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Sunil KC, Vice President of Nepal-India Chamber of Commerce & Industry (NICCI), has been appointed as the advisor to Independent Power Producers’ Association Nepal (IPPAN). The 21st annual general meeting of IPPAN held on June 15, 2023 elected a new executive committee under the leadership of Ganesh Karki and the first executive committee meeting held on June 16, 2023 appointed KC as the adviser to IPPAN, reads a statement issued by the NICCI. KC is the Founder of Asian Institute of Diplomacy and International Affairs (AIDIA), a think tank based in Kathmandu which has been doing advocacy in the field of diplomacy for the past one decade. KC has been contributing his expertise in the area of economic diplomacy of Nepal as well as in the area of Nepal-India trade, transit and energy cooperation, Nepal-India trade as well as Nepal-India-Bangladesh trilateral trade engagement and power trade since year 2015 and has also been putting his views through the articles frequently published in the national and international publications and online media as well. The appointment of KC as the advisor to IPPAN would contribute to bringing FDI from India in the field of hydropower and energy development. Since KC has been engaged and facilitating power trade between Nepal and India as well as trilateral power trade between Nepal-India-Bangladesh, his expertise would surely be helpful to bring FDI from India and will contribute execution of power trade between Nepal and India as well as Nepal-India-Bangladesh trilateral power trade in the days ahead, the statement reads. NICCI also congratulated the newly elected executive committee of IPPAN under the leadership of Ganesh Karki and the entire team for the successful tenure ahead.

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) plunged by 26. 56 points to close at 2,064.83 points on Tuesday. Similarly, the sensitive index dropped by 4. 25 points to close at 388. 14 points. A total of 10,792,742-unit shares of 268 companies were traded for Rs 4. 11 billion. Meanwhile, City Hotel Limited was the top gainer today with its price surging by 10. 00 percent. Likewise, Unique Nepal Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited was the top loser with its price dropped by 9. 99 percent. At the end of the day, the total market capitalization stood at Rs 3. 02 trillion.

With India delaying Nepal’s request to approve sales of electricity from additional hydropower projects to the Indian energy market, fear is growing that the country will once again face power spillage like last year. Currently, the southern neighbor has granted approval for 10 hydropower projects to sell a total of 452.6 MW of power to India’s day-ahead market where prices are fixed a day earlier than the day when trading takes place. It has been several months since the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) sought approval from Indian authorities to supply 1,000 MW of electricity generated by more power projects to the southern neighbor’s power market. In the rainy season last year, the country’s electricity spillage reached as high as 800 MW during the festive period in October and November. With industrial power demand declining sharply due to the closure of industries during the holiday season, the domestic energy demand fell to as low as 700 MW. Till last year, the total installed capacity of Nepal’s power projects was more than 2,200 MW while Indian authorities had granted approval to export 364 MW from Nepal. Now, Nepal’s generation capacity has already reached nearly 2,700 MW which requires more exports to India to avoid spillage in the rainy season when power plants start generating power at their full capacity. “Approval process is undergoing not only to sell power in India’s day-ahead market but also for selling 200MW under the five-year-long power purchase agreement,” said Kul Man Ghising, Managing Director of NEA at a press meet on Sunday. “We are hopeful that the Indian authorities will grant approval for more power projects to sell power before spillage takes place.” He said that NEA is not worried about the power spillage at least for a month with the current generation not being enough even to export the currently approved 452.6 MW. “At least until mid-August, rainfalls remain erratic and power generation also remains unstable,” said Ghising adding that the hydropower plants would be able to produce at their full capacity on a daily basis from mid-August to November. Starting from June 12, Nepal resumed exporting power to India regularly as continuous rainfalls increased water levels in the rivers helping power projects to generate more electricity. With the late arrival of the monsoon, regular export of power to India resumed late compared to last year when Nepal had started exporting power from June 2. Monsoon clouds arrived in the country in the middle of June after Nepal witnessed a prolonged drought this year. However, the country's power generation capacity is rising along with the completion of one after another power projects. The country’s power generation capacity is expected to rise to 2,853 MW by the end of the current fiscal year, according to NEA. The projected peak domestic demand for power in the current fiscal year is 2,036 MW. “The country is expected to produce surplus energy of 1,000 MW in this wet season,” said Ghising. “But in the night time, power demands are lower and the country has to export more power compared to other times.” By the end of the next fiscal year 2023/24, the country’s electricity generation capacity is expected to rise further to 4,507 MW and to 5,251 MW by the end of fiscal 2024/25. Besides increasing domestic consumption, boosting exports will be required to ensure that power is not spilled. “For this, it is necessary to invest heavily in improving domestic transmission and distribution networks and cross-border power lines,” said Ghising. He said that electricity could be a leading export product for the country contributing to reducing the ballooning trade deficit of the country. Nepal exported power worth over Rs 11bn in the last wet season. “There is scope for increased earnings from exporting power in the upcoming years,” said Ghising.

Ratna Mandir, the palace on the shores of Fewa Lake in Pokhara dedicated to the former Queen of Nepal, Ratna Rajya Laxmi Devi Shah, opened to the public on May 29. The government had not opened the palace, which was built in the 1960s, to the public even after the end of the royal rule. The palace, located on the shores of Fewa Lake, served as a retreat for the former royal family during their visits to Pokhara. According to local residents and historical records, the royal family would visit Pokhara twice a year, staying for up to a month each time. In response to the local interest in preserving Ratna Mandir as a heritage site for tourism promotion in Pokhara, the Nepal Trust, a government agency, opened the palace complex to the public, coinciding with Republic Day. The ownership of the palace complex was transferred to the Nepal Trust after the end of the royal rule in the country. According to stakeholders and local tourism professionals, the opening of Ratna Palace has led to an increase in the number of tourists visiting Pokhara. Hotel owners in the Lakeside area have reported a growth in their businesses, as they have noticed an influx of domestic tourists. “While Ratna Palace may not be a primary tourist destination, visitors do not want to miss the opportunity to observe it,” said Hari Bhujel, a hotel owner in the Ratna Mandir area. Mekh Bahadur Thapa, a 51-year-old resident of Pokhara-15, Rambazaar, took a day off from work to accompany his relatives from another district to visit Ratna Mandir in Lakeside. “As my guests expressed a keen interest in visiting the Queen’s palace, I took leave from the office for the day,” Thapa said. Thapa and his family and relatives visited the palace premises last week. “I was curious about the reasons behind closing the doors of this palace to the general public,” Thapa shared. Similarly, 54-year-old Suka Maya BK of Bhumahi in Nawalparasi decided to postpone her return home by a day. Upon learning that Ratna Mandir was open to the public, she became extremely curious and asked her relatives in Pokhara to take her to the Queen’s palace. “I was eager to see how the royal family lived during that time,” she added. According to Gita Mijar, Chief of the Nepal Trust Pokhara Office, nearly 4,000 people have visited Ratna Mandir within just two weeks of its opening. “The majority of these visitors are domestic tourists, who appear to be driven by their curiosity to observe the living standards of the royal family,” she added. Foreign tourist numbers low According to the Nepal Trust Pokhara Office, the number of foreign visitors to Ratna Palace has been relatively low. Since the opening day, only 10 foreigners have visited the palace so far. “Although foreigners come and inquire about tickets, they don't purchase them,” Laxmi Bhatta, a ticket counter attendant at Ratna Mandir, said. The Nepal Trust collects Rs 100 from Nepalis and Rs 1,000 from foreigners as an entry fee