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SCWEC Nepal, a chamber of women entrepreneurs from SAARC nations, launched a biodegradable sanitary pads ‘Aba Dhukka’ on Sept 10. Sarojini Serchan, Vice-chairperson of the organization welcomed the participants at the product-launch event. “The main aim of SCWEC Nepal is to empower women through education and entrepreneurship,” she said. “Our motto is to provide made-in-Nepal sanitary pads to each female student.” Informing about the project, past Vice-chairperson of SCWEC Nepal said that the team were invited by Sri Lanka in 2019 where they saw the production of biodegradable sanitary pads. “This project from SCWEC Sri Lanka inspired us to start the same in Nepal,” she said. “We are soon heading to manufacture 100 percent compost sanitary pads.” Julia Chitrakar, coordinator of ‘Aba Dhukka’ project explained the journey. “Through many ups and downs, we are able to launch our product in three years,” she said. She also assured that the product will soon be available in the market on a large scale. “We had started manufacturing pads three years ago by a machine made in Nepal by Nepali engineers,” she said, “But due to some issues in the machine, we had to buy it that delayed the launch of the sanitary pads.” Covid-19 pandemic also played its part. The project aims to engage women from all the provinces in entrepreneurship. According to the data of the Customs Department, Nepal has imported sanitary pads worth Rs 1bn in the last fiscal year. The project also aims to reduce the import of pads. SCWEC Nepal trained two women with disabilities, Shristi Shrestha and Sikha Pradhan. And both of them are in charge of manufacturing the sanitary pads. Ram Chandra Tiwari, director general of Department of Industries wished for a better future of the project and assured the team to help whenever they ask for.

If you’re a vegetarian or a vegan, you might always be on the lookout for different places to eat. There are, after all, only so many options. We would like to recommend Places Restaurant. Conveniently located in central Thamel, it has quite a wide variety of dishes. Best, they also serve gluten-free food. Dim, warm lights with soft music playing in the background create a serene, pleasant atmosphere. You will feel instantly relaxed. They have also dedicated two entire walls to display and auction art by contemporary Nepali artists. The seating area is varied too, with both floor and cabaret style arrangements. Food-wise, Places Restaurant won’t disappoint. Popcorn Chili, which is basically popcorn fried in Chinese kung pao sauce, was a delight. We had never tasted anything like it. The Mexican quesadilla, a tortilla with cheese, corn, and other fillings, that is served with salsa and sour cream is crispy and soft at the same time. It hits all the right taste buds. The salsa could have been slightly better but when everything else was near-perfect, we don’t want to complain. You can wash your meal down with a Peach Iced Tea or Fresh Mint Lemonade. Both are equally good. We would be hard-pressed to pick a favorite. They also have an array of probiotic drinks that you might want to try. Specials: Popcorn Chilly Mexican Quesadilla Padthai Noodles Opening hours: 8:00am - 11:00pm Location: Thamel Meal for two: Rs 1,500 Online/Card Payment: Accepted Reservations: 01-5914599 Parking Space: Yes

Foreign Secretary Bharat Raj Paudyal will pay an official visit to India on September 13-14 at the cordial invitation of the Foreign Secretary of India Vinay Mohan Kwatra.

During the visit, the Foreign Secretary will hold a bilateral meeting with his Indian counterpart where the two sides will discuss different areas of cooperation between Nepal and India, read a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday.

The Foreign Secretary will return Kathmandu on September 15.

Nepal recorded 152 new Covid-19 cases and two deaths on Friday. According to the Ministry of Health and Population, 1, 186 swab samples were tested in the RT-PCR method, of which 110 returned positive. Likewise, 2, 108 people underwent antigen tests, of which 42 tested positive. The Ministry said that 133 infected people recovered from the disease in the last 24 hours. As of today, there are 2, 448 active cases in the country.

India, the world’s biggest rice shipper, restricted exports of key varieties that mainly go toward feeding Asia and Africa, threatening to rattle global crop markets and exacerbate food inflation and hunger, Bloomberg reported. The government has imposed a 20% duty on shipments of white and brown rice, and banned broken rice sales abroad. The curbs apply to roughly 60% of India’s overall rice exports, according to Bloomberg calculations. The moves by India, which accounts for 40% of the global rice trade, will put further pressure on countries that are struggling with worsening hunger and soaring food inflation. Rice is a staple food for about half of the world’s population, with Asia producing and consuming about 90% of global supply. Rice is now the third major agricultural commodity in India to face restrictions on overseas sales this year. The South Asian nation has already curbed wheat and sugar exports, adding to a spate of food protectionism that’s exacerbated chaos in global food markets brought on by the war in Ukraine.

In contrast to the surge in wheat and corn prices after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, rice has been subdued due to ample stockpiles, helping to ward off a bigger food crisis. With India’s latest move, that may be about to change.

The restrictions apply to unmilled and husked brown varieties, the government said late Thursday. Semi-milled and wholly-milled rice -- or white rice -- will incur a similar duty. Parboiled and Basmati rice are excluded from the curbs.

The variety that now attracts the export tax accounts for about 60% of India’s non-basmati rice shipments, according to B.V. Krishna Rao, president of the Rice Exporters Association. The restriction will benefit rival suppliers Thailand and Vietnam, he said, which are cooperating to shore up rice prices. “The government’s move will boost global rice prices,” Rao said, estimating that export prices of white rice may exceed $400 a ton from as much as $350 currently on a free-on-board basis.

Exporters will ask the government to waive taxes on about 2 million tons of rice that have been contracted but not yet shipped, he added.

Broken rice, which is banned for overseas sales, is mainly used for animal feed. Prices have jumped this year on increased export demand. Top buyers include China, which uses it for livestock feed, and some African countries that import it for food. It accounts for almost 20% of India’s shipments abroad.

India’s rice planting has shrunk 5.6% this season due to a lack of rainfall in some areas. Monsoon showers have been more than 25% lower than average in major growing states of Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Bihar. Overall, the country has received 5% above normal precipitation during the period.

The trade restrictions will create supply concerns given that India is the single largest rice exporter, said Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Alvin Tai. “Definitely won’t help global food inflation but depends how long they keep it up.”

The price of gold has increased by Rs 100 per tola in the domestic market on Friday. According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the precious yellow metal is being traded at Rs 93, 900 per tola today. It was traded at Rs 93, 800 per tola on Thursday. Meanwhile, tejabi gold is being traded at Rs 93, 400 per tola. Similarly, the price of silver is being traded at Rs 1,150 per tola today.

The Ambassador of the Republic of Azerbaijan Dr Ashraf Shikhaliyev said that Nepal can also develop through digitalization and digital governance as Republic of Azerbaijan did. Dr Shikhaliyev expressed his experience during delivering his remarks in the 3rd Session “Digital Infrastructure and Technology Emigration: Leapfrogging Opportunities” of Nepal Infrastructure Summit 2022 organized by CNI today. Dr Shikhaliyev further informed the Summit that digitalization and digital governance has eased the livelihood of the public as well as changed the overall economy. Due to digitalization, Azerbaijan has become one of the most attractive destinations for all where visas can be obtained within an hour of online application which would be for 30 days, he said. Driving license can also be replaced within five minute of time and form registration will be completed within two days and the process is done very transparently without any corruption, he said. Hence, Dr Shikhaliyev stressed on digitalization and digital governance to adopt by Nepal for becoming the techno-friendly fast growing economy.

Don McLain Gill is a Philippines-based geopolitical analyst and author specializing in Indo-Pacific affairs and Indian and Philippine foreign policy. Kamal Dev Bhattarai of ApEx talked to him about India-China and the US-China relations, and how they are affecting the small countries in the Indo-Pacific region. How do you see the current state of India-China relations? India and China continue to have troubled bilateral relations, primarily due to the intensifying tension with respect to the border, and the dynamic security architecture in the Indian Ocean region. While there have been several meetings between Chinese and Indian senior officials, indicating possible improvement in bilateral relations, the reality on the ground still paints a relatively pessimistic picture. Talks are ongoing for the disengagement in the Line of Actual Control (LAC), but China has continued with the development of critical infrastructure close to the LAC. This suggests that Beijing lacks the capacity to follow through with an agreement. China has repeatedly gone against a series of bilateral agreements and confidence-building measures. The words of Indian External Affairs Minister Jaishankar resonated quite profoundly when he said, something to the effect of, the state of the border will determine the state of India-China relations. Until both states do not substantially improve their relationship, the future of Asia’s security architecture remains in peril. How do you evaluate South Asian countries’ engagement with China, particularly on BRI?  China’s ability to sustain a robust military presence in the Indian Ocean region and South Asia, in particular, is still constrained. To build its image as a major development and economic partner in the region, China began engaging with various South Asian countries through its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Sri Lanka, for example, received billions of dollars worth of Chinese investments. But as the economic crisis unfolded in Sri Lanka, it became clear how deeply the country is indebted to China. Some estimates suggest China accounts for 10 percent of Sri Lanka’s total debt, others say it could be as large as 20 percent.  Despite this, China remained reluctant to restructure Sri Lanka’s loans in the face of Colombo’s repeated requests. The Sri Lanka crisis has shown that Beijing is not only an insufficient provider of economic growth and development but, with its hesitant response, also an unreliable comrade in case of economic distress. Does this mean China’s influence is waning in the region? The situation like in Sri Lanka is a challenge for China’s long-time efforts to cultivate the image of a responsible power, given its desire to incorporate as many states as possible into the BRI. Two other major recipients of Chinese loans in the region, Pakistan and Nepal, may also be treading a similar path. If that happens, China’s plan could backfire. Then again, without a robust and practical alternative to the BRI, despite a series of pushbacks, smaller states in the region will have no choice but to continue engaging with the available option, which is China. What is your view on the US-China contest in the Indo-Pacific region? The power competition between the US and China is much more than material power. It is a combination of both material power and perception. While shifts in the distribution of power is a normal phenomenon in international affairs, the divergences in perceptions between established and rising great powers make all the difference. Being the chief architect of the established international rules-based order, the US continues to seek its preservation. China, meanwhile, is rising with the desire to alter and reshape the rules of engagement in the Eastern Hemisphere. With concepts such as the Global Security Initiative, China seeks to exclude extra-regional powers and the traditional US-led alliance network. And with Washington's material decline and diminishing influence in the Indo-Pacific, it has to bank on other like-minded major powers like Japan and India to maintain the status-quo. However, the role of geography and asymmetric economic interdependence continue to complicate the security environment at the peril of developing states. As China continues to grow, more turbulence can be expected in the context of the brewing power competition. South Asian countries are feeling the heat of deepening US-China rivalry. What are your suggestions for smaller countries in the conduct of their foreing policy ? Smaller countries play a pivotal role in the strategic equation of major powers. However, instead of reacting to the structural shifts, they must leverage on their strategic positions by maintaining their centrality rather than being dragged deeper into major power competition. Small states must be able to provide major powers with a less ambiguous roadmap of engagement without fearing the loss of support from either state. This does not mean that small states should seek to disturb the balance. Rather, they should aim to maintain the status quo without further exacerbating the balance of power. This will provide them with a more conducive environment for growth, development, and security.