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UN Special Rapporteur Olivier De Schutter has said that Nepal has one of the most progressive constitutions in the world, but many of its promises still are to be fulfilled.

The UN official made such remarks after conducting an 11-day official mission to the country.

Nepal has succeeded in reducing multidimensional poverty by 12.7 percent between 2014 and 2019, and its Human Development Index has improved, as have indicators related to health and education. But significant gaps remain, the UN expert said.

“Women are still lagging on a number of indicators. Though banned, caste-based and ethnicity-based discrimination remain a reality in social life, and it is a major factor explaining the perpetuation of poverty. Land issues remain unresolved, despite the efforts to accelerate the rehabilitation of former bonded laborers and to ensure landless Dalit benefit from land redistribution.”

Says De Chutter poverty reduction owes more to remittances than to proactive Government anti-poverty policies. "A quarter of the decline in poverty can be attributed to outmigration only, with estimates showing that, without remittances, poverty would have increased in Nepal,” he said.

Remittances in Nepal were 10 times larger than foreign aid and 2.5 larger than total exports only in 2017.

 “It is clear that much more needs to be done by the Government to meet its own target of reducing multidimensional poverty to 11.5 percent by 2023-2024,” the expert said.

“The Government should ensure its skills and training programs reach the poorest families. While public works programs such as the Prime Minister’s Employment Program have considerable potential, in practice the program has yet to deliver on its promise of providing 100 days of work per person per year.

“In the country, 80 percent of workers are informal, which exposes them to higher rates of abuse, largely because the Government lacks the ability to enforce minimum wage legislation in the informal sector. Although informal workers should also contribute to and benefit from the Social Security Fund, there is currently no plan to include them in the program.”

De Schutter’s fact-finding mission began on 29 December, just weeks after the UN General Assembly voted a resolution inviting Nepal, along with Bangladesh and Lao People’s Democratic Republic, to prepare for graduation from the status of Least Developed Country (LDC) to that of an emerging economy. The country will benefit from a five-year transition period. “Graduation from LDC status is a major milestone for Nepal,” said De Schutter. “Poverty reduction must be at the heart of the country’s transition strategy to ensure that no groups are left behind.”

The UN expert met with communities who suffer from intersecting forms of deprivation. Most were landless daily wage laborers working in agricultural or informal jobs and struggling to send their children to school. Many were from historically disadvantaged and discriminated groups including Dalit, Madhesi, and Indigenous people, as well as women. “The stark inequalities resulting from the deeply entrenched norms and values of the Nepali caste system continue to perpetuate disadvantage today,” De Schutter said.

Women suffer the brunt of a historically patriarchal society, earning almost 30 percent less than men, suffering from higher rates of informality, owning only 19.7 percent of homes and land, and enduring a 17.5 percent literacy gap compared to men, the UN poverty expert noted. "Nepal can and must do better,” he said.

Children experience the worst forms of deprivation because of the poverty their families face, he added. Over one million children work in Nepal, and in rural areas over a fifth of children do.

“During my mission, I met with countless families whose children, especially girls, engaged in agricultural or domestic work,” De Schutter said. “Wealth inequality is a major factor: over 20 percent of children in poverty work, compared to only five percent of children from rich families.

“The Government must take child poverty seriously and take the necessary steps to end child marriage and labor and improve quality of and access to education,” he added.

During his mission, the Special Rapporteur visited Bagmati, Karnali, Lumbini provinces, as well as Province 2. He met with nine ministries, including six ministers, as well as local and provincial authorities, people affected by poverty, civil society organizations, and development cooperation and UN agencies.

‘Classic wheels Export and Import’, the official importer of Crossfire Motorcycles in Nepal, has finally launched the new version of the Tracker 250 motorcycle today. Crossfire is all set to revolutionize the dual-sport motorcycle segment in Nepal with it’s new and updated Tracker 250 edition.

Back in August, the newly launched Tracker 250 was a game changer. Now the newly launched Tracker 250 edition is enhanced to ensure even greater performance with refined power, greater efficiency, improved mileage, superior handling, and a touch of modern look to add to its retro beauty.

The new Tracker 250 edition is now available for booking. You can receive a free helmet along with Rs. 5,000 cash discount for every booking or purchase made before 28 November 2021.

For more information: 01-4016070/01-4016062, www.crossfirenepal.com.

Standard Chartered (the Group) today announced ambitious new targets to reach net-zero carbon emissions from its financed activity by 2050, including interim 2030 targets for the most carbon-intensive sectors. The Group’s approach is based on the best data currently available and aligns to the International Energy Agency’s Net Zero Emissions by 2050 scenario (NZE).

Whilst 33 of our 59 footprint markets do not at present have a commitment to reach net zero by 2050, we are setting out our plan for this timeline, recognising the pivotal role we can play in the transition. Many of these markets are currently reliant on carbon-intensive industries for their continued economic growth. Achieving a just transition – one where climate objectives are met without depriving developing countries of their opportunity to grow and prosper – will require capital and specialised support. We are uniquely placed to help by directing capital to markets that have both the greatest opportunity to adopt low-carbon technology, and some of the toughest transition-financing and climate challenges.

Our net-zero approach has three aims: 

Reduce the emissions associated with our financing activities to net zero by 2050, setting 2030 interim targets in our most carbon-intensive sectors

Our current estimate of in-scope baseline emissions from our corporate client base as at year-end 2020 is 45.2 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents, associated with USD74.8 billion of assets (or 77% of our total drawn on-balance-sheet financing exposure of USD97.3 billion to corporate clients.) There is currently insufficient available data to accurately reflect the financed emissions of the remaining 23 per cent of our in-scope corporate lending assets.

We will stop financing, at an individual client entity level (e.g. subsidiaries), companies that are expanding in thermal coal. Ongoing provision of financial services to the client group will be subject to enhanced due diligence. We aim to reduce absolute financed thermal coal-mining emissions by 85 percent by 2030, in addition to the existing prohibition on financing new or expanding coal-fired power plants. By 2030 we will only provide financial services to clients who are less than 5 percent dependent on revenue from thermal coal.

As we expand our green and transition finance, we are targeting 2030 reductions in revenue-based carbon-intensity (i.e. the quantity of greenhouse gas emitted by our clients per USD of their revenue) of:

1) 63 percent for power
2) 33 percent respectively for steel and mining (excluding thermal coal mining)
3) ​30 percent for oil and gas

While the NZE foresees a decline in fossil-fuel production, progress won’t be linear and production of some fossil fuels may rise before it comes down in our markets, e.g. gas as it replaces more carbon-intensive alternatives such as coal in the transition phase.

By the end of 2022 we expect all clients in the power generation, mining and metals, and oil and gas sectors to have a strategy to transition their business in line with the goals of the Paris Agreement.

Having already covered nearly two-thirds of our in-scope financed emissions, targets for remaining carbon-intensive sectors will be announced in line with current guidelines from the Net Zero Banking Alliance, before the first quarter of 2024.

We are sharing our methodology transparently in a white paper to help collective learning and encourage discussion and debate. As standards and methodologies evolve, and data quality and availability improve, we will refine our emissions calculations further. To ensure transparency, we report yearly on progress, in detail, as part of the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial

Disclosures process:

Catalyse finance and partnerships to scale impact, capital and climate solutions to where they are needed most, including a plan to mobilise USD300 billion in green and transition finance

Our new Transition Finance Framework sets out how our transition finance will be governed by alignment to the NZE and a set of well-defined principles that help guide our clients onto a low-carbon pathway.

Accelerate new solutions to support a just transition in our markets, including a new dedicated Transition Acceleration Team to support clients in high-emitting sectors, and launch sustainable products

The Transition Acceleration Team will provide our clients in carbon-intensive sectors with deep expertise on how to accelerate their low-carbon transitions, and tools to measure their progress. We will launch a Universal Climate Finance Loan to incentivise clients to outpace national decarbonisation rates, as well as sustainable retail products such as green mortgages in key markets. In wealth management, by 2025 we aim to double sustainable investing assets under management and integrate environmental, social and governance considerations into our advisory activities.

José Viñals, Group Chairman, commented: “Following engagement with clients, shareholders and NGOs, we are today setting out our methodology for how we intend to reach net zero by 2050.

We are motivated by a belief that we can and must address the need for decarbonisation as a result of greater climate-related risks, which increase financing costs and hamper emerging markets’ long-term economic prospects.”

Bill Winters, Group Chief Executive, added: “We’re confident that we’re on a science-based trajectory toward net-zero financed emissions by 2050 that is consistent with the Paris Agreement.

As we reduce the emissions associated with our financing activities to net zero, we will also tackle financial barriers to the transition, including by making more green and transition finance available. This will help clients on a path to net zero while maximising the benefits of a just transition for people and communities.”

LaLiga, also known as the Primera Division, is Spain's top professional football league for men. It was founded in 1929 and is one of the oldest and most popular leagues in the world. The LaLiga season began in August and will conclude in May 2022. There are a total of 20 clubs competing in a Double Round-Robin format with each team playing 38 matches.

With the promotion and relegation system, a total of 380 league matches were played. One of the most intriguing facts about LaLiga is that the ‘El Clasico,' the match between Real Madrid and Barcelona, is the most viewed sporting event in the world (650 million viewers). Some of the top teams of LaLiga are Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Valencia, Sevilla and so on which is every famous club in European competition.

Dish Media Network Ltd. has obtained an exclusive broadcast right of LaLiga season 2021-22 for Nepal. Over 270 matches will be live telecasted on DishHome Action Sports HD2 in DishHome in DTH and OTT platform in course of 9 months spreading 38 footbal match weeks.

LaLiga will be exclusively broadcasted only on DishHome Action Sports HD2. It will be available for viewers on a “Season Ticket” scheme. The “Season Ticket” scheme will be available in DishHome DTH and OTT platforms. Customers can also enjoy LaLiga on SIM TV and Prabhu TV & OTT platforms.

Customers with DishHome can purchase season tickets to activate Action Sports HD2 by contacting customer support. Laliga is also available on the web and on the DishHome GO mobile app. Prabhu Pay is where you can get a DishHome Go Season Ticket. DishHome subscribers will have to pay Rs. 2000 for a Season ticket, while for non DishHome user Rs. 3000 for season ticket to activate LaLiga on DishHome OTT Platform. Along with all LaLiga matches, a LaLiga Season Ticket for the DishHome Go app gives you access to 69 TV channels and on-demand entertainment.