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Executive director of PADT Ramesh Upreti claims that foreigners conducting illegal trade in the Pash­upati region were driven away a few weeks ago. “We have increased sur­veillance in the area and are closely monitoring such foreigners. We have issued instructions to apprehend them on sight.”

A while back, the police had arrested a Chinese tourist selling mala (necklace of wooden beads with religious/spiritual significance) in the guise of a monk in Patan. He was later released after he promised not to do it again.

“Even though the Chinese tourists may appear to be petty traders and monks, they might engage in suspi­cious activities,” said an officer at the Home Ministry. Another top gov­ernment official hinted that the gov­ernment is taking a tough line since some of illegal foreign traders are suspected of spying activities, par­ticularly on the border with India.

According to the tourist police, four Chinese tourists were arrested last month for similar wrongdo­ing, and many more were made aware of Nepali laws on the spot. Tourists, mostly of African and Chinese descent, are also found selling trinkets at Pokhara’s lake side during the evenings.

By  SHAMBHU KATTEL | KATHMANDU

Raj Brewery Pvt Ltd, the pro­ducer of Warsteiner Premium Beer in Nepal, officially launched the beer in their ultra-modern factory in Hakui, Nawalparasi this week.

The Warsteiner Group is one of Germany’s leading independent brewers, with a global reputation for brewing excellence spanning more than 260 years.

Warsteiner brand is one of the most successful German brewer­ies. Warsteiner Premium Beer is available in more than 60 export markets.

The launch was attended by Catharina Cramer, owner and president of Board of Warsteiner Group along with other Ger­man delegates, and members of Raj Brewery Pvt. Ltd.

Warsteiner Premium beer will be available for all premium beer lov­ers across the nation. Raj Brewery falls under the Jawalakhel Group of Industries.

The country has adopted a fed­eral structure, but the model of insurance under such a struc­ture is yet to be determined. The Insurance Board, the insur­ance regulator, is planning to expand services to all the seven provinces. Currently it only has a central office in Kathmandu. It had established regional offices in Bir­gunj, Biratnagar and Butwal back in 1998, but they could not function effectively and had to be closed within five years.

According to Schedule 5 of the constitution, formulation of insurance policy falls under the jurisdiction of the federal govern­ment. Running and managing the insurance business, however, is under the joint authority of the fed­eral and provincial governments, according to Schedule 7. But specific laws and guidelines on insurance are as yet missing. Only when that void is filled will the model of insur­ance under the federal structure be ascertained.

Chairperson of the Insurance Board Chiranjivi Chapagain says that the central office will remain in Kathmandu, but the provincial offices will have the authority to issue license to insurance agents and surveyors, provide training to them, renew their licenses, collect insurance data at the provincial level and monitor the local level branch offices. The central office will have the authority to formulate policies and examine insurance claims.

Chapagain adds that his office is not in a hurry to establish pro­vincial offices as the country does not yet have permanent provincial capitals. “We are studying the mat­ter; it’s still unclear what authority and how many staff the provincial offices will have. But it’s important for insurance companies to expand. Only if they reach all 753 local units can ordinary citizens benefit from insurance services.”

But Bibek Jha, CEO of Nepal Life Insurance, disagrees. “Establishing offices everywhere will be costly. We go where there is a big population density. Our company, for instance, has offices in all but four districts of the country. And we have already reached 120 local units. Our target is to reach 150 local units by the end of the year,” says Jha.

Currently, the 35 insurance companies in the country are concentrated in a handful of major towns. As such a large section of the population is deprived of insurance services.

Nanda Prasad Tiwari, chairman of Nepal Professional Insurance Agent Union, says there is a healthy market for insurance. “Nine percent of the total population has insured them­selves. That percentage will go up to 25 or 30 under a federal model,” says Tiwari.

There are 400,000 insurance agents in the country. The minimum qualification required to be one is SEE (Grade X). Tiwari argues they are facing problems for a couple of reasons. “One, insurance compa­nies are not able to pay what they promise. Two, even banks provide insurance services. Banks should not have the right to sell insurance,” he says.

By Tulasi Subedi | Kathmandu

Turkish Airlines is celebrating the 10th anniversary of joining the Star Alliance network. The alliance was established in 1997 as the first global airline alliance with worldwide reach, recognition and seamless service for international travellers.

The flag-carrier of Turkey celebrated its membership anniversary at Turkish Airlines Headquarters with the participation of Turkish Airlines Chairman of the Board and the Executive Committee, M. llker Aycı, and Star Alliance CEO, Jeffrey Goh.

“Like yesterday and today, Turkish Airlines will continue to be a valuable partner for Star Alliance and its members—as an important element of our common strategy that will enable the Alliance to move forward with solid footprints,” says M. llker Aycı. Turkish Airlines became the 20th Star Alliance member airline in April 2008.