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Established in 2020, Ramesh Corp, named after the late entrepreneur Ramesh Gupta, has made big strides as a business house in a relatively short period of time. Pratik Jalan, who is the Executive Director of Ramesh Corp, has a deeper understanding and experience in different verticals of IT including telecom services, cloud computing, and other technology investments and businesses. Himanshi Karn of ApEx caught up with Jalan to talk about the current state of the private sector, the economic prospects of Nepal and Ramesh Corp’s investment plans. Excerpts: The Confederation of Nepalese Industry (CNI’s) recent survey also shows demands throughout the country have fallen. Industrialists have put a hold on their investment plans. What is the state of the Nepali private sector right now? When will we see new investments by the private sector? Currently, the economy is in a bad state. A severe cash crunch has obstructed the money cycle at every level of business. We can barely see consumer spending in the market. This has badly affected the production of industries as both consumption and demand are suppressed now. While the economy is going through a turbulent phase, Ramesh Corp is also expanding its presence across different verticals. Nepal is a growing economy, and the beauty of this country is that we usually have short-lived crises. We’re hopeful the present-day economic difficulties will soon go away. There is an anticipation that the market will bounce back and we will get support from the government. How much time do you think it will take for the economy to come out of the recession? There is a new government in place now and we expect private sector-friendly policies. We are definitely seeing some positive progress on the regulatory side. But it will take time. It should be a matter of 6-7 months for the economy to be stable. I wouldn’t say growth but there will be stability. How has the high-interest rate made an impact on the industrialists and the common people? The private sector is the major employment provider in the country. The interest cost is a big burden on everybody and it is not just limited to business houses. If we look at it deeper with an example, the normal citizen of this country is dependent on different kinds of loans such as car loans, home loans, and so on. If the interest rate climbs higher, their loan repayment capacity gets affected. So it is obvious that many people have second thoughts about spending in this situation which affects our business activities. Now the private sector is suffering both ways; they are required to pay extra for the money they’ve borrowed to run their business too. Business leaders recently met the new Prime Minister and Finance Minister. While both the PM and Finance Minister have said that the economy is their prime agenda, how hopeful are you that the new government will address the issues raised by the private sector? There is definitely a lot of space for hope here. I believe we should avoid a conservative assessment of the current situation. The new government is holding consistent meetings and that shows the beam of light to the private sector. Ramesh Corp recently made a big investment announcement, i.e., manufacturing tiles in Nepal in partnership with India's Kajaria Group. What led your group to have this joint venture with Kajaria? If we look around Nepal, there’s a lot of potential for growth in the construction sector. Tiles specifically are mostly imported into the country. We want Nepal to become self-sufficient in products that are in big demand. Kajaria is a big brand not just in India and also globally, and we have an opportunity to collaborate with them and produce and supply the Nepali market with quality products. Ever since the establishment of Ramesh corp, how has the journey been as a single business house? We are certainly sustaining and growing, dealing with the current adverse situation. We’re also looking for different ways to make investments as Ramesh corp. It has been positively effective ever since the establishment of our group. So many of our goals have been successfully completed, a lot of them are yet to be ticked on the checklist and many are yet to be made. Ramesh Corp is already a diversified business conglomerate. What areas your group is planning to enter in the near future? There are a couple of things in the pipeline like tile manufacturing which is our latest venture. We are also looking for more opportunities to invest in. We are hopeful that by the end of 2023, we will have 25 different ventures under us.

Newly-formed Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) has joined the government despite internal differences on the matter as well as divergent public opinion. Chairman and leader of RSP’s parliamentary party Rabi Lamichhane is helming the Ministry of Home Affairs amid lots of expectations and speculations from different quarters. The nascent party has also come under criticism for not unveiling its ideology and showing anti-federalist tendencies (The party did not contest provincial elections). Pratik Ghimire of ApEx talked to Santosh Pariyar, a member of the House of Representatives representing the party.

Are you happy with your party joining the government?

I don’t find any reason to be unhappy as this decision was made after discussions within the party committees and parliamentary party committee. We are in mainstream politics and joining the government is the only way to deliver on the promises we made. 

This decision has caused disputes in your party. Will it impact the party’s future?

Different members of a democratically-run political organization can have different views. That is the beauty of such an organization. I don’t think this (difference of opinion) will have a negative impact on the party. It doesn’t mean there’s no room for opinion that is different from the party line. Differing voices are equally important because we built this organization together, after all. These disputes can be resolved through intra-party talks. How will we perform from the positions of power? That is what matters the most. If we can bring peace and prosperity, we will definitely emerge as a successful party.

Will this focus on the government not hamper the expansion of party organization?

Though a new party, we have a large number of members with only a handful of members in the parliament. Also, only a couple of us will be in the cabinet. There are more capable members to run and expand the party structure. We will run both the government and the party in a balanced manner.

People have high hopes from the ministries you get. How will you meet them?

That people have faith in us is a matter of pride for us. Now, it's time to not let the people down. Our major priority is a corruption-free nation because corruption has become a (kind of) culture here. Corruption has prohibited people from fulfilling their basic needs like education, health and employment. We will work and deliver on each promise we made during the election campaign.

Is your party anti-federalist?

This is a wrong narrative. We are not anti-federalist. We have asked for a directly-elected provincial chief and advocated a better provincial system. Our demand is that provinces not be turned into recruitment centers. Then how can we be against federalism?  We didn’t vote in the provincial ballot because we were not in that particular race. Being a political party, why would we vote for other parties? This was the real reason, while a wrong narrative prevailed. We couldn’t clarify our stance and that was, I think, our mistake. As for our ideology, it is inclusive democracy with social justice. How they define it with existing trends like leftist, rightist or centrist is up to the people and political parties.

After the breakup of the erstwhile ruling coalition, the Madhav Kumar Nepal-led CPN (United Socialist) seems to be in a dilemma on whether to join the government or stay in the opposition. After its split with the CPN-UML, it’s a given that the two parties are not on good terms. Many critics argue that the new ruling coalition under the CPN (Maoist Center) and the CPN-UML has endangered the future of the newly formed CPN (US). Against this backdrop, Pratik Ghimire of ApEx talked to Jagannath Khatiwada, deputy general secretary and head of the party’s publicity department.

Who do you think is responsible for the breakup of the previous coalition? Nepali Congress or the CPN (Maoist Center)?

For me, both parties are equally responsible. Sher Bahadur Deuba had pledged Pushpa Kamal Dahal premiership (for the first half of the five-year term), but he reneged on his promise. Congress, at first, cheated the Maoist Center. Partners in the previous coalition have always felt that Congress was dominating and insulting. Dahal had reiterated that he would never break the coalition for position and power. What he did is there for all to see. Dahal broke the coalition in the interest of regressive forces. So, he is responsible too.

Leaders of the Maoist Center point out that UML had shown regressive tendencies during the previous parliament. In their eyes, is the UML regressive no more?

That force was regressive a couple of days ago as well. After offering premiership to the Maoist party, the UML is no longer regressive? It has become progressive, automatically? Our party has no problem with the Maoist Chair Dahal becoming the prime minister. But he quit the previous ruling coalition without discussing the matter or giving anything in writing. That's where the problem lies.

Is it right for your party to join the new ruling coalition?

We have seen UML’s behavior and even experienced their domination for quite long. So, we will hold discussions within the party and think it through before making a decision. On what terms has this coalition taken shape? We have no idea. We have a bit of time to think about these things and make a decision. Our party will wait, watch and decide.

Are there any discussions in your party about merging with the Maoist Center or the UML?

It is not an agenda of the party’s working committee. But a few rounds of talks took place on the matter and we were positive on starting homework for the road ahead. But this chapter is closed for now.

Then when will we see expansion of your party organization at the district and local level?

The standing committee of the party has already met. Our party will soon call meetings of the central committee and the politburo. These meetings will decide our further political course and expansion of the party organization. We are committed to making long-term plans for the party.

Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba has come under heavy criticism from within the party for his role in breaking the five-party ruling alliance with the CPN (Maoist Center) and other fringe parties, something which made way for a ruling dispensation comprising the Maoist party, the CPN-UML and other fringe parties. Questions have also arisen as to what the NC will do next after this debacle that has ended up consigning the largest party in the parliament to the opposition bench in the federal parliament and the provincial assemblies.   In this context, Pratik Ghimire of ApEx talked to Gururaj Ghimire, a Congress leader.

Why did the NC-Maoist coalition fail?

In the coalition, I feel that every party has the right to claim the prime minister’s position. Dahal had openly asked for it. Chitra Bahadur KC too could have asked for it as he was among the veterans. So could have Loktantrik Samajbadi Party as no one from Madheshi communities has become Nepal’s prime minister as yet. We have discussed these agendas too. But in our party, people around Deuba cultivated in the Congress this mindset that the party should lead the government. For me, it’s not only the fault of the Maoists, but also the incapability of our party.

What will be the political scenario now?

There is a chance of the UML and the Maoist party uniting once again and CPN (US) becoming a part of it|. Together, they could be the largest party, which means the Congress losing everything in the federal and provincial cabinets. Our party should have thought about a possible scenario like this. Despite being the largest party, we have lost everything. This has impacted our cadres across the nation and I feel there is no way out for us for the next 10-15 years.

How will this impact the next general election?

We will have to compete with a mighty communist party, which is not an easy job. We felt it in the 2017 elections. The rise of the Rastriya Swatantra Party is also a matter of concern. They took the deputy prime minister and the home ministry. They will aggressively expand their party now, which will pose a serious challenge for us. This party has many advantages and options to attract the votes. There are multiple hurdles for us now, some more will come up in coming years.

What do you think of Deuba leadership?

There was an established narrative that our party president could easily handle the inter-party alliances. Even in our general convention, there was no discussion on the agendas. The only thing that came under discussion was Deuba’s capacity to give continuity to the alliance. But this narrative is no longer valid. I have only one expectation from him now. Deuba must admit he is not capable of running the party, should resign and make way for a new leadership. This must be discussed in our party meeting soon. If he doesn’t agree on this, there must be a call for a special convention to throw him out.

How do you see the future of NC?

If the party calls a special convention and manages all this mess, we will emerge stronger. But if this doesn’t happen and we wait for the current coalition to fail with the hope of rising again, I see a dark future for our party. This will lead our party to hell, literally. We need an aggressive reform in the party, at any cost.