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The public debt till mid-January of the current fiscal year (2024-25) has crossed the Rs 2,536bn-mark. According to the Public Debt Management Office, Nepal’s total public debt has exceeded 44 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), with Rs 102bn added to the public debt in the past six months.  

At the beginning of the current fiscal that commenced on July 16, public debt stood at Rs 2,434.9bn, and it rose by Rs 102.3bn to reach Rs 2,536.13bn by Jan 15 constituting 44.46 percent of the GDP, the office stated in its report. The contribution of foreign debt to the total public debt is 51.31 percent amounting to Rs 1,301.41bn while the ratio of external debt to the GDP is 22.81 percent.

Of the total public debt, the internal debt liability amounts to 48.68 percent (Rs 1,234.71bn)—21.64 percent of the GDP—whereas external debt makes up 22.81 percent of GDP.

The government has the target of raising Rs 547bn as public debt in the current fiscal and it has raised Rs 240.8bn or 43.89 percent of the annual target by mid-January or the first half-yearly of the current fiscal. The government had the target of raising Rs 330bn as internal debt in the current fiscal and it has raised Rs 181.5bn (54.86 percent).

It has the target of mobilizing Rs 217bn in external loans in 2024-25 and until Jan 15, it has raised
Rs 59.3bn. The government had allocated Rs 402.85bn for reimbursement of the principal and interest of the public debt in the current fiscal. Principal and interest worth Rs 182.4bn has been paid by mid-January, per the report. The expenditure made for paying the principal and interest until Jan 15 is 3.2 percent of the total GDP.

Commercial banks have reported a healthy growth in margin lending in the first five months of the current fiscal year. According to Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), margin loans of 20 out of 19 commercial banks increased by 35.57 percent to Rs 86.33bn in mid-Dec 2024, compared to Rs 63.67 in mid-Dec 2023. 

Margin loans refers to loans extended by banks by accepting shares listed on the Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) as collateral.  Among commercial banks in the country, only Standard Chartered Bank Nepal Ltd has not issued margin loans. With liquidity in the banking system rising amid slowdown in credit disbursement and surging deposits, investors say banks are encouraging them to take margin loans.

The Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) removed the Rs 200m ceiling on margin loans for institutional investors through the Monetary Policy for fiscal year 2024/25. This means that institutional investors can now borrow as much as they want. The policy intervention has led to a surge in margin loan disbursements. Margin loans have been capped at Rs 120m for individuals. In the last fiscal year, lending against share collateral had declined by 18.1 percent. 

The total margin loans amounted to Rs 50.4bn in the fiscal year 2019/20. It grew by a whopping 110.84 percent to reach Rs 106.28bn by mid-Aug 2021 as investors poured money into the stock market due to a lack of viable investment avenues during the covid pandemic. Concerned by investment of over Rs 100bn in margin loans, the central bank started tightening such loans. As a result, such loans fell by 24.25 percent to Rs 80.5bn in mid-July 2022 and further to Rs 64bn in the next month.

Data provided by the central bank shows that margin loans of Nepal SBI Bank increased by a whopping 1,890.46 percent in the review period. The bank’s margin loans rose from Rs 23.94m in mid-December last year to Rs 476.58m in mid-December this year.

The bank, however, has the lowest exposure to margin lending. Nabil Bank Ltd has the highest exposure to margin loans among Class ‘A’ banks in the country. Such loans of the bank went up by 2.78 percent to Rs 11.39bn in mid-Dec 2024. The bank had disbursed Rs 11.08 billion in margin loans in mid-December last year.

Global Bank Ltd follows with total margin loans of Rs 11.31bn in mid-December this year—a growth of 77.87 percent from Rs 6.36bn in mid-December last year.

Table

Margin loan disbursement by commercial banks

Source: NRB 

The price of gold has dropped by Rs 100 per tola in the domestic market on Monday.

According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the yellow metal is being traded at Rs 157, 000 per tola today. It was traded at Rs 157, 100 per tola on Sunday.

Similarly, the silver is being traded at Rs 1,860 per tola today.

The government has collected Rs 9.82bn as capital gains tax from share transactions in the first half of 2024/25.

According to the CDS and Clearing Ltd—the agency providing centralized depository, clearing, and settlement services for share transactions—the total CGT collection from share trading between mid-July 2024 to mid-Jan 2025 has reached Rs 9.82bn.

Nearly half of the CGT collection during the period came from the first month of the current fiscal year (mid-July to mid-Aug), when Rs 4.23bn was collected from securities trading. The sixth month, Poush (mid-Dec to mid-Jan), recorded the lowest CGT collection so far this year. According to the CDS and Clearing Ltd, Rs 580.7m was collected from share transactions in Poush.

CGT collection in Bhadra (mid-Aug to mid-Sept), Ashwin (mid-Sept to mid-Oct), Kartik (mid-Oct to mid-Nov), and Mangsir (mid-Nov to mid-Dec) was Rs 2.57bn, Rs 586.55m, Rs 758.78m, and Rs 1.4bn, respectively.

Share trading during the first month of the current fiscal year (mid-July to mid-Aug) was higher than the entire collection of fiscal year 2023/24, when the government raised Rs 4.15bn as CGT from share trading.

CGT collection is tied to the market capitalization—the market price of listed shares in the secondary market. When market capitalization is high investors get a high selling price for their securities which translates to higher CGt for the state. Market capitalization had surged to Rs 4.765trn in mid-August, Rs 1.099trn higher than a month before.

Individual investors are required to pay CGT at rates of either five percent  or 7.5 percent, depending on the duration of shares held. Investors who sell shares within a year of purchase are considered short-term investors and are levied a 7.5 percent CGT. Likewise, those who sell after one year are categorized as long-term investors and are subjected to a five percent CGT. Institutional investors, on the other hand, are required to pay a 10 percent tax on their share transaction profits.

The highest CGT collection from share trading was in 2020/21, when the government mobilized Rs 15.54bn.

CGT collection is closely tied to market capitalization, which reflects the average value of shares of companies listed on the secondary market.

The Gandaki Province Government has initiated plans to use Gurung and Magar languages as the official languages in the province.

Social Development Minister of Gandaki Province, Bindu Kumar Thapa, shared that processes have been forwarded to use the two languages for official communication in the province.

The Social Development Ministry conducted a program in Damauli on Sunday to collect recommendations for this purpose too.

Minister Thapa said that the province government has prepared a bill to use these two languages as the official languages and the recommendations have been collected from the districts. 

The bill is being formulated now and will be tabled in the Winter Session of the Gandaki Province Assembly, according to Minister Thapa. 

Minister Thapa argued that the move was aimed at preserving, promoting and developing the two dominant languages of the province, and to ensure prompt service delivery from the public agencies.  

The Language Commission of Nepal had also recommended the use of these two languages for official communications in the province.

In the province, Magar and Gurung communities make up 18.8 percent and 11 percent, respectively.

A workshop on autism conducted by Life Matra Nepal concluded successfully on Sunday.

Volunteers and health workers of the Kathmandu Metropolitan City-6 took part in the five-day event organized at the Urban Health Promotion Center, Ramhiti, Boudha, KMC-6.

The main objective of the workshop was to exchange knowledge and raise awareness about autism.

A report published by Autism Care Nepal Society (ACNS) estimated that 300, 000 children in Nepal are living with autism. Among them, 60,000 to 90,000 are severely affected.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), autism spectrum disorder (ASD) affects one in 160 children globally, and that boys are diagnosed with ASD more often than girls. However, some studies suggest that the gender disparity may be due to underdiagnosis of girls.

On the occasion, KMC-6 ward Chairman Bhuwan Lama underscored the need to develop a positive attitude towards breaking the deep-rooted stigma that autism is a mental illness. Instead, it is a development disorder.

He expressed his hope that this workshop would play an instrumental role to break the stigma towards autism in the society and encourage every individual and families to come forward and seek support they need.

Chairman Lama further hoped that this workshop would help the social workers go door-to-door to raise awareness about autism.

He also emphasized on expanding this kind of awareness campaign nationwide so as to educate the people about autism.

Life Mantra is an organization that raises mental health awareness through community programs, provides specialized counseling to help individuals overcome challenges and offers tailored training for education, health workers, parents and students.

The organization’s objective is to strive to foster social justice, equality, peace, and prosperity supporting disadvantaged groups like seniors, women, children and disaster survivors.

Life Mantra provides services like

- Individual Counseling (Relationship, Trauma, Depression, Anxiety, Stress)

- Yoga and Meditation

- Hiking for Well-being

- Training and Capacity Building Programs on Mental Health and Well-being

- Awareness Programs

- Parenting Skills Training

- Life Skills Training

- Rejuvenating Retreat

Congratulations! You won the first match. 

It’s the time to start the game and smash. 

You are actually the chosen one. 

So don’t give up and carry on. 

There are lots of races for you to win. 

And lots of obstacles that are unseen. 

Keep moving forward and you will be worth it. 

All your wins will lead to a grand seat. 

Be the winner of the most crucial race. 

So that they would never forget your face. 

Shakshi Ojha

Grade XI

St Xavier’s College, Maitighar

“Romeo and Juliet laws,” also known as “close-in-age exemptions,” are legal provisions designed to protect young people from prosecution for consensual sexual relationships with peers close in age. Named after Shakespeare’s tragic lovers, these laws aim to differentiate between predatory behavior and mutual relationships, shielding young individuals from harsh legal consequences.

The objective of such laws is to de-stigmatize consensual teenage relationships and prevent young people from enduring life-altering penalties for age-related legal technicalities.

Context in Nepal

Laws setting an age of consent for sexual activity are unique in that they can render a child both a victim and an offender based solely on age. In Nepal, The National Penal Code, 2017, Section 20, states that consent may be expressed verbally, in writing, or through gestures or conduct. However, the consent of a person below 18 years is not legally recognized.

This provision was introduced to safeguard minors, acknowledging that children may lack the emotional, psychological, and social maturity to understand the consequences of sexual activity. Section 219 of the same code stipulates that if a man engages in sexual intercourse with a girl under 18, even with her consent, it is considered rape. Unfortunately, this law overlooks the protection of young boys below 18 years, leaving them vulnerable to prosecution even in consensual relationships with peers or older individuals.

For example, if a 16-year-old boy engages in consensual sexual activity with an 18-year-old girl, the boy may face charges of statutory rape while the girl does not. This creates a significant legal imbalance. Furthermore, in a society like Nepal, where early marriages and relationships are still prevalent and digital platforms have made romantic connections more accessible, such scenarios are increasingly common.

Need for a Romeo and Juliet Law

A Romeo and Juliet law is essential in Nepal to address these gaps in the legal system. Such a law would:

Protect individuals close in age: Typically, these laws apply when the age gap is two to four years, ensuring young adults or older minors are not penalized for consensual relationships with peers.

Decriminalize consensual acts: The law would safeguard teens from being labeled as offenders when engaging in consensual relationships free from coercion or exploitation.

Prevent life-altering consequences: Being branded as a sex offender can severely impact education, employment, and reputation. This law would mitigate such outcomes for consensual acts among peers.

Limitations of Romeo and Juliet Law

Despite their benefits, these laws have limitations:

Age gap restrictions: Protection is limited to relationships within a specific age gap (e.g., 2–4 years). Larger gaps may still result in statutory rape charges.

Minimum age requirements: Relationships involving individuals below a certain age (e.g., 14–16) are generally not covered.

Exclusion of non-consensual acts: These laws do not protect cases involving coercion, manipulation, or exploitation, which remain punishable under the law.

International practices

Globally, Romeo and Juliet laws have been implemented with varying scopes:

Canada: The age of consent is 16, but exemptions exist for minors aged 12–15 engaging in consensual activity with someone close in age.

United Kingdom: While no formal law exists, prosecutors often consider the context before charging minors in consensual relationships.

India: In the Vijayalakshmi vs State case, the Madras High Court recommended amendments to protect adolescents in consensual relationships under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act.

Call for reform in Nepal

The current legal framework in Nepal fails to distinguish between consensual relationships among peers and predatory acts. This disproportionately penalizes young boys while overlooking their rights to equality under the Constitution of Nepal. The absence of a Romeo and Juliet law exacerbates this imbalance, leaving Nepal’s youth vulnerable to severe and unjust consequences.

Drawing from international practices, it is clear that such laws strike a balance between protecting minors and acknowledging the realities of teenage relationships. Nepal must follow suit by introducing a well-crafted Romeo and Juliet law to ensure fairness, protect youth, and address the changing dynamics of relationships in today’s society.

Conclusion

In a rapidly evolving social landscape, laws must adapt to address emerging challenges. A Romeo and Juliet law in Nepal would safeguard minors from unjust penalties for consensual relationships while maintaining robust protections against exploitation. It is time for Nepal to recognize this need and ensure its legal system promotes fairness, equality, and protection for its youth.

Abinesh Adhikari

BA LLB 5th Year

Kathmandu School of Law