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The price of gold has increased by Rs 1, 000 per tola in the domestic market on Thursday.

According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the precious yellow metal is being traded at Rs 134, 000 per tola today. It was traded at Rs 133, 000 per tola on Wednesday.

Similarly, tejabi gold is being traded at Rs 133, 350 per tola. It was traded at Rs 132, 350 per tola.

Meanwhile, the price of silver has increased by Rs 40 and is being traded at Rs 1, 650 per tola today.

The District Administration Office, Bhaktapur held a discussion with concerned agencies and stakeholders to manage the Bisket Jatra.

A multi-stakeholder meeting held under the coordination of Chief District Officer (CDO) Roshani Kumari Shrestha took various decisions for the proper management of Bisket Jatra.

The meeting was attended by police, government office chiefs, representatives from Guthi Sansthan, procession operators, political leaders, local clubs and stakeholders.

The Metropolitan Police Range has decided to completely shut the liquor shops during the procession period.

Chief District Officer Shrestha said CCTV cameras have been installed along the main roads and intersections where the Jatra is being held.

He warned that stern action will be taken against those disrupting the Jatra.

The District Administration Office, Bhaktapur and District Police Range, Bhaktapur will be responsible for maintaining peace and security in the city area during the period.

The Guthi Sansthan Branch Office, Bhaktapur will make necessary preparations to start and complete all the pujas and jatra related to Bisket Jatra on time.

Arrangements have been made to manage the cables, wires and fiber net cables in the Jatra route areas of the city and ambulances, fire engines and disaster preparedness equipment will be kept ready in all the hospitals of the city under the aegis of Nepal Red Cross Society, Bhaktapur.

The Nepal Scouts will mobilize volunteers in crowded areas on April 12, 13 and 17.

Monish Tourangbam is a New Delhi-based strategic analyst and the honorary director at the Kalinga Institute of Indo-Pacific Studies (KIIPS). He holds an MPhil and PhD from the School of International Studies, JNU, and has taught geopolitics and international relations at Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, and Amity University, Noida. Tourangbam has also been a visiting faculty at the University of Cincinnati, Ohio, a SAV visiting fellow at the Stimson Center, Washington DC, and associate editor of the Indian Foreign Affairs Journal. He has been an Indian delegate at a number of high-level Track II Dialogues and regular commentator on US foreign policy, India’s foreign policy, geopolitics of the Indo-Pacific and South Asia besides other pertinent issues of international relations. Kamal Dev Bhattarai of ApEx talked with him about the Indo-Pacific Strategy and its implications for Nepal. 

How do you see the implementation of US Indo-Pacific Strategy 2022 in the Indo-Pacific region?

The US Indo-Pacific Strategy (IPS) more than anything else affirms the prevailing view in America’s policymaking community that the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC’s) comprehensive rise is the most prominent strategic challenge to US primacy in the international system, and more particularly in the Indo-Pacific region. “The PRC’s coercion and aggression spans the globe, but it is most acute in the Indo-Pacific,” the IPS says. Although it does mention a host of global issues including the pandemic and the climate change that require renewed American leadership, the focus of this strategy on the strategic challenges posed by China is quite apparent: That the United States needs to face such challenges squarely, and build a “free and open Indo-Pacific that is more connected, prosperous, secure, and resilient,” in concert with allies and like-minded partners is what this strategy contends. The economic, political, and military balance that was heavily tilted toward the United States and its allies in the post-Cold War era has been rapidly shifting to a much more complex environment. 

The IPS is emphatic in pronouncing the Indo-Pacific region as the most consequential in terms of its impact on the world, and one that will require the US to deliver more than ever. The cornerstone of implementing the IPS quite clearly lies in how well the United States is able to diagnose the 21st century problems that the region confronts, and devising the solutions to the range of issues traversing the military plus non-military areas.

How do South Asian countries perceive the IPS and how are they responding to it?

It will not be easy to put all the South Asian countries under one particular bracket or category, while assessing how they perceive and respond to the US Indo-Pacific Strategy. Despite being grouped under South Asia, the countries in this region possess peculiar geography and interests that shape their perceptions and responses to the IPS. Each country depending on their maritime or continental features, and their terms of engagements with the US perceive and navigate the politics, economics and security of the evolving Indo-Pacific region. For instance, the imperatives of development and security in each of the eight South Asian countries shape their strategic behaviors as well as tactical responses. 

Quite evidently, the exponential growth that India’s partnership with the US has seen in the last two decades, despite its own history of “estrangement”, is something that continues to and will overwhelmingly shape how South Asia features in US Indo-Pacific Strategy. Moreover, in deciphering the perception and responses of South Asian countries to the IPS, the China factor will loom large, because of Beijing’s growing strategic footprints in the region. While the US-China strategic competition is an overriding factor in the Indo-Pacific strategy and the military implications are quite apparent, the IPS is much more comprehensive in its scope and its non-military dimensions that are development oriented or human-centric are equally significant for the South Asian countries.

What are its implications in this region?

The looming shadow of the Indo-Pacific increasingly hovers over the politics, economics and security of South Asia. Whether South Asia occupies a pivotal position in terms of shaping the contours of the US Indo-Pacific Strategy can still be debated. The way Washington perceives the Indo-Pacific as a geopolitical region, and implements it still reflects a bias towards the maritime aspects, more particularly the Western Pacific, and the contestation with China’s growing ambitions in the South China Sea plus the Taiwan Straits. 

Moreover, South Asia does not have any treaty ally of the United States, and hence its security commitments in the region are quite different compared to those in the East Asian theater. The withdrawal from Afghanistan portends a new era in Washington’s South Asia strategy, that calls for greater resources devoted and policy attention to build an “open and free” Indo-Pacific amidst challenges posed by an assertive China. The downward slide in India-China relations, the growing US-China rivalry and the burgeoning India-US strategic cooperation, are leading to a complex competition-cooperation-confrontation dynamic affecting the dependent and independent agency of South Asian countries. 

In South Asia, the US is a distant power in terms of geography but not as far as strategy and influence are concerned. While South Asian countries seem to hedge their bets between India and China, the role of the US cannot be discounted. The US’ strategy in South Asia has largely focused on the triangular axis of India, Afghanistan and Pakistan, but its Indo-Pacific strategy has been widening the menu of military and non-military engagements in the subcontinent. As far as hardcore security implications are concerned, how South Asian countries perceive and respond to America’s evolving concept of integrated deterrence will be significant.

Compared to other countries, there has been much discussion in Nepal about IPS, how do you see such debates in Kathmandu?

The evolving debates in Nepal on the IPS and the Indo-Pacific as a geopolitical plus geo-economic region expectedly reflects the permutations and combinations resulting from Nepal’s own perception of its core development needs and security imperatives. With the Nepalese parliament ratifying the US engineered Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), Beijing smells a brewing concoction of American infringement on its growing strategic footprints in South Asia and the Himalayas, in particular. While the Himalayas witnessed US-China power tussle during the Cold War as well, it has traversed a long way from ideological rivalry through rapprochement to the new great power competition of the 21st century. 

Lately, the US is attempting to re-engage a mountainous Nepal in need for development aid and assistance, at a time when a proximate power like China looms large with its plans under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). At the same time, Nepal by dint of history and geography cannot ignore the overwhelming influence of India. The varying political views within Nepal and the pressures from Washington and Beijing witnessed during the negotiations leading to the ratification of the MCC is symptomatic of US-China competition trends witnessed across the larger Indo-Pacific region. How Kathmandu maximizes its gains and minimizes its losses amidst the Indo-Pacific geopolitics and geo-economics will be the test of Nepal’s diplomatic toolkit and the practice of its relative autonomy.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Narayan Kaji Shrestha, has informed the Parliament about the achievements of his recent official visit to the People's Republic of China.

Speaking in a meeting of the House of Representatives (HoR), the lower house of the Federal Parliament, today, he said important achievements have been made on expanding the area of mutual cooperation through enhanced coordination and collaboration between the two countries.

On the occasion, DPM Shrestha said the visit has contributed to further strengthening the mutual goodwill, respect, and trust between the two countries.

The minister viewed that the historic and friendly relations between the two countries have reached new heights through this visit.

Stating that the trade and transit points with China, namely Rasuwagadhi-Kerung, Tatopani-Jhangu, Yari-Puran and Nechung-Korala have already come into operation before this, he said the Chinese side has expressed its readiness to open 14 traditional trade transits closed after the COVID pandemic.

Minister Shrestha informed that discussions have been held with the Chinese side regarding constituting a joint commission at the foreign ministers' level of both countries in order to hold high-level consultations on the various dimensions of the existing Nepal-China friendly relations. He added that both sides are positive on this. 

According to him, discussions were held during the visit also on implementation of the BRI Implementation Plan giving it the final touch.

During the visit, Minister Shrestha extended an invitation to his counterpart Wang Yi to visit Nepal at his convenient time. "Both parties have agreed for an effective implementation of Nepal-China agreements and to regularize the meetings of existing mechanisms to expedite the pace of cooperation," the Minister said.  According to him, with his visit to the northern neighbor, the mutual relations and respect between Nepal and China have reached a new height.

"The discussions held during the visit were comprehensive and open, focusing on mutual assistance and cooperation," said the minister, expressing hope that the trip contributed to further strengthening the centuries-old, multi-dimensional, and friendly relations between Nepal and China.

He briefed the House that the Chinese side is positive for ensuring trans-border pastureland for the Nepali community residing on the Nepal-China border as per the agreement reached in 2012 and electrification at some Nepali villages there.

Similarly, the Chinese side responded positively to the call of Nepal to resume the Kathmandu-Lhasa direct bus service, facilitating the exports of buff, medicinal herbs, vegetables, and fruits from Nepal to China. During the discussions, Minister Shrestha urged China to establish multi-dimensional labs in certain areas along the Nepal-China border and provide capital and technological assistance to enhance Nepal's agricultural sector productivity.

Both parties have been positive about operating the flights from Kathmandu and Pokhara to various cities in China. Likewise, both parties have expressed interest in expanding transnational roadways, air flight services, and electricity transmission lines to Nepal-China connectivity. Both parties have agreed to come up with agriculture, tourism, hydropower, and infrastructure projects and implement them.

He said he urged the Chinese government and private sector investors for their enthusiastic participation in the Nepal Investment Summit scheduled to take place on April 28-29, for their support to make the Nepal Visit Year 2025, considering investing in Nepal's diverse sectors.

DPM Shrestha had been on a visit to China from March 24 to March 31, at the invitation of Communist Party of China (CPC)'s political bureau central committee member and China's Minister for Foreign Affairs, Wang Yi.

Two new cases of Kala-azar have been found in Jhapa, a district in the Terai region of Koshi Province. Similar cases have been reported in previous years as well.

The Health Office in Jhapa has confirmed that the infections were reported in Birtamod Municipality-5 and Shibashatakshi Municipality.

Following illness, the people visited the Dharan-based BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences and were diagnosed with the infections. Both the infected are males.

The Public Health Office, Jhapa is currently undertaking efforts to raise public awareness about Kala-azar and its prevention measures, while also actively searching for potential cases.

These efforts are being carried out in collaboration with local representatives, women's health volunteers, and other relevant stakeholders. Kala-azar (black fever) can be fatal if left untreated.

Kala-azar is a parasitic disease transmitted through the bite of infected female sandflies.

An election for the post of National Assembly (NA) Vice-Chairperson is scheduled to take place on April 10.

NA Chair Narayan Prasad Dahal apprised the House today of the election schedule for the post of upper house Vice-Chairperson. The NA Vice-Chairperson’s post has been vacant since Urmila Aryal resigned on March 28.

The NA Chair has directed the Federal Parliament Secretary General Padam Prasad Pandey to publish the election schedule.

The NA shall meet again at 1:15 pm on April 10.

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) plunged by 3. 43 points to close at 2,006.78 points on Wednesday.

Similarly, the sensitive index dropped by 3. 43 points to close at 355. 77 points.

A total of 6,481,834-unit shares of 322 companies were traded for Rs 2. 53 billion.

Meanwhile, Gurans Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited (GLBSL) was top gainer today with its price surging by 10. 00 percent. Likewise, River Falls Power Limited (RFPL) was the top loser with its price dropped by 4. 40 percent.

At the end of the day, the total market capitalization stood at Rs 3. 18 trillion.

The main opposition Nepali Congress (NC) has continued to advocate for forming a parliamentary committee to probe into issues about cooperative mismanagement. 

Taking time in a meeting of the House of Representatives today, party General Secretary Bishwa Prakash Sharma reiterated the party's voice for forming the parliamentary panel to investigate the alleged connection of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs in the cooperative fraud.

He utilized the forum to argue that the House is neither a venue for convicting anyone of any offense nor giving a clean chit on the charge. "Instead, the matter should be addressed through a due process."

Lawmaker Sharma also expressed concern over what he said the ruling party declaring the minister innocent from the House.

"The practice of declaring anyone guilty or innocent from a rostrum or a parliamentary floor is not good. If the Home Minister is not guilty, the right to be declared innocent by a parliamentary committee should be guaranteed." 

He presented three reasons clarifying the need to form a parliamentary body to address the matter. "It is due to the realization of a conflict of interest, suspension of an official investigation into the cooperatives, and the issue requiring to be addressed by the parliamentary procedures."

The NC lawmaker wanted the government to bring a proposal to form the committee in the next lower house session.

He warned that the party would take up the issue more seriously in the days ahead and it is committed to its stance (of forming a parliamentary probe committee).

The ultimatum to the government for proceeding ahead with the constitution of the committee has been over, he said, hinting about the party's preparations for further amplifying the programs of protests over the matter.

He said that there is a misunderstanding at the civic level that the parliamentary proceedings have been halted due to the NC obstruction.  On March 31, the Parliament held discussions on the agreement related to the International Solar Alliance (ISA). The following day, a proposal to seek considerations on the power trade bill was presented and on April 2, the House endorsed the BIMSETC Charter. He said he wanted to inform all Nepali citizens at home and abroad that the House continues its business.

Lawmaker Sharma said an atmosphere should be built for implementing a House calendar, making the House more systematic and accountable. Any matters that are at variance with the meeting agenda will be rejected by the party.

He also protested the presentations of issues in the rostrum sans an agreement in the Parliamentary Business Advisory and Consultative Committees. 

Speaker Devraj Ghimire said the Constitution incorporates the provisions allowing time for the Prime Minister or a Minister to put views in the Parliament if requested. It is our practice and tradition to grant time to the Prime Minister and Ministers to express views if demanded, he said.