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With large businesses to small businesses, as well as individuals, struggling to pay their dues and fulfill financial obligations on time due to the ongoing economic crisis, there has been a dramatic surge in the number of blacklisted individuals and firms.  

The number of individuals and firms blacklisted by the Credit Information Bureau (CIB) at the request of banks and financial institutions surged by 142.38 percent in the last fiscal year 2022/23.

According to the bureau, a total of 30,109 individuals and firms were blacklisted in FY 2022/23. In the previous fiscal year 2021/22, a total of 12,422 firms and individuals were blacklisted.

The CIB blacklists the individuals and firms defaulting on loans and those failing to issue non-funded or underfunded checks at the request of the banks and financial institutions (BFIs) concerned.

Such is the surge in the blacklisting that the number of blacklisted individuals and firms in the last year has surpassed the total number of blacklisted till FY 2021/22. Till FY 2021/22, around 27,000 individuals and firms were blacklisted by the CIB. However, in the last one year (FY 2022/23), 30,109 individuals and firms were blacklisted.

Experts and bankers attribute the rise in blacklisting to the current economic crisis. There has been an interruption in the flow of money in the market due to a prolonged liquidity crunch as well as the slowdown in aggregate demand. In addition, banks and financial institutions’ higher interest rates have also hit small businesses hard. 

Companies and individuals issue checks of a certain date to settle their business and personal transactions. However, due to the recent downturn in business, the ability of companies and individuals to pay their creditors has weakened. People often issue bad checks to their creditors to avoid a difficult situation.

Since last fiscal year, the CIB has also introduced a policy of blacklisting people defaulting on loan payments to microfinance institutions. Of the total blacklisted individuals and firms, 721 are customers of microfinance institutions while the remaining 29,388 have been blacklisted on the recommendation of commercial banks, development banks, and finance companies. The total number of blacklisted individuals and firms has reached 56,384 by the end of FY 2022/23.

Banks and financial institutions recommend individuals and firms that fail to repay loans for six months for blacklisting to the CIB. 

The majority of blacklisting that has happened in the last fiscal year is related to check bounces. CIB Spokesperson Bijay Kunwar said that there were more cases of check bounces in the last fiscal year. 

The statistics of Nepal Police also tell that cheque bounces cases are on the rise. According to the data obtained from Nepal Police, 6,483 cases of banking offenses with the amount equal to Rs 8.57bn have been registered till mid-March 2023.

The data show there have already been more banking fraud cases registered in the first eight months of FY 2022/23 than in FY 2021/22. According to Nepal Police, a total of 5,416 cases of banking fraud were registered in the last fiscal year. 

The majority of banking offense cases are related to cheque bounces. In this fiscal also, 99 percent of banking offense cases are of bad cheques. 

Of the total 6,483 banking fraud cases, 6,422 were related to bad checks. As per the Banking Offense and Punishment Act, 2008, the non-payment of a written cheque three times due to the account holder’s failure to maintain the amount mentioned on the check is counted as a banking offense.

Number of blacklisted individuals and firms 

FY Number

2020/21 4,474

2021/22 12,422

2022/23 30,109

A couple of years ago, I read ‘I’m Thinking of Ending Things’ by Iain Reid despite having watched its movie adaptation and not liking it very much. A story about an unnamed woman dating a dullish man called Jake for about six weeks when the two decide to go visit Jake’s parents, it was dark and creepy. I had bought the book because I had fallen in love with the cover but I actually ended up enjoying it quite a bit. 

So, I was excited to stumble upon another book by the author. ‘We Spread’ is a recent release—it came out last year. I’m Thinking of Ending Things was dialogue driven, ‘We Spread’  a lot less so. But despite the different writing styles, Reid knows how to captivate his readers. 

‘We Spread’  is a story of a widow who finds herself at a strange care home where time seems to pass quickly. At the beginning of the story, Penny lives alone in an apartment that she shared with her husband for many years. But she falls and injures herself when trying to change a lightbulb and finds herself being taken to a private care facility, Six Cedars, when she regains consciousness. Apparently, her husband had made the arrangements for her years ago. Her memory is failing her, so she can’t remember agreeing to it. 

Initially, she’s skeptical and wants to move back into her apartment. She thinks she’s perfectly capable of taking care of herself. But she slowly starts to adjust to life at the facility—she has people her own age to talk to and isn’t lonely anymore. The facility’s manager, Shelly, claims she has a background in science that makes it possible for her to provide top-notch care for older people. She seems to really care about Six Cedar’s six residents. But something feels off to Penny and she starts wondering if Shelly’s motives are actually driven by something sinister. 

‘We Spread’  is a quick read. The chapters are short, some just a page long. But its message about identity and aging makes you want to slow down and take your time. I have to admit it’s not an easy book. There were times when I had to pause and ponder over what I had just read or go back a couple of pages to make sense of things. The book is dedicated to Reid’s grandmother, who died in a care facility when she was 101, after having lived there for two years. Despite its horror backdrop, ‘We Spread’  is an important story that looks at how society marginalizes older people, and how aging is viewed with disdain and distrust.

Three-and-a-half stars

Fiction

We Spread

Iain Reid

Published: 2022

Publisher: Scribner

Pages: 287, Paperback

Gold is smuggled in Nepal to fulfill the demands for the yellow metal within the country and in India. Reports suggest India has an annual gap of 400 tons in demand and supply of gold. Whereas Nepal needs 40 kg of gold daily, it gets just 20 kg. Smuggling fills these gaps.

India is the largest private gold holding country. 

We may step up border security, but then smugglers change their modus operandi and use new routes for smuggling. We must be able to catch smugglers within the country and punish all guilty parties. 

Governments in the past used to help with gold smuggling through airport handling companies and mechanisms. It’s obvious that smugglers enjoy political protection nowadays as well.

Nepal Police must be allowed to investigate such cases because it constantly monitors new channels of smuggling and the Department of Revenue Investigation lacks the capacity to probe the cases.   

The author is former DIG of Nepal Police

Medical experts have expressed concerns about the challenges in providing quality healthcare, citing that the budget allocated to the health sector for this fiscal year is not enough.

The government has allocated a health budget of Rs 83.99bn, which is lower than the sums allocated in the previous two fiscal years. In the fiscal year 2021-22, the Ministry of Health and Population received an allocation of Rs 122.77bn. The figure was Rs 90.69bn for the fiscal year 2020/21. 

The government has decided to make healthcare accessible and qualitative to all. It has also pledged to expand public access to specialized healthcare, and prioritized the prevention, control and treatment of Covid-19 along with other infectious diseases. Funds have also been allocated for the prevention of dengue, malaria, kala-azar, encephalitis, and other seasonal and insect-borne diseases.

As per the plan to treat and prevent infectious diseases, the government has announced plans to upgrade Sukraraj Tropical and Infectious Disease Hospital into a 300-bed facility. A Rs 460m plan has also been outlined for the construction and operation of provincial communicable disease hospitals in Pokhara, Surkhet, Doti, and Bharatpur. A budget allocation has also been announced to upgrade all provincial hospitals into teaching hospitals with super-specialty facilities. 

But health experts say the ambitious plan announced by the government to improve the country’s health sector and the budget earmarked do not complement each other. Many of the plans, they say, also seem rushed and overlook some crucial aspects such as hiring medical professionals and training them.

 “If the government wants to upgrade and operate infectious disease hospitals, then it must recruit specialized human resources and train them,” says Dr Anup Bastola, tropical and infectious disease expert. The recruitment and training parts do not figure in the budget.  

The government has also earmarked Rs 1.28bn to provide 98 types of medicines, vaccines, and basic health services free of charge from primary health service centers in 6,743 wards throughout the country. 

“Instead of purchasing medicines, the government should focus on maintaining quality healthcare,” says Dr Ajay Kumar Jha, Consultant Hematologist, Vayodha Hospital.

The government has also decided to give continuity to the provision of Rs 5,000 monthly medical allowances to individuals who have undergone kidney transplantation, are undergoing dialysis, have been diagnosed with cancer, or have spinal paralysis. The scheme was introduced in January 2018 by the government led by Sher Bahadur Deuba. It was briefly discontinued by the KP Oli led government.

Likewise, Rs 2.50bn has been allocated to continue grants for the treatment of heart disease, kidney disease, cancer, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, spinal injuries, head injuries, and sickle cell anemia to poor citizens.   Some health experts and medical professionals like Dr Jha are of the view that a distributive approach to healthcare budget is no way to improve Nepal's health sector. 

“It would have been better to strengthen the services rather than distributing monthly allowance to the patients,” says Dr Jha. Arrangements will be made to provide kidney transplantation services at all provincial hospitals as per the Finance Minister Prakash Sharan Mahat. 

“If the government can provide such services in all the federal hospitals then it will help patients to seek the health care in their hometown. Additional financial burden of the patients will be lowered and crowds in hospitals in the federal capital will also be decreased,” says Dr Jha.

The government has also allocated Rs 820m to purchase health equipment for 100 hospitals that are set to be completed next year. Again, another myopic plan that could end badly, say health experts, pointing out to the fact that many expensive health equipment remain unused in hospitals and other health facilities due to a lack of proper space for their installation and untrained human resources to operate them   

There is also an allocation meant for procurement of medical equipment and and infrastructure development for BP Koirala Memorial Cancer Hospital, GP Koirala National Center for Respiratory Diseases, Sushil Koirala Prakhar Cancer Hospital, Manmohan Cardiothoracic Vascular and Transplant Center, Suresh Wagle Memorial Cancer Hospital, Ramraja Prasad Singh Academy of Health Sciences, and Bhaktapur Cancer Hospital. In addition, Rs 8bn has been announced to give continuity to the construction of 5-, 10-, and 15-bed hospitals in 322 local levels across the country. 

Dr Dipendra Pandey, consultant orthopedic surgeon, Koshi Hospital, says with an allocation going for healthcare infrastructure development, there is also a need for health professionals to run them, an issue that the government didn’t address while announcing the budget.  

“The government has talked only developing healthcare infrastructure, but has not said anything about human resources,” he adds.

The government has also announced that special programs will be conducted to save the lives of mothers and their newborn in areas with high infant and maternal mortality rates, but health experts say such programs must be run across the country.

According to Nepal Demographic Health Survey 2016, maternal deaths are a subset of all female deaths. They are defined as deaths that occur during pregnancy or childbirth, or within 42 days after the birth or termination of a pregnancy, but are not due to accidents or violence. The maternal mortality ratio for the period 2009-2016 is 239 deaths per 100,000 live births. About 12 percent of deaths of women, age 15-49, are maternal deaths, the survey reports.

“In order to prevent maternal and infant deaths, the government must come up with plans to deliver maternity services from all health institutions. It should not be limited to a few ones,” says Dr Manor Din Shaiyed.  He is of the view that the healthcare allocation should be at least 10 percent of the total budget. 

To make the geriatric wards in government hospitals more effective, the government has announced plans to set up necessary arrangements for screening and treatment of age-related diseases, including dementia, and Alzheimer's disease, in coordination with the nearest specialized hospital. Similarly, Rs 1.15bn has been set aside for the “Tuberculosis-free Nepal Campaign” to identify patients and provide free distribution of medicine.

The government has also said that Geta Medical College will be operated as the Shahid Dashrath Chand Institute of Health Sciences. A budget has been allocated for infrastructure construction, equipment purchase, and manpower management to upgrade Geta Hospital into a 100-bed facility. A budget has also been allocated for the development of infrastructure to expand the services of Rapti Academy of Health Sciences. Plans and budget have also been announced to initiate the process of establishing a 100-bed satellite hospital in Rakam, Aathbis Municipality, Dailekh under the Karnali Institute of Health Sciences.

Allocations have also been made for the capacity expansion of the National Trauma Center, and setting up primary trauma care centers in Lamki, Kailali; Saljhandi, Rupandehi; Bardaghat, Nawalparasi West; Gaindakot, Nawalpur; Bhiman, Sindhuli; and Belkhu, Dhading.

The government has also announced plans to make arrangements for specialty doctors who have completed their MD and MS under state scholarship programs to serve in government hospitals outside Kathmandu Valley. 

To improve the quality of health services, Rs 240m has been allocated for the implementation of the “one-doctor, one-hospital” program. 

Dr Pandey, from Koshi Hospital, says the government has come up with a list of plans in the name of improving the health sector and healthcare accessibility, but has not announced any program to encourage health professionals. 

“There are no proper plans to stop health professionals from migrating to foreign countries for better opportunities. Construction of hospital buildings and adding medical equipment alone is not enough.”