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Health insurance scheme has been offered to inmates of Central Jail.

The Jail Management Department implemented the health insurance scheme to be effective from mid-February with an objective of providing easy access to inmates in their health treatment.

Chief of Health Program at the Central Jail, Kalpana Gyawali, shared that the health insurance scheme was implemented targeting the inmates who have spent more than one year in the central jail.

The Department has covered the health insurance scheme of Rs 3500 for each inmate and the insurance cover would be automatically invalid once the inmate completes his/her jail term.

Jail Administrator Lalit Basnet explained that the health insurance program for inmates was implemented with an objective of helping for the health of the prisoners. With this, each prisoner would get treatment of Rs 100,000 through insurance coverage.

Apart from this, the government has been providing medical treatment to the inmates through the Central Prison Hospital.

Jail Administrator Basnet said the patients who cannot be treated at the Hospital are treated at various 25 hospitals with which the Prison Administration has signed agreement with for that purpose.  The Central Prison Hospital has 30 beds.

The Hospital has been providing OPD, lab, X-ray, ECG, ultrasound, dental, psychiatric, dermatological and eye care services. It has also been conducting health camps targeting the inmates from time to time.

There are 3,721 inmates at the Central Jail and other prison houses under it.

The price of gold has increased by Rs 200 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 118, 400 per tola today. It was traded at Rs 118, 200 per tola on Wednesday.

Similarly, tejabi gold is being traded at Rs 117, 850 per tola. It was traded at Rs 117, 650 per tola.

Meanwhile, the silver is being traded at Rs 1,375 per tola today.

Around 200,000 taxpayers are not regularly paying tax at the Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC), it has been found.

As informed, 200,000 out of 312,000 taxpayers registered at KMC are found not regularly paying tax. 

According to KMC Revenue Department, the metropolis is preparing to ramp up ward-level monitoring to bring the taxpayers dilly dallying to pay tax without coming to the registration process for a long time in accordance with the rules.

Around 100,000 taxpayers are among those showing reluctance to pay rent related taxes. Similarly, the number of taxpayers found unwilling to pay business tax, entertainment tax and advertisement tax exceed 100,000, said KMC Revenue Department Chief Dhruv Kafle.

According to him, the KMC is preparing to bring the unregistered taxpayers of all categories to the process by regularly monitoring from this month onward to increase tax compliance. 

Kafle said that arrears amounting to Rs 2 billion are yet to be recovered from the registered taxpayers at KMC. The dues have remained for the last 12 years, KMC sources said. 

The metropolis had set an annual revenue target of Rs 10.80 billion for the current fiscal year. It has so far been able to collect only Rs 5.80 billion in the first eight months of the current fiscal year.

Though its revenue collection status was found satisfactory till the first six months of the fiscal year, KMC's revenue in the last month (mid-January to mid-February, 2024) has dropped compared to other months.

The fifth edition of Nepal Idol, an international franchise singing reality show produced and broadcast by AP1 television, will be broadcast from March 7.

A total of 152 people from across the country have been selected for the event. They will compete for the next round.

The live performances from open auditions to judge auditions from across the country will be broadcast on AP1 television.

The AP1 said that Nepal idol is an effective platform to showcase the talent through singing and this has been providing a special opportunity to the new talents.

Nhyoo Bajracharya, Kali Prasad Baskota and Indira Joshi are in the judge panel.

Similarly, Asif Shah and Reema Bishwokarma will host the show.

The auditions for the fifth edition of Nepal Idol were held in Birtamod of Jhapa, Bardibas of Mahottari, Hetauda of Makwanpur, Attariya of Kailali, Birendranagar of Surkhet, Ghorahi of Dang, Pokhara of Kaski and Kathmandu.

Likewise, the contestants had also taken part in the audition digitally.

Earlier, Buddha Lama, Rabi Od, Sajja Chaulagain and Bhupendra Thapa Magar had won the title of Season 1, 2, 3 and 4 respectively.

Vivo mobile is the main sponsor of the fifth edition of Nepal Idol.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has said that preparations are going on to receive the report of the Eminent Persons Group (EPG) on Nepal-India relations.

In a meeting of the National Concern and Coordination Committee under the National Assembly held today, the PM said internal preparations are initiated to receive the report from both countries at a time.

The lawmakers had expressed their concerns on the EPG report against the backdrop of India's reluctance to receive the report.

Responding to the lawmakers' concerns, the PM said a situation could surface to decide on the part of Nepal if there was no condition to receive the EPG report at a time from both sides.

The EPG was formed by the governments of the two countries to review past agreements signed between the two countries.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has assured that the government was seriously working towards addressing the problems of usury, microfinance and cooperatives victims.

In today's meeting of the National Assembly's National Concern and Coordination Committee, PM Dahal asserted that the government was serious towards the issues of the usury victims and was effortful to form a high-powered commission and frame acts and legislations to iron out the problems.

The court was yet to issue a verdict on some cases related to usury, according to the PM. Towards this, he urged the court also to facilitate those cases considering the sensitivity of the issues and cases.

The Head of the Government said, "The problems have emanated on the legal part not on the part of the government. To resolve it, the court process should be completed. As the laws could be in favor of the perpetrators for the transactions based on the old papers and legal evidence (Tamsuk), the government and the court will work in tandem to resolve it according to the nature of the transaction."

The victims of these sectors are staging phase-wise protests in recent months.

On the occasion, the PM said talks were held with the concerned agencies and stakeholders today as well.

Responding to the lawmakers' concerns, the PM said the government was working in a planned fashion to expedite the development of Kathmandu-Tarai Madhes Expressway, advance construction of Sunkoshi Marin Diversion, take initiatives to resolve the issues of British Gurkhas, rescue the Nepali youths recruited illegally in Russian military service and table the Civil Servant Bill.

Concerned agencies are directed to formulate upcoming 16th periodic plan, government's policy and programmes, and prepare budget by giving priority to the Committee's directives, according to the PM.

During the meeting, Committee Chairperson Dil Kumari Rawal (Parbati) reminded the PM about the Committee's directives on intergovernmental relations, national heritage, human rights, foreign affairs, national pride projects, national security, constitutional commissions and others.

The ruling CPN (Maoist Center) has assigned its leaders with the responsibilities to carry out the party's jobs in provinces.

The Standing Committee (SC) meeting convened at the party office in Parisdanda today finalized the division of the responsibilities for province in-charges and deputy in-charges.

Haribol Gajurel has been given the responsibility of Koshi Province in-charge while Sabitra Kumar Kafle as its deputy in-charge. Similarly, Leelamani Pokharel has been assigned in-charge in Madhes Province and Bishow Nath Shah as deputy in-charge

Party Vice-Chairperson and Spokesperson Agni Prasad Sapkota has been entrusted with responsibility of Bagmati Province in-charge while Dinanath Sharma has been chosen as the Gandaki Province in-charge with Hariraj Adhikari as deputy-in-charge.

Chakrapani Khanal has been appointed Lumbini Province in-charge while Kul Prasad KC as deputy in-charge. Likewise, Kali Bahadur Malla is the Karnali Province's in-charge.

Likewise, Girirajmani Pokharel is the in-charge of Sudurpaschim Province with Bina Magar as the deputy in-charge, shared Spokesperson Sapkota.

The meeting also appointed Pampha Bhusal as the in-charge of Prabash Province Committee (Middle East), Laxman Panta as in-charge for India and TB Pathak as deputy in-charge, and Surendra Kumar Karki as in-charge for Europe-America Committee.

Hitman Shakya is chosen as the in-charge of the Special Province Committee and Yesodha Subedi as deputy in-charge. Deputy in-charges for some provinces are yet to be decided, said Spokesperson Sapkota.

The meeting also decided that the people's representatives of the federal, provincial and local levels will continue to discharge their duties as per the elected responsibilities.

The meeting also changed the date for launching the party's Terai Madhes National Awareness Campaign from March 14 to March 28 citing lack of time for preparations, said Sapkota.

Similarly, the Himal-Pahad-Tarai (Mountain-Hill-Terai) National Unity campaign would be launched from April 27.

The meeting also discussed contemporary political issues such concerning loan shark victims and dairy farmers among others and drew the attention of the government to resolve them convulsively, said Sapkota.

Meanwhile, party's Deputy General-Secretary Janardan Sharma has expressed his note of dissent on the division of responsibilities in the Standing Committee meeting. 

He expressed his reservations with the proposed division of responsibilities. 

He argued, "The division of responsibilities is not in accordance with the purpose of the formation of the party. 

It seems that the responsibilities were delegated with the hangover of the legislation session."

The government is aligning the budget for the fiscal year 2024/25 with the policies outlined in the 16th National Plan, the strategy set for graduation to a developing country in 2026, the sustainable development goals 2030, and the need to create a basis for sustainable and comprehensive economic growth.

Presenting the principles and priorities of the Appropriation Bill in the House of Representatives on Tuesday, Minister for Finance Minister Prakash Sharan Mahat said that the upcoming budget will primarily focus on bolstering production and productivity through increased public spending on prioritized projects.

Pre-budget discussions have begun in the House of Representatives three months ahead of the budget day, scheduled for May 28, this year. Earlier, the government used to table the principles and priorities of the appropriation bill 15 days prior to the budget day. The government amended the provision by bringing an ordinance.

The government is putting focus on strengthening the financial sector. Minister Mahat, in the principles and priorities document, has expressed commitment to enhance the efficacy of regulation and supervision in the financial sector, with the aim of developing a robust, competitive, and dependable financial landscape. Additionally, the government has promised to enhance the professionalism of regulatory bodies overseeing banks, financial institutions, microfinance, insurance, and the share market, while also prioritizing transparency and accountability.

The budget principles revolve around sustainable and inclusive economic growth, balanced public finance, efficient budgetary allocation, social sector development, social justice, private sector promotion, federalism, good governance, sustainable development, and climate change.

Moreover, the government has identified hydropower development, modernization and commercialization of agriculture, development of tourism and IT sector, infrastructure development, social sector upliftment, green development, disaster management, harnessing demographic dividends and youth mobilization, strengthening of the financial sector, upholding the rule of law, and fostering international cooperation and relations are the priorities of the government.

Speaking in the House of Representatives, Minister Mahat said that the new budget will prioritize high growth rate while maintaining macroeconomic stability and enhancing the living standards of citizens. “The budget will be tailored to elevate the country’s economy to the standards of the global economy and improve the livelihoods of those struggling to meet their basic needs,” Mahat added. He insisted that the country's economy is moving in a positive direction. 

“The increase in electricity generation and tourist numbers as well as the rise in foreign investment have contributed positively to the economy. There is sufficient liquidity in the banking sector and the interest rate is falling towards single digit,” Mahat said. “Although the revenue collection is not as per the target, the growth rate is around 10 percent. I am confident that it will increase further in the coming days.”

Furthermore, the budget will focus on mobilizing government resources for sustainable and inclusive economic growth, channeling investments into critical public infrastructure sectors such as energy, agriculture, tourism, and information technology. Efforts will also be directed towards facilitating private sector investment to stimulate production, productivity, and job creation domestically.

To ensure the efficient allocation of public expenditure, the government has said that it will prioritize projects based on pre-assessment and completion criteria and ensure that priority projects won’t face dearth of resources. 

Moreover, the government has said in the policies and priorities document that it would increase revenue mobilization through business and investment-friendly taxation policies and allocating public resources towards service delivery, socio-economic infrastructure development, and human capital enhancement. Likewise, the government has said that it would eliminate duplication in subsidies and benefits by focusing resources on target groups, while also implementing necessary policy, legal, and institutional reforms to foster a conducive environment for domestic and foreign investors, notably through the Nepal Investment Summit scheduled for April 2024.

Furthermore, the government has said that it would streamline public service delivery, making it more citizen-friendly and aligned with federal norms and values. Likewise, it plans to focus on increasing electricity generation through domestic and foreign investments, thus promoting a green economy by boosting domestic electricity consumption.

The government said in the policies and priorities document that it would develop Nepal as a premier tourism destination by resolving operational obstacles at Pokhara and Bhairahawa airports, initiating the construction of Nijgadh International Airport, and ensuring timely completion of strategic projects such as the Kathmandu Tarai Madhes Expressway and crucial highways. Likewise, the government has said that it remains committed to advancing the health insurance program, promoting youth-centric entrepreneurship, and fostering domestic employment opportunities to mitigate the need for youth migration abroad for employment.