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Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supplies Damodar Bhandari and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Moldova Mihai Posoi held a meeting on Thursday.

The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Moldova Mihai Popsoi arrived in Kathmandu on Wednesday for a two-day visit to Nepal.

According to Minister Bhandari's Secretariat, Minister Bhandari shared his satisfaction with the cordial relations between the two countries since the diplomatic ties in 1993. 

Bhandari stated that the two countries can work in the areas of economic sector, agriculture, tourism, renewable energy, information technology, education and others by exploring new potentials for mutual cooperation.

The two leaders discussed the ways to increase the business volume between Nepal and Moldova.

Likewise, the Moldavian Deputy Prime Minister said that Nepal and Moldova can take initiatives for partnership to send Nepali migrant workers there as there are employment opportunities for Nepali nationals in Moldova.

‘The consumer is the king of the market.’ 

The above quote seems to imply that the consumer holds (almost) tyrannical power over the market.

The quote gives consumer confidence a boost, but not for long against lived experiences, especially in less developed countries and monopoly markets like Nepal where the consumer has remained a paper tiger for long.  

The quote notwithstanding, the situation on the ground is far more sobering in the context of Nepal where consumerism remains an alien concept, where getting cheated in terms of price, quality and quantity has become the norm rather than the exception for the gullible consumer. Here, cartelling, hoarding and black-marketing have become standard business practices and even if one gets caught for resorting to these practices, chances of getting an early release are pretty high, thanks to friends in high places. 

In the name of protecting consumers’ interests, very many organizations have sprouted in Nepal over the decades. But most of these bodies are not independent; they merely are extensions of different political parties. Obviously, they are more interested in pursuing politics in the name of the consumer than taking pains for the protection of consumer rights. 

By the way, what does the Constitution of Nepal, 2015 provide for the (wronged) consumer? 

Article 44 (1) states, in no uncertain terms: Every consumer shall have the right to obtain quality goods and services. 

Article 44 (2) goes: A person who has suffered injury from any substandard goods or services shall have the right to obtain compensation in accordance with law. 

A fitting tribute to consumer rights, right? 

But the consumer needs far more than hollow words, it needs some concrete action to get core concerns addressed. 

For a long time, the conscious consumer has felt the need for a dedicated court to address grievances. The good news is, such a court has finally started operation coinciding with the World Consumer Rights Day (March 15).   

The Consumer Court, established with a mission to expedite legal proceedings and provide swift resolutions to consumer complaints, consists of Kathmandu district court Judge Ram Prasad Sharma as chair and gazetted second-class officers Gehendra Raj Regmi and Ananda Raj Pokharel as members, apart from a registrar for filing cases. 

Now that the long-awaited court has materialized, time has come for the aggrieved people to break the silence and move the court, if need be, for the protection of consumer rights.  

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has said Nepal and China had in 2019 signed the agreement on a 'Boundary Management System' to reopen the 14 border points along the Nepal-China border serving as the traditional trade points.  Urai Bhanjyang pass in Bajhang is one of the 14 transit points. 

In his reply to a query from Bhanubhakta Joshi in a meeting of the House of Representatives (HoR) today, the Prime Minister said the regulations about providing China entry pass for Nepali citizens of districts adjoining China have been implemented. 

Coordination with the bodies concerned and the efforts at the diplomatic level continue to operate the Urai Bhanjyang. 

Entertaining the legislator's advice to provide services relating to roadways, drinking water, irrigation, river management and infrastructure management in an integrated way, he said local levels have launched an integrated system for some services.  

The government is undertaking continuous efforts to assure that job opportunities are available within the country, the Prime Minister said, adding that the five-year strategic plan has been implemented to develop entrepreneurship and internal employment for building a decent job atmosphere in the country. 

The Vocational and Skill Development Training Academy has been established to offer vocational and skills enhancement training and to verify skills of foreign migrant returnees. 

The Prime Minister further added that 'Employment Programme', the government initiation aiming to guarantee minimum job opportunities, around 800,000 (listed as unemployed) have got employment to date since  the fiscal year 2075/76 ( 2018-19).

The "Internal Employment Promotion Decade" has been announced with an objective of enhancing internal employment opportunities.

This initiation is expected to encourage youths to engage in employment and self-employment activities within the home, according to the Prime Minister. 

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has said the government was making efforts so that the report of the Eminent Persons Group (EPG) jointly formed by Nepal and India would be accepted through the understanding of both sides.

During a question and answer session with the Prime Minister at today's meeting of the House of Representatives, he said the EPG report would be accepted with the understanding and consensus of both the countries.

Responding to the question of lawmaker Buddhiman Tamang, PM Oli said that the issue was raised at the highest level of the Indian government in the previous meetings regarding acknowledging the EPG report.

He said diplomatic initiatives were being taken in other contexts.

The Prime Minister stated that the EPG group had agreed before to submit its report first to the Prime Minister of India and then only to the Prime Minister of Nepal.

"We will work towards both sides' accepting this report through an understanding," he reiterated.

Replying to a question on the issue of Nepal's revised 'pointed' map, he said that the map of the territory under Nepal's control before 1962 AD which is reflected in the current revised map is the reality.

"Until 1960, the map of the country was the same as it is now, but it was changed after that. Nepal's Coat-of-Arms in Schedule 3 of the Constitution was updated through the second amendment to the Constitution on June 18, 2020," he said.

Minister for Home Affairs Ramesh Lekhak has said that housing would be provided to the people of Bagmati and Koshi Provinces, which were affected by the floods last September.

After the 30th meeting of the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Executive Committee held here today, he said permanent and temporary shelters would be constructed as per the need after analyzing the damage caused by floods, landslides and inundation.

He said that the decision on how the state could help in the construction of private houses would be taken on the basis of the situation in the affected areas.

In the meeting, the concerned bodies have been instructed to be prepared to control all types of risks from disasters in the coming days, stressing on the need to work in a coordinated manner among all the agencies in the government.

Stating that offices have been established in Doti, Achham and Jajarkot districts to collect complete details of the damage caused by the earthquake and to coordinate the reconstruction works and helping out the victims, Home Minister Lekhak said that the construction of permanent houses has started in the places where the damage has been analyzed.

Minister for Health and Population Pradip Paudel, Home Secretary Gokarna Mani Duwadi and other high-ranking government officials were present in the meeting.

The Department of Hydrology and Meteorology said that there are chances of light snowfall at some places of the country today.

There will be partly cloudy weather in the mountainous region of Koshi Province this afternoon with chances of light snowfall at one or two places, the Department said.

However, the weather will be partly cloudy in the hilly region with possibility of light rain, thunder and lightning at one or two places.

The Terai region in Madhes Province will possibly have fair weather today.

It will be partly cloudy in the mountainous region of Bagmati Province.

The weather will be partly cloudy in the mountainous region of Gandaki Province with chances of light snowfall at one or two places.

According to the Department, there is a possibility of light snowfall in one or two places of the mountainous region and partly cloudy in the hilly region of Karnali Province.

There is also the possibility of light rain accompanied by thunder and lightning at one or two places in the province.

There is a possibility of partly cloudy weather in the mountainous and hilly regions of Sudurpaschim Province.

The Secondary Education Exam has begun throughout the country from Thursday.

The Office of the Controller of Examinations of the National Examination Board informed that the SEE will be conducted across the country through 2,079 examination centers.

As per the schedule, examination of compulsory English, compulsory Sanskrit and compulsory Arabic language subjects will be conducted on the first day today.

A total of 514,071 students will appear in SEE this year.

Last year, a total of 464,785 students appeared in the examination.

The SEE beginning today will conclude on April 1.

The exam will be held from 8 am to 11 am.

Lalit Bahadur Ghalan, Chief, District Coordination Committee, Makwanpur and Shri Basist Nandan, First Secretary, Embassy of India, Kathmandu jointly inaugurated the School Building of Shree Janakalyan Secondary School, Makawanpur built with Government of India’s financial assistance at the project cost of Rs 30 million under ‘Nepal-India Development Cooperation'.

Political representatives, government officials, social workers and teachers of the school, students and their parents were also present on this occasion. 

The Government of India’s grant under ‘Nepal-India Development Cooperation’ was utilized for the construction of the school building and other allied facilities.

The project was taken up as a High Impact     Community Development Project (HICDP) and was implemented through District Coordination Committee, Makawanpur, reads a statement issued by the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu.

Shree Janakalyan Secondary School was established in the year 1968 as a primary school and was      further upgraded to a higher secondary school in the year 1985. This school has around 850 students, 54% of whom are girls. 

The Chief, District Coordination Committee, Makawanpur, Chairperson, School Management and other stakeholders appreciated the developmental support being provided by the Government of India to the people of Nepal.

They expressed confidence that the infrastructure created would help provide better education to the students of Shree Janakalyan Secondary School in Makawanpur. It would also help create an improved environment for learning and contribute to the overall development of the education sector in the region, according to the statement.

As close neighbours, India and Nepal are engaged in wide-ranging and multi-sectoral cooperation.

 The implementation of HICDPs reflects the continued support of the Government of India in bolstering the efforts of the Government of Nepal in growth and development of its people by augmenting infrastructure in priority sectors.