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Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba’s appointment as the new prime minister may be a cause of celebration for many after Oli’s rather forgettable term in office. But the country is not out of the woods yet. For it is far from certain that Deuba will be able to garner a majority in the Lower House within 30 days of his appointment, as he is constitutionally required to do.  

If he cannot, Nepal will automatically head into elections within the next six months, and the country is not ready for them yet. Despite some respite in infection numbers, Covid-19 continues to maintain its grip on the country, and the detection of the new delta variant only adds to the uncertainty. Thankfully, vaccines are starting to come, from all over the world and, at the current rate, it may not be long before the majority of the population is vaccinated. Yet it would still be premature to believe the virus will be sufficiently under control to allow safe elections in such a short time.

Elections are also costly. The next parliamentary elections, whenever they take place, are expected to cost the exchequer around Rs 100 billion. As things stand, the priority is corona-control and most of the state’s resources have to be spent on the same. Also, without taming the virus, there will be no elections. The Election Commission—which has just postponed the November polls Oli declared—also needs time to prepare. So the country may have to wait for at least a year for the parliamentary polls.

Holding elections in November 2022, as mandated by the constitution, will be the optimal path. A year and a half will be enough for the commission to prepare and the country will meanwhile train its focus on the pandemic. This means, ideally, the new government under Deuba should take the country to the polls. But that will entail at least a section of the CPN-UML, the biggest parliamentary party, backing his premiership—an unlikely prospect. Yet there appears to be no safer way out from the current political and constitutional quagmire. 

Nepal imported Rs. 28.60 billion worth of rice in the first 11 months of the fiscal year.

Even as various programs are being implemented to boost paddy production, the import bill of rice is rising. In the previous fiscal, rice worth Rs. 26.61 billion was imported from various countries.

In the current fiscal, Nepal produced only 5.62 million tons of rice, an insignificant increase from last year’s 5.5 million. In the past 10 years, various officials, including the prime minister and the agriculture minister, have been announcing self-sufficiency in paddy in the next three to five years. However, due to the non-implementation of plans and policies, more and more rice is being imported every year. Nepalis now have to depend on imported rice throughout the year.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development started a large-scale paddy production program in 15 districts from 2072/73 (2015/2016), expanding to 35 districts in 2073/74. The program aimed to increase her hectare productivity from 3.1 metric tons to 4 metric tons, to no avail.

The ministry also launched a program to promote fine and fragrant grain products in 20 districts from 2014. Under this program, 50 percent subsidy was provided for resource seeds and there was also a subsidy for green manure. Rs. 35 million-Rs. 45 million was annually allocated for this program.

The Prime Minister's Agriculture Modernization Project came into operation from the fiscal 2073/74 (2016/2017) to boost paddy production and reduce imports. Under this project, paddy plantation was divided into 24 blocks, five zones, and one super zone.

In 2017, the government had announced that the country would be self-reliant in paddy within five years. The target was to increase production from 51.51 million tons that year to 86.79 million tons in five years. However, with only one year left to reach the mark, the government has failed to meet that target.

Dozens of government programs have been launched in the last decade to make the country self-reliant in paddy. Paddy is grown on 47.5 percent of the cultivable land in Nepal. Last year, paddy was planted in 1.47 million hectares. Of this, the share of the Tarai region is 70 percent, both in terms of area and production.

“The inflow of remittance has increased the number of people who want to live an urban lifestyle. Consumers prefer aromatic, fine, long-grain rice. Thus the import of such varieties has increased,” says Yogendra Karki, secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture. 

According to Karki, a ‘rice mill model’ program has also been launched to increase paddy production. The rice produced under this program will be purchased directly by rice mills at fixed prices. Similarly, a plan has been implemented to develop fine and fragrant varieties of paddy in collaboration with the International Rice Research Center (IRI).

“The results will be visible gradually,” says Karki. “In the next three years, however, we will become an exporter of paddy.”

The ministry has projected six million tonnes of paddy production next year. Nepal’s annual demand is 6.7 million tonnes.

Birth: 1969, Gulmi
Death: 29 June 2021, Rupandehi

Shankar Bhandari was always among the top students in his class while he was in school and later in college. Raised in a well-to-do family, he never had to struggle financially in his life.

As his elder brother Chandra was into politics Shankar also got interested in trying to understand his country and society better.   

In his college days Bhandari had for a while been involved in student politics. He was even appointed chair of Nepal Student Union, the Nepali Congress student wing. But he would later pursue an academic career.

Bhandari wanted to inspire the young generation and he thought the best way to do so would be by teaching in schools, which he started doing in his high-school days. He wanted to learn as much as he could and then impart that knowledge on the next generation.

His keen interest in society later resulted in a PhD in sociology.

Bhandari invested his knowledge and skills in Nepal’s oldest university, Tribhuvan University, where he served in multiple capacities, including seven years as an assistant head at Tri Chandra Campus, four years as co-controller of the Office of the Controller of Examinations, and deputy director of Tribhuvan University Monitoring Directorate. Most recently, he was the director of the Student Welfare and Sports Directorate.

As the head of the Student Welfare Directorate, he worked directly with university students, who in turn remember him as a decent and progressive administrator and someone concerned about their wellbeing.

During his time at Tri Chandra, Bhandari worked restlessly with student unions for the improvement in the quality of education on offer.

Bhandari was recently in Butwal for his father’s first death anniversary. On the night of June 29, his car veered off the road and into the Charange River. Bhandari was rushed to a hospital nearby but succumbed to his wounds. He was 52.

Birth: 16 March 1961, Achham
Death: 20 June 2021, Lalitpur

Tapta Bahadur Bista witnessed all the recent political upheavals in Nepal, including the decade-long Maoist insurgency, from the front seat from his perch in the Karnali province.  

Bista, who led the people of the Karnali region during both first and second Jana Andolans, was arrested several times for his participation in pro-democracy protests. He also faced many hassles from the Maoists who had made western Nepal the launchpad of their rebellion.

Bista is credited with playing a key role in making the people of western Nepal politically aware.

At a young age of 35, Bista was elected leader of the Surkhet district committee of the Nepali Congress, a position he held for 20 years. During his long tenure, he worked to mobilize party cadres, and helped establish a strong Nepali Congress base in the whole of western Nepal.

In 2013, he was elected to the Constituent Assembly from Surkhet Constituency No.3. In 2017, Bista was appointed Minister of State for Communication by then Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba. At this time his special focus was on making Karnali Province a ‘wi-fi internet zone’, whereby all public areas in the province would be connected by free wi-fi internet.  

Thousands of Nepali Congress members looked up to Bista as a role model. He is remembered by his friends and supporters alike as an honest, down-to-earth, development-friendly, and exemplary leader.

On May 30, Bista, who was infected by Covid-19, was admitted to the provincial hospital in Surkhet. But as his health deteriorated, he was airlifted to a hospital in Lalitpur. He breathed his last on June 20.

Skoda, the European automotive brand having 125 years long history, is set to launch the all-new Skoda Kushaq in Nepal in the second week of July. The new mid-size SUV will be powered by the most awarded Turbo-charged Stratified Injection (TSI) that produces the highest torque in the segment.

Skoda Kushaq will be the first made-in-India SUV that is underpinned by the VW group's much popular MQB-A0 platform. It will be powered by a 1.0L TSI engine that produces a power of 115 PS and torque of 175 Nm which is best in the segment. It will be available with a 6-speed manual and automatic transmission. Hyundai Creta and Kia Seltos are the core competitors of Skoda Kushaq.

150 bookings till date

“The advent of Skoda Kushaq in Nepal has excited the SUV-lovers,” says Raunak Agarwal, Executive Director of Skoda Nepal, “Till now, we have over 500 inquiries in our social media and showroom and 150 of them have already been booked. We are overwhelmed by the response from customers.”

According to Agrawal, Skoda Nepal has a target of selling 800 units of Kushaq in the coming fiscal year. “We believe that the highest torque in the segment, longest wheelbase and other first in class features might have attracted customers to Kushaq,” he adds, “We have been witnessing that mid-size SUV segment is constantly growing as we hope that this new product will win a major share as it is launched in Nepal.”

The most awarded TSI engine

The all-new Skoda Kushaq will have TSI petrol engine from the Volkswagen group that won the “Engine of the Year Award” for the eighth consecutive time. This makes TSI the most successful engine.

The jury for this award is made up of 65 motoring journalists from 32 countries. The jury said about Skoda Kushaq, “TSI Engine not only attained an overall victory, but also won the ‘Best Green Engine' award. This shows that driving fun and fuel efficiency can certainly be unified in one package.”

Compared to its predecessor, fuel consumption and CO2 emission values of the TSI engines were reduced to 9 per cent in part also by such measures as reducing internal friction, lowering weight and optimising thermal management. 

“Their combination of reduced displacement, direct injection and intelligent engine boosting enables top dynamic performance while keeping emissions and fuel consumption low. TSI engines are genuine trendsetters,” Dr Rüdiger Szengel, Head of Volkswagen Petrol Engine Development, says. 

Volkswagen Group is the global leader in charging strategies for engines with direct fuel injection, and to date it has produced over 3.8 million TSI engines at five production sites worldwide. 

Best-in-segment loaded Kushaq

At a glance, the Kushaq gets a smart design with decent proportions for an SUV. Highlights include the familiar Skoda butterfly grille, Karoq-inspired LED headlamps and fog lamps, L-shaped LED tail lamps with crystalline effect, and 17-inch alloy wheels. Upto five body shades will be on offer: Candy White, Brilliant Silver, Carbon Steel, Honey Orange, and Tornado Red. 

While the cabin is neat and minimalistic, make no mistake, it has got a vast number of features. They include a 10.1-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, a 6-speaker sound system, ambient lighting, connected car tech, wireless phone charger, ventilated seats, and automatic climate control. Safety features will include six airbags, electronic stability control, parking sensors with a rear-view camera, ABS with EBD, and hill hold control.

Birth: April 17, 1928, Nawalparasi
Death: May 19, 2021, Kathmandu

Khadgajeet Baral’s Nepal Police career was truly memorable. One of the first officers in the force with a postgraduate degree, Baral commanded Nepal Police for six years—when most police chiefs don’t get to serve out their four-year tenure due to age restrictions.

Baral, who got his MA from Patna University, India, joined the Mukti Sena (Liberation Army) that had launched an armed struggle against the Rana autocracy in Nepal in the latter half of the 1940s. 

After the ouster of the Rana regime, many members of the Liberation Army joined Nepal Police. Baral too became an inspector in 1957 and climbed the ladder to reach the force’s top position after 14 years of service. 

According to the then rules, an officer would be eligible for state pension only after completing 20 years in service. This meant that Baral, who was to complete his four-year tenure in office, would retire from service without pensions. Then King Birendra thought this would be unfair for a man who had served the country for such a long time, and added two more years to his tenure.

Until Baral became chief, police offices across the country didn’t have proper buildings. He started a campaign to change this and lobbied with the government to provide food and clothing allowance to police personnel. 

Baral established the Nepal Police Mountaineering & Adventure Foundation whose trainees have climbed many Himalayan peaks such as Tukuche Himal (6921m) and Pabil Himal (7,104m), conquered in 1976 and 1978 respectively.

The credit for establishing the first border outpost in the country also goes to Baral. He did it back in 1968 when stationed in Nepalgunj as deputy inspector general. He then worked on a detailed protocol to establish over 30 BOPs across the country.

Baral was successful not just in Nepal. His diplomatic skills and acumen also helped the country in the international arena. It was during Baral’s tenure that Nepal Police obtained membership of INTERPOL. Following his time in the police force, he was appointed ambassador of Nepal to Myanmar (1980-86). He lobbied with the Myanmar government to provide citizenship to people of Nepali origin and establish scholarship programs for Nepali students. Baral also served as Nepal’s ambassador to Indonesia, Singapore, and French Indo-China (Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam).

Apart from his bureaucratic and diplomatic work, he played an instrumental role in promoting sports. He invited a judo trainer from Japan and a hockey trainer from Pakistan to promote the two sports in Nepal.

Even in his retired life, he was concerned about the welfare of Nepal Police, offering valuable inputs to generations of police officers. 

He passed away peacefully at his Maharajgunj residence of natural causes on May 19. He was 93. 

A proposal to permit a company to trade electricity has raised eyebrows of those in the government as well as the private sector. As per a proposal tabled at the Ministry of Finance by Nepal Infrastructure Bank Ltd (NIFRA), Vishal Group aims to control electricity trading worth billions of rupees through the proposed company, according to a news report by ekagaj.com last week.

Nepal Electricity Authority’s (NEA) annual electricity trading was worth over Rs 76 billion last year, and this permission may allow the new company to cash in on trading surplus electricity in Indian markets, says the story. If the proposal gets through, the group will get the business without competition.  

The bank chairman is Anuj Agrawal, who is also the director of Vishal Group, with the business group owning a big stake in the bank directly or indirectly.

The bank, with Rs 20 billion rupees in paid capital, is a public private partnership institution, in which the government owns 10 percent. Its primary objective is to finance mega infrastructure projects but its current move is a deviation from its basic role. Bank Chairman Agrawal is thought of as close to PM KP Oli and has tried to get into the license of buying and selling electricity. The proposal may be tabled at the cabinet after the opinion of the Ministry of Finance.

On the other hand, a government-owned Nepal Power Exchange Limited’s proposal for electricity trading is gathering dust due to lack of law to license electricity trading for new companies. A new electricity bill with the provision of giving license for electricity trading awaits parliament’s approval.

According to the news report, the business group has a hidden agenda of exploiting NEA’s robust transmission lines.

The bank has not disclosed the new company’s proposed share structure. It has also denied that the trading company will be owned by certain groups but says it will rather be a mix of the government, NEA, commercial banks, financial institutions and general shareholders owing it.

The bank has also stated that this trading company will pave the way for the entry of the private sector in cross-border electricity lines.

Meanwhile, former NEA managing director Kulman Ghising, who ended the country’s acute load-shedding in 2016, has said electricity trading, a strategic service, should not be given to a private company.

Ghising said the government’s own company should be given priority for trading electricity. In response to the proposal of a new trading company, the trade union at NEA has warned of protests if this new company is allowed to trade electricity.

This is not the first time the current government has favored this company. Last year, Finance Minister Yubaraj Khatiwada had leaked tax rates on electricity vehicles to the Vishal Group, secretly giving it time to import electrical vehicles at cheaper tax rates before making public tax rates. The group also was favored with lower tax rates on import of chocolates.  

Singer, director and journalist Phurba Sherpa has managed to set yet another record. Recently, while accepting the certificate for his previous record, Sherpa made another one: accepting the certificate of his record at a world-record height of 5,364 meters from the sea level. 

Sherpa had made it to the Guinness Book of World Records in 2004 by singing an entire song with only one letter of the Devanagari script “Ma” on the album “Geet Ek Akshar Ko.” Recently, the UK’s World Book of Records had accepted it as a record as well. Phurba got the official certificate of the World Book of Records at the Everest base camp.