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US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said that the United States was cancelling 83 percent of programs at USAID, as the Trump administration guts spending not aligned with its “America First” agenda.

In Nepal too, hundreds of projects launched under the USAID have faced closure. At the same time, the future of a $500m grant under the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) hangs in the balance as the US is yet to make a decision about it. The USAID aid cut has significantly hit various sectors in Nepal such as health and education, human rights and gender. Following the USAID cut, the Nepal government is approaching India, China and other countries to fill the gap. Senior officials at the Ministry of Finance are exploring ways to prevent the possible impact on Nepal’s critical areas such as health, education, agriculture and support for minority groups. 

The USAID distributes humanitarian aid around the world, with health and emergency programs in around 120 countries, and critics warn that any major downsizing of its operations will affect millions of people. “After a six week review, we are officially cancelling 83 percent of the programs at USAID,” Rubio said on social media platform X. “The 5,200 contracts that are now cancelled spent tens of billions of dollars in ways that did not serve, (and in some cases even harmed), the core national interests of the United States.”

US President Donald Trump, who has called for the agency to be shut down, signed an executive order in January demanding a freeze on all US foreign aid to allow time to assess overseas expenses. Rubio said the remaining 1,000 programs would be administered by the State Department, delivering a seemingly fatal blow to USAID—where most workers have been placed on leave or fired since January.

Notably, Rubio on Monday thanked the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which billionaire Elon Musk is leading in a drive to cut federal spending and jobs. Musk, whom Rubio has reportedly criticized over his aggressive belt-tightening, responded on X describing the USAID cuts as “tough, but necessary.”

The State Department had announced last month its intention to cut 92 percent of USAID contracts, identifying 5,800 grants to be eliminated. Trump and his allies have argued that foreign assistance is wasteful and does not serve US interests, but aid groups argue much of the assistance supports US interests by promoting stability and health overseas.

Chairperson of the CPN (Maoist Center), Pushpa Kamal Dahal, has urged royalists to seek their place within the democratic system. The crowd participating in the royalist rally are also Nepalis, he said: if we ignore their demand for a better country, the monarchy and other reactionary elements will try to raise their heads.

“My request to the royalists is—find your place within democracy,” said Dahal while addressing Parliament on Tuesday. He emphasized that democracy belongs equally to both himself and former King Gyanendra Shah, a sentiment enshrined in the constitution. However, he warned that if unconstitutional and undemocratic paths were chosen, the revolutionary forces would once again demonstrate their strength.  

“We must remember the glorious sacrifices of different periods in history with wisdom and gratitude because the achievements gained through those sacrifices are now under threat from reactionary forces,” he said.  

Dahal reiterated that attempts were being made to overturn the people’s hard-earned achievements and that the current situation required simultaneous resistance against both the government’s wrongdoings and regressive forces. “There is now a need to fight on two fronts—against the government’s misdeeds and against reactionary elements,” he said.  

He further stated that allowing the former king to reside in Nepal was a testament to the country’s fundamental and liberal republicanism. “The history of monarchy worldwide is written in blood. But Nepal became an exception. Our liberal approach ensured that the former king was not exiled and was given a safe place to stay. That is how Nepal’s republican history was written,” he said.  

However, he cautioned that perceiving this leniency as a weakness would be a grave mistake. “If anyone thinks that this was a compulsion of the revolution, they are completely mistaken. If our liberalism is seen as a weakness, history may once again unfold with great severity,” he warned.  

Dahal reminded everyone that the republic was not only a result of the Maoists’ armed struggle but also the outcome of sacrifices from marginalized communities, ethnic groups, regions and genders.   “Let everyone remember this: if anyone believes that the sovereign people will once again become subjects, there can be no bigger illusion than that,” he asserted. He added that the presence of royalists in a democratic parliament itself was proof that democracy and monarchy were incomparable.  

However, Dahal blamed the government for the growing royalist activities. “The threats to democracy are not just external. More than external forces, misgovernance by those in power poses a greater challenge from within,” he said. He argued that the declining credibility of the government had emboldened conservative and monarchist forces. 

Dahal, the leader of the main opposition party, also criticized the ruling party for disregarding democratic values, pointing to Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s absence during his speech. “When the leader of the main opposition party stands at the rostrum, the prime minister’s continued absence—is it arrogance, lack of etiquette or frustration? You should answer that yourselves,” he remarked.

Previously too, Prime Minister Oli was absent while Dahal addressed the parliament. It is a general trend of the Prime Minister being present while the leader of the main opposition party addresses the parliament and vice-versa. Prime Minister Oli meanwhile was addressing the Koshi Province Assembly on Tuesday.

After Dahal’s speech, Nepali Congress General Secretary Gagan Thapa expressed disagreement with some of Dahal’s remarks about the government. However, he echoed Dahal’s concerns about the need for the government to regain public trust.  

“During the drafting of the constitution, when I spoke about the need for change, I was accused of treason. Many here faced the same accusations. But this democratic republican system allows us to question and even challenge the system itself,” he said.

Thapa stressed that those who support the constitution must find common ground, whether in the government or in the opposition. “We need to maintain at least a minimal level of consensus—to protect the constitution, safeguard constitutional bodies and ensure proper governance,” he said.  

He also urged political leaders to engage in civil and informed debates rather than spreading hatred.   “We can criticize and question, but let’s not spread hate. If we allow hatred to consume us, it will take us all down. Let’s compete, but through civilized and informed discussions, both inside and outside Parliament,” he said.  

Thapa further urged the government to respond to the opposition’s concerns without arrogance. “If the government listens to the grievances of citizens and addresses them without arrogance, those who stand for change will unite through dialogue and good governance,” he added. 

He also stressed the need to address public dissatisfaction. “The people who stood by political parties during the democratic movement are now disillusioned. The government must listen to their concerns and address them before it’s too late,” he warned.

US President Donald Trump’s tariffs have spooked investors, with fears of an economic downturn driving a stock market sell-off that has wiped out $4 trillion from the S&P 500’s peak last month, when Wall Street was cheering much of Trump's agenda, Reuters reported.

A barrage of new Trump policies has increased uncertainty for businesses, consumers and investors, notably back-and-forth tariff moves against major trading partners like Canada, Mexico and China.

“We've seen clearly a big sentiment shift,” said Ayako Yoshioka, senior investment strategist at Wealth Enhancement. “A lot of what has worked is not working now.”

The stock market sell-off deepened on Monday. The benchmark S&P 500 fell 2.7%, its biggest daily drop of the year. The Nasdaq Composite slid 4%, its largest one-day decline since September 2022.

The S&P 500 on Monday closed down 8.6% from its February 19 record high, shedding over $4 trillion in market value since then and nearing a 10% decline that would represent a correction for the index. The tech-heavy Nasdaq ended Thursday down more than 10% from its December high.

Trump over the weekend declined to predict whether the US could face a recession as investors worried about the impact of his trade policy.

“The amount of uncertainty that has been created by the tariff wars with regard to Canada, Mexico and Europe, is causing boards and C-suites to reconsider the pathway forward,” Peter Orszag, CEO of Lazard, speaking at the CERAWeek conference in Houston, according to Reuters.

“People can understand ongoing tensions with China, but the Canada, Mexico, and Europe part is confusing. Unless that gets resolved over the next month or so, this could do real damage to the economic prospects of the US and M&A activity,” Orszag said.

Delta Air Lines on Monday slashed its first-quarter profit estimates by half, sending its shares down 14% in aftermarket action. CEO Ed Bastian blamed heightened US economic uncertainty.

Investors are also watching whether lawmakers can pass a funding bill to avert a partial federal government shutdown. A US report on inflation looms on Wednesday.

“The Trump administration seems a little more accepting of the idea that they're OK with the market falling, and they're potentially even OK with a recession in order to exact their broader goals,” said Ross Mayfield, investment strategist at Baird. “I think that's a big wake-up call for Wall Street.”

The percentage of total corporate equities and mutual fund shares that are owned by the bottom 50% of the US population, ranked by wealth, stands at about 1%, while the same measure for the top 10% of the population by wealth stood at 87%, according to Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis data as of July 2024.

The S&P 500 tallied back-to-back gains of over 20% in 2023 and 2024, led by mega-cap technology and tech-related stocks such as Nvidia and Tesla that have struggled so far in 2025, dragging major indexes.

On Monday, the S&P 500's technology sector dropped 4.3%, while Apple and Nvidia both fell about 5%. Tesla tumbled 15%, shedding about $125 billion in value.

Other risk assets were also punished, with bitcoin dropping 5%.

Some defensive areas of the market held up better, with the utilities sector logging a 1% daily gain. Safe-haven US government debt saw more demand, with benchmark 10-year Treasury yields, which move inversely to prices, down to about 4.22%.

Investorunease

The S&P 500 has given up all gains recorded since Trump's November 5 election, and it is down nearly 3% in that time. Hedge funds reduced exposure to stocks on Friday at the largest amount in more than two years, according to a Goldman Sachs note released on Monday.

Investors had expressed optimism that Trump's expected pro-growth agenda including tax cuts and deregulation would benefit stocks, but uncertainty over tariffs and other changes including federal workforce cuts has dampened sentiment.

“It was the overwhelming consensus that everything was going to be this great environment once President Trump came into office,” said Michael O’Rourke, chief market strategist at JonesTrading.

“Every time you have structural change you're going to have uncertainty and you're going to have friction,” O'Rourke said. “It's understandable people are starting to be a little concerned and starting to take profits.”

Even with the recent sell-off, stock market valuations remain significantly above historic averages. The S&P 500 as of Friday was at just above 21 times earnings estimates for the next year, compared to its long-term average forward P/E of 15.8, according to LSEG Datastream, Reuters reported.

“Many people have been worried about elevated valuations among US equities for some time and looking for the catalyst for a market correction,” said Dan Coatsworth, investment analyst at AJ Bell. “A combination of concerns about a trade war, geopolitical tensions and an uncertain economic outlook could be that catalyst.”

Investors' equity positioning has fallen in recent weeks, dipping to slightly underweight for the first time since briefly hitting that level in August, Deutsche Bank analysts said in a note on Friday.

A further retreat to the bottom of the historic range for equities weighting, as seen during Trump's US-China trade war in 2018-2019, could drag the S&P 500 to as low as 5,300, or down another 5.5% from current levels, they added.

In another sign of growing investor unease, the Cboe Volatility Index on Monday reached its highest closing level since August.

The administration is “still trying to figure out how to define a win politically, economically, and what is the right time frame,” said Edward Al-Hussainy, senior interest rate and currency analyst at Columbia Threadneedle Investments. “And until they do that, it's going to be like this every week.”

Every now and then Nepali newspapers greet us with photos of crowded airports, tearful farewells, and headlines tallying the number of citizens boarding flights abroad. Social media amplifies this narrative, glamorous snapshots of migrants posing in foreign cities, juxtaposed with cynical memes mocking those “left behind.” We have collectively branded migration as a national shame: a “brain drain” crippling Nepal, while those who remain are dismissed as unskilled or unambitious. But this reductive framing ignores history, economics, and Nepal’s own policy failures. Migration is not the problem; our inability to harness it is.

Migration is as old as human civilization. People have been moving across borders whether temporary or permanent, voluntary or forced. Herders move seasonally for pastures, people in the mountains move to escape freezing temperatures, students migrate for education, laborers seek better wages, and families relocate for safety. Nepal’s history is shaped by mobility: Newar traders crossing Himalayan passes into Tibet, Gurkhas serving global armies, some as Bahadurs in India and generations of youth leaving villages for Kathmandu’s promise of opportunity. Yet today, we treat migration as a pathology rather than a natural response to inequality.

The real issue lies not in people leaving, but in why they feel compelled to. Nepal’s cities, overcrowded, polluted, and staggeringly expensive, are monuments to failed planning. Rural municipalities, stripped of basic infrastructure, schools, and hospitals, hemorrhage talent. Our policies oscillate between romanticizing agrarian life and tacitly endorsing labor export as an economic strategy. Migration is not the crisis; it is a symptom of a deeper rot.

The 2021 Census reveals that 29 percent of Nepalis migrate internally, primarily to Kathmandu and Biratnagar. These cities, once symbols of progress, now suffocate under unplanned growth. Kathmandu’s drainage systems collapse under monsoon rain. The promotion of private motorbikes and vehicles to fuel import taxes for revenue generation discouraged public transportation, leading to hours of traffic jams. The lack of jobs and underpaid labor struggle to retain workers. Urbanization, if managed wisely, could drive economic growth. Instead, we have allowed our cities to become pressure cookers of frustration. We have incentivized urbanization without preparing for it, then blame migrants for the mess.

Remittances, contributing 25 percent of Nepal’s GDP, are celebrated as an economic lifeline. Yet this dependence masks a grim reality: our youth are not migrating out of ambition, but desperation. Nepal’s transition from an agrarian to a service-based economy failed to generate jobs. Instead of building factories or tech hubs, we opened the service industry, exploited lands as real estate cash cows, and created a speculative bubble that benefits elites.

Migrants send billions home, but these funds flow into real estate and consumption, not productivity. A nurse in Australia earning AUD 30/hour remits money to build a concrete house in Makwanpur, which stands empty while her village lacks a clinic. Meanwhile, Nepal’s diaspora, a potential force for trade and investment, remains untapped. Returned migrants bring skills in construction, departmental stores, engineering, healthcare, and IT, but find no ecosystem to deploy them. We lament “brain drain” while wasting “brain gain.”

Breaking the cycle

1. Decentralize development
   Empower Nepal’s 753 local governments to build self-sustaining economies. Why must a student from Palpa migrate to Kathmandu for college? Invest in regional universities, rural hospitals, and agro-industries in the Tarai. Redirect internal migration to emerging hubs like Jumla or Dipayal to shorten its distance.
2. Allow hassle-free foreign direct investment
   Prioritize FDI by lowering the current threshold, allowing 100 percent ownership in priority sectors, and amending forex laws to let investors withdraw profits without hurdles. It is time for Nepal to tap into the markets available beyond its borders, in two highly populous nations.
3. Transform remittances into productivity
   Create tax incentives for migrants to invest in renewable energy, agro-processing, or tech startups, not land hoarding. Establish a “Diaspora Skill Bank” to connect returnees with local industries.
4. Stop blaming, start planning
   Nepal cannot simultaneously fetishize migration as “success” and vilify it as “betrayal.” Formalize labor migration with skill-building programs and social security. Partner with destination countries for reintegration programs.
5. Improve implementation efficiency
   Policies get diluted when it comes to execution. Nepal should invest in efforts to bring all the bureaucrats at all levels together in order to ensure consistency and effectiveness.

Migration is not Nepal’s curse; it is a mirror reflecting decades of policy indifference. The exodus will continue until we offer citizens a reason to stay. Imagine a Nepal where villages have schools as good as Kathmandu’s, where returned migrants launch startups in Surkhet, and where laborers abroad are upskilled into ambassadors for Nepali innovation.

This future is possible. But first, we must stop scapegoating migrants and confront the real enemy: our refusal to build a nation worth staying for.