companies are yet to raise their paid-up capital. NIA is pushing for a consolidation drive in the insurance sector by increasing the minimum paid-up capital requirements for both life and non-life insurance companies. As per the arrangements implemented a year ago, non-life insurance companies are required to have Rs 2 billion in paid-up capital, while it is Rs 5 billion for life insurance companies. NIA officials say they are working on the action that will be taken against insurance companies failing to meet the capital requirement. A senior official of NIA said that insurance companies could be barred from doing business with any 'insurance product' (insurance plan). As per the deadline, insurance companies have to meet the prescribed paid-up capital by mid-April. "Given the progress we have seen so far, it seems most of the companies will not meet the paid-up capital requirement within the deadline," said the NIA official. "The authority will extend the deadline.  But at the same time, we will also exert pressure on the insurers to meet the capital requirement by barring them from selling one of the insurance products." Among the insurance companies, Nepal Life Insurance, National Life Insurance, Neco Insurance, and Shikhar Insurance have already met the capital requirement set by the NIA. With NIA pushing for capital increment, insurance companies have adopted two approaches to increase their paid-up capital. The majority of insurance companies have opted for mergers while some are into right share issuance to raise capital. A series of merger agreements have been signed in the last 12 months. Of the 19 insurance companies involved in the merger process, six companies have merged to become three and have started their integrated business while 13 others are still in the process of completing their merger process. There have been two successful mergers in the non-life insurance sector in the past year. In July 2022, Himalayan General Insurance and Everest Insurance merged to form Himalayan Everest Insurance Insurance Co. Ltd. Similarly, in October, Sanima General Insurance and General Insurance Company merged to form Sanima GIC Insurance Ltd. The first merger among the life insurance companies took place in the last week of December 2022 when two life insurance companies - Surya Life Insurance and Jyoti Life Insurance - completed their merger process and started integrated business as Suryajyoti Life Insurance Company. NIA said even if companies that have signed merger agreements, it would take months for them to start their integrated business. And, the paid-up capital of those companies who have planned to start the integrated business by mid-April will not reach as prescribed by the NIA. Such companies are planning to increase paid-up capital through the issuance of bonus shares which will take months. While some other companies are planning to increase the paid-up capital through rights share issuance, they are yet to start the process. The whole process will take months as they have to follow a series of procedures before the issuance of the right shares. As of now, four life insurance companies are planning to increase their paid-up capital by issuing the right shares.  Citizen Life Insurance, Sun Nepal Life Insurance, IME Life Insurance, and Reliable Life Insurance have submitted plans to the NIA to increase their capital through right share issuance. However, there is still confusion about increasing the paid-up capital of government-owned insurance companies. The paid-up capital of the Rastriya Beema Sansthan and Rastriya Beema Company is much less than the prescribed limit. Both companies have not forwarded their capital increment plant to NIA.

The Rastriya Janamorcha Party submitted a memorandum to Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal on Friday. A joint team led by the Rastriya Janamorcha Party Chairman Chitra Bahadur KC submitted the memorandum putting forth various demands. The Janamorcha handed over the memorandum incorporating the issues of republicanism and nationalism among others. Vice-Chairperson Durga Paudel and General Secretary Manoj Bhatta among other leaders were in the team. Chairman KC said that though the prices of consumer goods have been increasing constantly, the government has not taken steps to monitor the market and control the prices. In response, Prime Minister Dahal said that the government has been working seriously to improve the economy and to control the prices. The Janamorcha and Nepal Workers’ and Peasants Party had voted against the Prime Minister when he sought the vote of confidence.