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The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Nepal has launched the Insurance and Risk Finance Initiative for Nepal.

It is part of UNDP's global initiative, the Insurance and Risk Finance Facility (IRFF), which is being implemented in over thirty countries. This initiative seeks to prioritize financial resilience by tapping into the benefits of insurance and risk financing mechanisms, the UNDP Nepal stated in a press release.

During the launching event held on March19, the Country Diagnostic Report was unveiled by Dr Ram Prasad Ghimire, Revenue Secretary of the Ministry of Finance (MoF), Anil Pokhrel, Chief Executive Officer of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA), and UNDP's Resident Representative, Ms. Ayshanie Medagangoda-Labé.

The Report states that Nepal's disaster landscape is impacted by earthquakes, floods, landslides, and droughts, which collectively have caused almost USD 7 billion in damages from 1980 to 2020. These disasters have affected the country's capacity to build financial resilience in the face of looming disasters.

The Government of Nepal has spent Rs 50 billion (0.4 billion USD) between 2012 and 2020 in disaster response and recovery. The expenditure data indicates that this is not financially sustainable in the long run, which demands the development of risk transfer solutions.

The diagnostic highlighted that Nepal is one of the top 10 countries most affected by climate change and is highly vulnerable to floods, landslides, earthquakes, and droughts. The report also showcases that the Government of Nepal is committed to fostering the insurance industry's ability to provide accessible and affordable insurance products, as evidenced by recent legal updates such as the Insurance Act 2079, which contains several microinsurance provisions.

While credit-life microinsurance and agriculture insurance offer financial protection to low-income and vulnerable Nepali households, the overall inclusive insurance market is still lagging due to low awareness about insurance and data gaps that prevent insurance companies from offering products that meet the needs of customers.

Dr Ram Prasad Ghimire, Revenue Secretary at MoF, reiterated the government's commitment to delivering risk finance solutions, mentioning that the government has already initiated the development of a Risk Management Framework.

Anil Pokharel, CEO of NDRRMA, highlighted the importance of collaboration between the government, development partners, and the private sector to address increasingly frequent and complex climate and disaster risks.

Meanwhile, Ayshanie Medagangoda-Labé, UNDP Resident Representative, stated, "Insurance and risk financing are among the solutions that can contribute to strengthening a comprehensive risk management approach for any country and community. We need to tap into the insurance market opportunities, leaving no one behind."

The Initiative will work closely with government partners such as the Ministry of Finance, Nepal Insurance Authority and National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority to improve the legal and regulatory environment for insurance to be better incorporated in risk management priorities and actions.

It will also work with the insurance industry to identify the financial protection, needs of vulnerable groups such as women, farmers and businesses and facilitate the offer of customer-centric insurance products. UNDP will work more broadly with other development actors also pushing for financial resilience to further advocate and make the case for insurance as a key ingredient in managing shocks and fast-tracking recovery.

The Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) on Wednesday announced a team for the Friendship Cup to be held in India and to play against Ireland 'A' in home ground. 

The 15-member Nepali cricket squad will play under the captaincy of Rohit Kumar Poudel. Besides skipper Poudel, the team comprises Ashif Shekh, Kushal Bhurtel, Dipendra Singh Airee, Kushal Malla, Bibek Yadav, Sandip Jora, Anil Shah, Karan KC, Sompal Kami, Gulshan Jha, Lalit Narayan Rajbanshi, Pratis GC, Avinash Bohra and Akash Chand.

Nepal will play a T-20 match against Ireland at the TU Cricket Ground at Kirtipur on March 25 and 26. After this, the Nepali team will leave for India.

Nepal will take on Gujarat in its first match in India on March 31 and it will play against Baroda in the second match on April 2. Similarly, Nepal will meet Gujarat in its third match on April 3. Nepal will compete with Baroda in the last game of the series on April 5.

The two winning teams will play the final match after playing two matches against each other in the league stage. The final will take place on April 7.

The Ridi-Tamghas road section along the Madan Bhandari Highway is to remain closed for three weeks beginning today due to the road widening works.

The Highway Project Office issued a public notice urging everyone to use alternative routes during this period.

According to Office information officer, Er Sharmila Sharma, the road widening requires blasting of cliffs, widening, and grading procedures. As a result, the regular route is to be closed from 10 am to 4 pm and 10 pm to 4 am for the next three weeks.

A meeting chaired by Chief District Officer Krishna Prasad Sharma decided to close the 25-kilometre route earlier.

The Office suggests the following alternative routes: Panityanki-Thorga-Syalpokhari-Salbisauni-Ratamate route, Pipalneta-Digam-Ridi route, Lumchha-Dharampani-Digam-Ridi route, and Ghumti-Charpala-Khajryang-Ridi route for transportation during this period.

The Ministry of Labor, Employment, and Social Security has paved the legal way for Nepali recruitment agencies to send skilled Nepali workers to South Korea under the E-7 visa.

Until now, the government has been sending unskilled workers to South Korea under the Employment Permit System (EPS).

The ministry recently published a work procedure that permits registered manpower companies to send skilled workers to South Korea under the E-7 visa system. Such companies will also need to operate training facilities to provide language and skills training to workers. The procedure requires the companies to have their training center or lease an existing training center so that it can be used full time. Such centers should have at least two certified Korean language instructors.

Likewise, Nepali companies must sign an agreement with related Korean institutions/associations to bring demand for workers under the E-7 visa system. Such institutions must agree not to charge any fees from Nepali workers or Nepali licensed companies for these services.

If Korean employers themselves or language/skill training provider organizations want to come to Nepal to provide language and skill training, they must have their infrastructure or sign a contract with Korean language and specialized skill training centers in Nepal.

According to the procedure, Nepali workers wishing to go to South Korea for employment under the E-7 visa system must pass the Korean language test and occupational skill test conducted by an accredited institution or licensed institution recognized by the South Korean government. The licensed institution will have to provide details of Nepali workers, who have passed the language and skill test to the Department of Foreign Employment.

Likewise, the Nepali Embassy in Seoul should verify any demand for Nepali workers from South Korean companies within 15 days. The demand should clearly state wages and facilities of workers and work conditions, among other things. After the demand is verified by the embassy, it will have to be forwarded to the ministry for verification.

The work procedure states that if the Korean employers want the recruitment process to go through the government channel, the department responsible for looking at Korea will conduct the recruitment process. Likewise, it states that employers must bear costs like airfare, insurance, health examination, welfare fund contribution, social security fund contribution, and labor permit fee when sourcing workers form Nepal. 

Although the ministry has brought a work procedure to allow Nepali recruitment companies to send Nepali workers to South Korea, it has not made a separate agreement with South Korea for the recruitment of workers under the E-7 visa.

Meanwhile, the Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE) has formed a three-member team under Joint Secretary Govinda Rijal to study and make necessary recommendations for implementing the work procedure.

Nepali Congress has demanded formation of a parliamentary committee to investigate against Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane in the cooperative fraud.

Speaking at a meeting of the House of Representatives, lawmaker Ramhari Khatiwada accused the government of being scared of forming a parliamentary committee.

He objected that the government, which could not form a parliamentary committee, had mentioned in its Common Minimum Program of forming various commissions.

“We heard the Common Minimum Program of the government. It has been mentioned that various commissions will be formed. What kind of commission will the government form when it expresses its reluctance to form a parliamentary committee of cooperative fraud,” he questioned.

He claimed that the Pushpa Kamal Dahal-led government has become unsuccessful in every sector.

One hundred and thirty-seven cottage and small industries have closed down in Kailali district due to the shortage of raw materials. Several of these industries have shut as they could not manage the operation cost while some because their productions could not compete with the market prices.

According to the Cottage and Small Industries Office, several of the industries closed after their proprietors left the country for foreign employment.

However, the registration of women-owned enterprises has notably increased in the district in recent years. This is due to the provision of concessions on the registration fees for women-owned industries.

So far 15,434 industries have been registered in Kailali and the registration of 137 of them has been annulled. Among the registered industries, 3,194 are production-based, 6488 agriculture-based, two construction, 65 tourism-related, 12 information technology related and 5,673 service-oriented industries.

These industries have an investment of Rs 25 billion, it is stated. The Sudurpaschim provincial government has allocated Rs 15 million for implementing the 'One Electoral Constituency, One Industry' programme in the current fiscal year.

The Office stated that 9,120 women and 69,611 men are employed in the registered industries. The Office collected revenues Rs 5 million 216 thousand in last fiscal year 2022/23 and Rs 10 million 500 thousand as of March 13, in the eight months of the current fiscal year 2023/24.

The gold is being traded at Rs 125, 200 per tola in the domestic market on Wednesday.

According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, tejabi gold is being traded at Rs 124, 600 per tola.

Meanwhile, the silver, however, has dropped by Rs 5 and is being traded at Rs 1,520 per tola today.   

The Ministry of Home Affairs has directed the district administration officers across the country to set up facilitation desks to promptly receive and address the complaints, petitions and grievances of usury victims.

Home Ministry's spokesperson Narayan Prasad Bhattarai informed that the directive was issued to establish facilitation desks in line with the four-point agreement signed on March 11 between the Ministry and the usury victims struggle committee.

The district administration offices have been directed to set up a facilitation desk to deal with the matter by assigning responsibility to the officer-level employees to immediately hear the complaints, petitions and grievances related to usury and make public the details of the employees deployed at the desk (name, post, email, contact number and other means of contact) on the website of the office.

Similarly, section officer at the Ministry of Home Affairs Chiranjivi GM has been appointed the contact person of the Ministry to coordinate with the DAOs and other agencies to address the complaints of the usury victims.

For complaints related to usury (improper transactions), one can contact mobile number: 9851360603 (viber, WhatsApp message), email: [email protected] and toll-free number 1112.