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Naveen Srivastava, the new Ambassador of India to Nepal,  arrived in Kathmandu today. 

Shri Naveen Srivastava is a career diplomat. He is coming from New Delhi where he was heading the East Asia Division that deals with China, Japan, Korea and Mongolia. He headed the Indian delegation in several rounds of diplomatic talks with China on the eastern Ladakh border row. 

Shri Srivastava has served previously as Ambassador of India in Cambodia from 2015-17. He has also served in Washington, Beijing, Shanghai and Hongkong in various capacities.

About Jyoti Bikash Bank Limited

Jyoti Bikash Bank Limited is a ‘B’ class development bank engaged in commercial banking activity. It was established in 2009 by a group of employees from the Nepal Electricity Authority, businessmen, professionals and ordinary citizens. Initially, the bank’s focus was promoting the hydropower sector by lending credit facilities to potential hydropower projects. But over the years, the bank has evolved into a trustworthy financial institution. Today, it caters to a large segment of the society.

ApEx Interview with Paras Raj Kandel, Deputy CEO

What makes Jyoti Bikash Bank different? 

Our bank has a culture driven by purpose, vision, mission and values that help us to be more progressive than others. 

The main impediment to providing financial access to a large section of Nepali society is lack of adequate and credible information. There are a lot of misconceptions and misunderstandings about the providers of the banking services and the service recipients. We believe designing our products/ services and aligning operations and service-delivery by keeping the customers’ needs at the center will go a long way towards building our bank as a credible brand. In this context, we have been actively working to understand our customers’ needs, revising existing products and bringing in new ones. We are also exploring technology to provide a smoother customer experience and streamlining internal operations. By focusing on customer needs, especially in the MSME (Micro, Small, and Medium-sized Enterprises) and retail segments, we have been able to create a different and meaningful presence in the Nepali financial market.

We want to bring prosperity to people’s lives through a wide range of highly accessible financial services and the dissemination of related financial information. The bank aims to become an institution that caters to the Nepali citizens and society by delivering modern, informed, and easy financial services. We have an environment of shared values with our customers via easy, faster, and technology-driven banking and financial decision-making information services. This has made us the public’s favorite.

How do you think a development bank like yours differs from a commercial bank? 

The differences are based on various parameters. Initially, commercial banks had an urban approach, and development banks were focused in rural areas. But with a few changes in regulations by the central bank, both categories of banks have now expanded their reach and freely compete for customers. So there is not much of a difference between commercial and development banks. Development banks can also issue dollars and credit cards these days. We are among the first few banks to issue dollar cards and our credit card service is soon being launched.

JBBL donating a baby warmer to a health facility as part of its CSR.

With little to differentiate commercial and development banks, are development banks still relevant then? 

This is an important question not only for banking the entire financial sector. Overlapping spaces have been created due to both kinds of institutions targeting the same work areas and audiences. Yet, development banks still retain their popularity among the grassroots. Development banks provide easy service for both MSMEs and rural people. Still, this relevance could be increased if the regulators could step in to determine what each category of banks can and cannot do. 

What are the steps your bank is taking to improve people’s financial access? 

We have professionally competent and dynamic human resources working to engage the society, particularly the grassroots people. Even as a part of our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), we are partnering with schools, social institutions and business houses. As the information gap is a major issue for people from rural areas, we give them financial literacy. We merged with Jhimruk Bikash Bank Limited (Pyuthan) in the fiscal year 2017/18 and acquired two more regional-level development banks: Raptiveri Bikash Bank Limited (Nepalgunj) and Hamro Bikash Bank Limited (Nuwakot) in the fiscal year 2018/19 and 2019/20 respectively. This has helped us connect with people from rural areas. 

We take feedback to improve our customer service and have a dedicated customer relationship management team. The bank is also exploring ways to digitize a wide range of our services, so that we could make a positive impact in the long run. 

As of now, we are focused on three major digital processes: physical data transfer to an online system, automation of bank operation and decision making, and customer experience by providing platforms to connect with other stakeholders in the financial ecosystem. All these will help our customers make optimal use of the bank’s products. It will be a new and improved experience for them.

Children at a school in Dolpa with the solar lamps distributed by JBBL.

What is the bank doing as a part of its CSR? 

CSR is always our top priority. The NRB asks financial institutions to allocate one percent of their profit to the community, but we contribute 1.5 percent. We will increase this rate, as permitted by our profits. Hamro Bikas Bank Limited had a policy of providing three percent of its profit for CSR, and we have taken inspiration from this approach. At that time, the NRB didn't even have a CSR policy. We have a bottom-up approach to CSR. This means a team of respective branches and public representatives together preparing the CSR proposals. 

How challenging has the current liquidity crisis been to your bank?

It is challenging because, even amid the liquidity crisis, we have to continue to support our customers, as we believe in shared values. Keeping our assets in good condition is also a challenge. But to overcome the crisis, we keep our engagement with customers strong. If they trust us, nothing can drag us down.   

Nepal Teen Leaders has organized a panel discussion on career counseling for the +2 passed students. It was held on June 20 at Presidential College. Panelists Dr Estroy Pokhrel, head of business of Gyapu Market Place Abhimanyu Sharma, Chemical Engineer Nischal Baniya, Chairman of Presidential College Kshitiz Puri, and CA Nischal Maharjan shared their professional journey to the participated students and held a Q&A session.

This program was supported by the Vibrant Institute of Medical Education and AOC, Academy of Commerce.

Question

I am a 33-year-old working woman. I am not married but in a relationship. I tend to give more time to my work rather than to my loved ones or myself. This has affected my relationships with my partner, friends and family members. Consequently, I find myself lonely and to cope with this, I give myself even more work. I absolutely love my work and enjoy that part of my life very much. But at the same time, I feel I’m missing out in my personal life. Please help. -A workaholic 

Answered by Kapil Sharma, Counseling Psychologist, Hudec Nepal

You seem to be aware of the reason for your predicament. You admit that you have turned into a workaholic as a part of coping mechanism. But it also seems that your work-related stress has invaded your personal life and relationships.

You need to learn to balance your work and life. For this, the first thing you can do is setting goals, limits and boundaries at work. This will help you get more organized. Right now, you are unable to organize and set a boundary between your personal and professional life. The second thing is to focus on self-care, by allocating time for yourself.

Doing these things can get confusing, so what you can do is list out all your tasks, prioritize them and assign times to do them. You don’t have to give equal time and energy for each task. Focus where to invest your time based on urgency and importance. Also, learn to say ‘no’ to tasks that you cannot make time for. Many of us have the habit of saying yes to everything, only to later be racked with guilt and regret not being able to say no. Remember, it’s important to make time for oneself and prioritize self-care. 

A healthy lifestyle is essential to cope with stress and to find work-life balance. Eat well, get enough sleep, listen to uplifting music, include physical activity in your routine, and have some self-relaxation time. Try making your hobbies a part of your routine, be assertive, and develop a support system at work and home.

If your life feels too chaotic to manage and you still feel trapped in a vicious cycle of work-guilt-work, we are here to help you. Talk to professionals and take advantage of available services.

The Kathmandu Metropolitan City on Friday unveiled a budget of Rs. 25.41 billion, giving priority to infrastructure development.

Deputy Mayor Sunita Dangol presented an estimated budget and program of Rs 25. 41 billion for the fiscal year 2022/ 23 in the municipal assembly.

This is Rs 6.46 billion more than the budget of the current fiscal year.

The metropolis had allocated Rs 18. 95 billion in the current fiscal year.

Deputy Mayor Dangol said that the metropolis has allocated 49.57 percent of the total budget for infrastructure development. The metropolis has allocated Rs 11. 88 billion for infrastructure development.

Nepal reported 43 new Covid-19 cases on Friday.

According to the Ministry of Health and Population, 1, 853 swab samples were tested in the RT-PCR method, of which 32 returned positive. Likewise, 1, 703 people underwent antigen tests, of which 11 were tested positive.

The Ministry said that no one died of virus in the last 24 hours. The Ministry said that 14  infected people recovered from the disease.

As of today, there are 181 active cases in the country.

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) gained 13.78 points to close at 1862.06 points on Friday.

Similarly, the sensitive index rose 2.81 points to close at 364.90 points.

A total of 3,541,537 units of the shares of 223 companies were traded for Rs 1.15 billion.

Likewise, all the sub-indices saw green in today’s market  except for Mutual Fund.

At the end of the day, the total market capitalization stood at Rs 2.65 trillion.

Afghanistan does not have enough medical supplies to treat the injured from an earthquake that killed 1,000 people, a senior official said on Friday, as authorities ended the search for survivors in remote southeastern mountains, Reuters reported.

About 2,000 people were injured and 10,000 houses were partially or completely destroyed in the early Wednesday earthquake, Mohammad Nassim Haqqani, a spokesperson for the disaster ministry, told Reuters.

"The health ministry does not have enough drugs, we need medical aid and other necessities because it's a big disaster," he said.

The 6.1 magnitude earthquake struck about 160 km (100 miles) southeast of Kabul near the Pakistani border, in a region of arid mountains dotted with small settlements that has was often contested over Afghanistan's decades of war.

Poor communications and a lack of proper roads have hampered relief efforts in a country grappling with a humanitarian crisis that deteriorated sharply after the Taliban took over last August as US-led international forces withdrew.

The disaster is a major test for the hardline Islamists, who have been largely isolated; shunned by many because of worries about human rights and cut off from much direct international assistance because of sanctions.

Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and the United Arab Emirates all said on Thursday they planned to send aid. Supplies from Pakistan have already crossed the border, according to Reuters.

India, which has a strained relationship with the Taliban, said it had sent 27 tonnes of supplies on two flights to be handed over to international aid agencies.

Haqqani said the search for survivors had been called off, some 48 hours after the disaster struck.

"The search operation has finished," he said.

He did not elaborate on why. People have been pulled alive from the rubble of other earthquakes after considerably more time.

Large parts of South Asia are seismically active because a tectonic plate known as the Indian plate is pushing north into the Eurasian plate.

In 2015, an earthquake struck the remote Afghan northeast, killing several hundred people in Afghanistan and nearby northern Pakistan, Reuters reported.