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I’m a 19-year-old student and my parents weren’t affectionate or caring when I was growing up. I tried a lot as a child to get appreciation from my parents but failed to do so every single time. I never knew they were being unfair to me. But now when I hear about others’ childhoods, I have come to realize that I was quite unfortunate. It pains me to think about that, and it has been affecting my mental health and emotional stability. What should I do? -RK Answered by Kapil Sharma, counseling psychologist, Nepal Institute of Mental Health It’s understandable that you are going through emotional turmoil, as you have mentioned that your parents were emotionally unavailable when you were a child. What I can understand from what you’ve shared is that you have struggled with validating your emotions as a child. You also seem to be well aware that it was unfair to you. That realization is a good thing as it helps you understand that none of that was your fault. Understanding what’s happening is the first step you need to take before finding a solution.  Our personalities are heavily influenced by our past experiences. Since your emotional needs weren’t met as a child, that experience is pushing you towards being emotionally vulnerable as you grow up. However, this is the right time to start a constructive healing process. Sometimes we tend to grasp onto things that are beyond your control. In your case, it’s your past experiences. I know it’s easier said than done but it’s time to let go of the past.  Talking to your parents is the best course of action because it will benefit both of you. It will help both of you understand each others’ perspectives. Find a time where all three of you are in a calm headspace to have a conversation. If you are scared of doing it alone, you can always have a friend sit next to you for emotional support. But if talking to your parents directly is too stressful for you, there are certain things you can do on your own.  Start with journaling. Take a pen and paper and jot down the things you are struggling with, at what intensity it affects you, and if there is anything you can do to feel better. This process might be overwhelming but accepting your pain is better than suppressing it. It’s the beginning of every healing process.  Secondly, be responsible for your own happiness. You can start by engaging yourself in activities you love the most. Pick up a hobby. I’m not asking you to be hostile towards someone who is affectionate or loving. It’s necessary to have people who love and care for you around. But don’t let your happiness depend on them completely. You need to be able to be there for yourself the way you expect others to be there for you. You also need to understand what triggers your emotional instability. Sometimes, our subconscious mind connects even the smallest objects around us with our past trauma. It can be a person, or something as random as a mug. In that case, take three deep breaths, and start listing the positive aspects of those triggering factors. It will be a little difficult at first, but you will get there as you practice.  But most importantly, as I mentioned earlier too, it’s time to let go of your past. And the best way to do that is by practicing mindfulness. It’s a kind of meditation you do to create a peaceful headspace. You will find a lot of mindfulness meditation online. This can help you be mindful of the present and look forward to the future with an optimistic mindset. If doing all of this on your own turns out to be too difficult, you can always ask your loved ones for assistance, or visit a professional who will guide you through the process. 

Prime Minister and CPN (Maoist Center) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal won the vote of confidence on Tuesday, garnering 268 votes in the 275-member strong House of Representatives (HoR). Only two votes were cast against Dahal. One lawmaker each of Rastriya Janamorcha and Nepal Workers and Peasants Party voted against Dahal. Senior member of the House of Representatives Pashupati Shumsher JB Rana said that the Parliament had a vote of confidence as the majority was in the favor of the vote of confidence submitted by Prime Minister Dahal in the House of Representatives as per Article 76 (2) of the Constitution of Nepal. Nepali Congress, CPN-UML, CPN (Maoist Center), Rastriya Swatantra Party, Rastriya Prajatantra Party, Janata Samajbadi Party, CPN (Unified Socialist), Nagarik Unmukti Party, Janamat Party, and Democratic Socialist Party and independent lawmakers Amresh Singh and Yogendra Mandal voted in favor of PM Dahal. Dahal needed 138 votes for majority. He became prime minister with the support of seven political parties including the CPN-UML and two independent lawmakers. According to the constitution, the Prime Minister has to get the vote of confidence from the House within 30 days after the appointment. Dahal was appointed as the prime minister on December 25.  

The Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) crossed the 2200 mark on Monday for the first time in the last seven and a half months. Backed by impressive growth in the demand for shares of the hydropower sector, the Nepse index closed at 2211.38 points on the second day of the trading week. The last time when the Nepse index was over 2200 points was on May 27, 2022. Crossing this level has been seen as 'psychologically important' for stock investors as many are hoping for a bull market rally in the coming days. On Monday, the Nepse posted a gain of 2.16 percent while daily turnover stood at Rs 5.31 billion. With the investors continuing buying of shares on the back of the Nepal Rastra Bank amending guidelines on working capital loans on Wednesday and hopes that banks will reduce interest rates for the month of Magh, the stock market ended the first trading day of the week with a gain of 46.76 points. There has been an increment in the volume of traded shares in the past week. And, on Sunday, the number of traded shares increased by 16 percent compared to that of last Thursday. A total of 14.67 million shares were traded on Monday compared to 12.48 million shares of Sunday. Except for hotel and tourism, all the other sub-indices turned green on Thursday with the hydropower sub-index recording the highest 4.94 percent gain. Ridi Power Company recorded the highest turnover of Rs 206.8 million while the shares of Ngadi Group Power Limited were the most traded. On Monday, seven hydropower companies' share prices hit the positive circuit after increasing by 10 percent while seven other hydropower companies' share prices rose by more than nine percent. The share price of Barun Hydropower Company, Khanikhola Hydropower Company, Chhyangdi Hydropower, Joshi Hydropower Development Company, Himalayan Urja Bikas Company, Union Hydropower Limited, and Singati Hydro Energy Limited increased by 10 percent hitting the circuit breaker. The confidence of stock investors returned after the new government assured that it would address problems in liquidity management and will work to bring down the persistently higher interest rates. With the liquidity in the banking sector gradually improving, stock investors said they are now getting phones from the banks and financial institutions (BFIs) requesting them to take margin loans. As per Nepal Rastra Bank data, the banking system currently has Rs 12 billion in excess liquidity which indicates. This indicates interest rates will come down in the coming days.  

Norwegian Ambassador to Nepal Torun Dramdal said that if everything goes according to plan, Nepal will graduate from the group of least developed countries in 2026 and then become a middle income country. Speaking with the News Agency Nepal, ambassador Dramdal said “Nepal is moving in the right direction considering the considerable progress in the peace process. Nepal has progressive constitution and this year the elections in May and November were held in a peaceful manner, which are milestones for democracy in Nepal.” Therefore, inclusive democracy and good governance will support Nepal to become a middle income country. How do you see Nepal-Norway relation? Can you explain Norway’s contribution in development and Norwegian approaches? Nepal and Norway have cooperated for many years. It started from people to people cooperation at grassroots level. And, this year (2023) we are celebrating 50 years of diplomatic relations. Nepal is a partner country for Norway, which means that Nepal is a superior country for our development cooperation and our annual assistance to Nepal amounts to approximately $30m. What are the Norwegian development priorities in Nepal? Our main focus for cooperation are education, renewable energy and good governance. These are main sectors and these are in line with the priority of the government of Nepal. And, of course, gender equality and climate change are always on top of our agenda. Those are cross cutting issues that we always have to take into account in everything we do. How do you see the results of the Norwegian investment in the education sector in Nepal? I would like to comment on Nepal for the significant progress when it comes to access to education. Almost all children in Nepal go to school now and I think something that I am really proud of. Norway is advocating in the sector of clean energy. What are the objectives of investing in clean energy? Nepal has a huge potential for hydropower. And back home in Norway, hydropower has been a driver for industrialization and economic growth. And, I hope that hydropower for Nepal will also be a driver for economic growth and job creation. And, of course, Nepal is a country which is very vulnerable to climate change. Renewable and clean energy are crucial parts of the solution. Norway was supporting the people from the marginalized communities. However, we don't see such support continuing. Can you tell us why the embassy is not prioritizing the marginalized communities now? I would say that we still support marginalized communities. We do this through Norwegian NGOs. Many Norwegian NGOs support Nepali NGOs. We also do this through the support of the United Nations in Nepal with this common goal of ‘Living No One Behind’. We support inclusive education, which is particularly important for children from marginalized communities. So, I would say that marginalized communities are very much the target group for our cooperation with Nepal. Nepal’s federal governance system has been moving from the first five year’s electoral cycle to the second cycle. How do you see the implementation of federalism in Nepal? How is Norway cooperating to strengthen Nepal’s federalism? Norway is not a federal state, but a lot of power is decentralized to the local governments. And, if federalism is to succeed in Nepal, it's important that local and provincial governments are able to deliver good services to the people. And, I think that if you visit municipalities in Norway, you would find lots of similarities in the tasks and responsibilities of local governments in Nepal and Norway.  Although some of our municipalities are very small, for instance our municipality called Utsira municipality, they have only 188 inhabitants. And I don’t think you have any municipalities with so few inhabitants.  We continue to cooperate when it comes to good governance. And, the aim is to make the governance system effective and efficient. How does the parliamentary system function in Norway? Does Norway implement any program to strengthen Nepal’s parliamentary system? I believe that it is also important for parliament to engage with citizens. They should be open and transparent. Parliaments are very important because they are democratically elected assemblies that represent the people.  And, in Norway, there is lots of transparency and openness in our parliament. We have journalists in parliament. They can go there every day if they want to. They can move freely around. We always have TV cameras when there is a parliamentary debate. And, we also have a gallery for the general public if they would like to sit down and follow the debates in parliament. Because, we value openness and transparency. Norway is cooperating with the parliament in Nepal. We have a project with UNDP called the ‘Parliamentary Support Project’. Norway has been supporting Nepal to promote good governance. However, the Transparency International’s report shows Nepal’s service delivery has not progressed much. How do you see this? What are your suggestions to promote good governance in Nepal? I believe that transparency and good governance are important foundations for development. And, also strong institutions prevent individuals from abusing power for their own gain. That is why Norway is one of the donors to the provincial and local government support program. That is about capacity building and building stronger institutions. Nepal is one of the countries severely affected by climate change. This year, in the COP27, countries decided to establish a loss and damage fund. Countries like Norway need to support such funds. What is your response? Norway’s ambition is to continue to be a leader in climate finance. And, we support the establishment of a fund for loss and damage at COP27. We see this as a very important outcome of COP27, although there are still some modalities which would have to be worked out. From the Norwegian perspective, it should be a common global responsibility to support those countries which have contributed very little to climate change but they face the harsh reality.

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) plunged by 21. 34 points to close at 2,190.42 points on Tuesday. Similarly, the sensitive index dropped by 0. 77 points to close at 419. 14 points. A total of 20,843,952 unit shares of 254 companies were traded for Rs 7. 65 billion. Meanwhile, Barahi Hydropower Public Limited was the top gainer today with its price surging by 9. 99 percent. At the end of the day, the total market capitalization stood at Rs 3. 16 trillion.

Global IME Bank Limited has become Nepal's largest bank with the highest paid-up capital. With the successful completion of a merger, Global IME Bank and Bank of Kathmandu (BoK) began unified business on Monday as Global IME Bank. Post-merger, the bank has become the largest bank in the country in terms of total capital, paid-up capital, and business size. Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal inaugurated the integrated business of the Global IME-BoK on Monday amid a function held in the capital. Global IME has been forefront when it comes to consolidation in the banking sector. As of now, the bank has merged 21 banks and financial institutions into it. Of them, five are commercial banks, 10 are development banks, and six are finance companies. Addressing the inauguration of integrated business, Global IME Bank Chairman Chandra Prasad Dhakal said that the bank has been at the forefront when it comes to the implementation of Nepal Rastra Bank's merger policy. "Global IME Bank's success in the merger has encouraged other banks and financial institutions to merge," said Dhakal. According to him, Global IME holds about 10 percent of the total market share in the Nepali banking sector post-merger. Stating that Global IME's ability to bear risks has also increased, Dhakal said, "I believe this merger will ease the difficulty of having to participate in many banks to raise investment in big projects." After the merger, the total capital of the bank has reached Rs 57 billion, while the paid-up capital is Rs 35.77 billion. The bank's total deposits and extension of loans stand at Rs 412 billion and Rs 377 billion, respectively. Speaking on the occasion, NRB Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari said that financial intermediation costs are decreasing as banks become bigger and stronger due to the mergers. "Banks now should remain self-regulated as they have become larger after the mergers," he said Adhikari. The central bank's board meeting on December 29 had given the final approval for the merger between Global IME Bank and Bank of Kathmandu. The central bank had directed both banks to come up with a new name, arguing that the proposed name 'Global IME BOK Limited' did not have the word 'bank' in it. Hence, both banks agreed to go with the name Global IME Bank post-merger. After the merger, the Chairman of the merged entity is Chandra Prasad Dhakal while Ratna Raj Bajracharya, current CEO of Global IME has continued in the post. The Global IME Bank, post-merger, will have a total of 365 branch offices, 367 ATMs, 286 branchless banking services, 61 extended branch offices, and three contact offices located abroad. Its customer base has increased to 4 million, making it the biggest in terms of customer size, well ahead of NIC Asia Bank which has 3.2 million customers.  

The Airlines Operators Association of Nepal (AOAN) has reduced airfares following Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC)'s decision to slash the aviation fuel price. AOAN on Monday said that the reduced airfares will come into effect from January 11. According to AOAN, the airfare on the Kathmandu-Dhangadhi route has come down by Rs 885 while the airfare on the Kathmandu-Simara sector has been reduced by Rs 180. Likewise, the airfare for mountain flights has come down by Rs 685. As the government controls the price of a plane ticket and airlines are not allowed to increase the airfare, domestic airlines generally increase or decrease the fuel surcharge in response to the fluctuation in the fuel price hike. The fuel surcharge is revised if fuel prices fluctuate by at least Rs 4 per liter. According to domestic airline operators, fuel prices account for up to 40 percent of the total cost of operations in Nepal. NOC slashed prices of petrol, diesel, kerosene, and aviation fuel (for domestic & international airliners) on Sunday. The meeting of the oil monopoly's board decided to reduce prices of petrol, diesel, and kerosene by Rs 3 per liter each. Similarly, the price of aviation fuel for domestic airlines has been slashed by Rs 20 per liter and for international airlines by Rs 30 per liter. With the new pricing, a liter of petrol will cost Rs 175, and diesel and kerosene will cost Rs 172. As per the revised price, the price of aviation fuel for domestic airlines is now Rs 170 per liter and for international airlines is USD 1.42 per liter. The price of LPG gas has remained the same, which is Rs 1,800 per cylinder. The NOC revised the prices following instruction from Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal who on last Thursday had instructed the secretary at the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, and Supplies to reduce the price of petroleum products. The secretary at the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, and Supplies chairs the NOC board.    

The Democratic Socialist Party (DSP) has decided to give a vote of confidence to Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal. A Parliamentary Party meeting of the party held on Tuesday made the decision to this effect, party leader Keshav Jha said. Earlier, the party had entrusted Chairman Mahantha Thakur with the responsibility to make a decision on whether to give a vote of confidence to PM Dahal or not. PM Dahal is seeking the vote of confidence today. Dahal was appointed the prime minister with the support of seven parties including the CPN-UML on December 25. Earlier, the CPN (Unified Socialist) had also decided to give a vote of confidence to PM Dahal.