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IME Group and IXI Corp have jointly established the Kathmandu Technical School (KTS). The school is brought into operation with an objective of producing skilled human resources in the job market. 

Minister for Labour, Employment and Social Security, Sharat Singh Bhandari, inaugurated the school amidst a programme organized at Dhumbarahi today. 

On the occasion, Minister Bahndari said the government has put partnership with the private sector in priority as problems of unemployment and poverty would be resolved only from the fusion of skill, employment, entrepreneurship and capital. 

"Producing technical human resources is the government's priority. The government is ready to collaborate with the private sector in skill development and producing technical human resources", he asserted.   

Similarly, President of Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry and IME Group Chair Chandra Prasad Dhakal said with the operation of the school, the IME Group has been moving ahead for producing technical human resources. 

He expressed the belief that the school would play a significant role to make thousands of youths self-employed. "The school was established with a target of starting a new era in technical and vocational education in Nepal. We expect that the school will have a positive contribution in employment, education, society and overall economy", mentioned Dhakal.  

Likewise, Chairperson of Kathmandu Technical School, Manoj Poudel, shared that the school would help the government's objective of producing more than 100,000 human resources in the next 10 years. 

The school would impart training related to hospitality, culinary arts, caregiving,  as well as other employment-oriented and self-employment categories.

Japan's ambassador to Nepal, Maeda Toru, today paid a courtesy call on Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport, Devendra Dahal. 

During the meeting held at the Minister's office in Singha Durbar, the Minister congratulated the newly-appointed ambassador Maeda for assuming the office.

He acknowledged Japan's grants, loan, multilateral assistance and technical support to Nepal for its infrastructure and human resources development, and in the conservation of environment as well as in the development of health, education and agriculture sectors.   

"We acknowledge the support and cooperation from the Japanese government, citizens, non- government organisations and universities during the natural disasters including the 2015 earthquake," the Minister said, adding that bilateral relations and cooperation with Japan is always the top priority of Nepal.  

He added that Nepal longed for taking benefits from Japan's experiences, knowledge, skills and technologies in their efforts for development in various sectors including infrastructure, industry, agriculture and hydropower.

On the occasion, the exchange of high-level visits between the two countries was recalled.

The Minister urged Japan's investors to explore opportunities in Nepal as well, pledging the security of their investment. 

He highlighted that the year 2026 will mark the 70th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Nepal and Japan, and in the same year, Nepal will graduate from the category of a least developed country to a middle-income developing nation. 

Minister Dahal also expressed gratitude to the Japanese government for providing scholarships to Nepal’s government officials each year under the Japan Development Scheme (JDS). Additionally, Nepal has benefitted from Japan's Colombo Plan.

An online system has been launched to make the justice system more simple and convenient. 

The online system that is used to send notice about the hearings assigned to offices of Chief Attorney in all seven provinces by the Supreme Court and take action on special nature of complaints by District Courts was launched today.

Launching the online system, Chief Justice Prakash Man Singh Raut shared that the justice system must be reformed and for that improvement in technology was essential.

"The justice system will be reliable, trustworthy and transparent once the online system is launched. It will also help remove irregularities and aberrations," he argued. Digitalization in the justice system was the need of the hour, CJ Raut added. 

The Supreme Court has been giving priority to the use of information technology with an objective of making judicial service easy, smooth and effective as well as to develop court as a paperless institution.

Chandra Bahadur Thapa Chhetri has been appointed as the Chairperson of the Health Insurance Board.

Minister for Health and Population Pradip Paudel administered the oath of office and secrecy to the newly-appointed Chairperson Thapa at the Ministry today. He was the Board member for three years before this.

Newly appointed Chairman Thapa said that there is a plan to include all the citizens by reviewing and reforming the health insurance policy to improve health insurance.

He pledged to make the insurance claim payment process faster and transparent and to manage the insurance fund transparently and effectively, to take initiative for the approval of the permanent organization structure of the Health Insurance Board, to launch an awareness campaign about the importance of health insurance and to make the insurance programme effective by collaborating with the government, the private sector and international organizations.

Nepal has achieved remarkable success in poverty reduction, nearly eradicating extreme poverty, largely driven by remittances. To strengthen future growth, Nepal should prioritize policy actions that unlock domestic opportunities, according to the World Bank’s Nepal Country Economic Memorandum: Unlocking Nepal’s Growth Potential, released on 24 March 2024. 

Despite progress, Nepal’s economic growth lags behind regional peers. Nepal’s economy grew at an average annual real rate of just 4.2 percent between 1996 and 2023, ranking sixth out of eight South Asian nations, the report states. Structural challenges such as low productivity, declining exports, and a stagnant industrial sector have held back the economy and led to slow job creation in non-agriculture sectors. Young workers are migrating abroad in search of better job opportunities as domestic prospects remain limited.

“Nepal’s success in poverty reduction is impressive, but its economic potential remains largely untapped,” said David Sislen, World Bank Division Country Director for the Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka. “Nepal has significant potential to drive stronger growth and create jobs by implementing key reforms to increase the returns from migration, boost exports, use hydropower efficiently, and boost digitalization.”

“The 16th Plan for Nepal outlines a vision of good governance, social justice and prosperity and prioritizes productivity and competitiveness, decent and productive jobs, social security, and ensuring a smooth transition from LDC status. The government is committed to ensuring an enabling policy environment for Nepal’s sustainable growth,” said Vice Chair of the National Planning Commission, Prof Shiva Raj Adhikari.

Produced every five years, the Nepal Country Economic Memorandum offers a roadmap for faster growth in key sectors. It recommends policy actions in four critical areas to unlock Nepal’s economic potential.

A systematic and institutionalized migration system can enhance the returns from migration, the report states: Integrating migration into national development, job creation, and poverty reduction strategies will provide a platform to work toward such a system. Policies should focus on reducing the cost and increasing the benefits and safety for current low-skilled migrants, while also eyeing longer-term skill and destination diversification.

Expanding and better implementing bilateral labor agreements will be critical. Initiatives promoting entrepreneurship and retraining and reskilling programs would allow returning migrants to reintegrate into the domestic labor market, according to the report. 

Improving market competition in key sectors and addressing infrastructure deficits can boost exports. Better managing inflationary pressures would address the erosion of exporters’ price competitiveness, it states: Encouraging people to use remittances for investments and business growth could help ease inflation. Simplifying the process for businesses to get tax refunds on imported materials and lowering import taxes would make it easier for them to export more products. With Nepal’s transition from Least Developed Countries status and the loss of trade preferences, authorities should seek additional preferential trade agreements. 

Developing a clear financing strategy to develop the hydropower sector will help mobilize much-needed investments, goes the report. This strategy could include developing the domestic bond market and an effective framework for large-scale public-private partnerships. Strengthening the regulatory and legal frameworks, by reducing bureaucratic red tape and streamlining the current licensing process, would improve the structure of the electricity market and attract additional investment, the report adds.

Farmers have complained that they were deprived of domestically produced hybrid seeds of maize.

The farmers shared this problem during the concluding session of a residential training on production of hybrid seeds and farming technology. The training was organized by the National Maize Research Program, Chitwan.

Khageshwori Budha Nepali attending the training from Dailekh district expressed worry over availability of imported seeds while lack of the locally produced seeds in market.

Locally produced maize seeds are better and resilient, but it is difficult to find in the market, she added. With the knowledge gained from this training, we would encourage the farmers to produce and utilize the domestic seeds of maize, she added. 

Similarly, Kusmakhar Kafle from Nawalparasi said it is essential to stress organic production of maize and other cereals by making the farmers commercial. Once the nationally produced seeds are ensured smooth marketing, it would be both productive and climate resilient. "Nepali seeds must be made sufficiently available," he added. 

Coordination Director at Nepal Agriculture Research Council, Bhanubhakta Pokharel, said production of hybrid seeds is essential within Nepal. Further publicity on it is equally important, he said, adding that this initiative could be forwarded with cooperation between the farmers' groups and local levels.

"Production of Nepali hybrid seeds requires adequate knowledge, which not only aims at boosting production but also utilizing land and making farming commercial," he observed. 

A total of 20 farmers from various districts attended the training where they were taught on producing hybrid maize seeds within the country.

Top national security officials for President Donald Trump, including his defense secretary, texted war plans for upcoming military strikes in Yemen to a group chat in a secure messaging app that included the editor-in-chief for The Atlantic, the magazine reported in a story posted onlineMonday. The National Security Council said the text chain “appears to be authentic.” 

Trump initially told reporters he was not aware that the highly sensitive information had been shared, 2 1/2 hours after it was reported. He later appeared to joke about the breach, Associated Press reported.

The material in the text chain “contained operational details of forthcoming strikes on Iran-backed Houthi-rebels in Yemen, including information about targets, weapons the U.S. would be deploying, and attack sequencing,” editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg reported.

It was not immediately clear if the specifics of the military operation were classified, but they often are and at the least are kept secure to protect service members and operational security. The U.S. has conducted airstrikes against the Houthis since the militant group began targeting commercial and military vessels in the Red Sea in November 2023.

Just two hours after Goldberg received the details of the attack on March 15, the U.S. began launching a series of airstrikes against Houthi targets in Yemen.

The Inland Revenue Office in Chitwan has informed that the revenue collection was upped by 27 percent in the eight months of this fiscal year as compared to the same period last year. However, the office posted only 21.40 percent revenue collection, while only four months are left for the completion of the fiscal year.

Information officer at the office, Bimal Paudel, informed that in the eight months of this fiscal year, the office collected Rs 14.46 billion, while the same period last year recorded the revenue at Rs 11.91 billion.