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The Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security is to issue the institutional and individual labour permit from the seven provinces from January 8. Before this, the Ministry had been providing the labour permits only from Kathmandu. In this connection, the labor permits would be issued from the Employment Office at Biratnagar and Janakpur also from coming Sunday, the Ministry stated. The Employment Office at Biratnagar and Janakpur had been only renewing the labour permit. Secretary at the Ministry Ek Narayan Aryal said that from January 8, the Employment Office at Janakpur and Biratnagar will also be issuing the institutional and individual labour permits. According to him, the Foreign Employment Office at Pokhara and Butwal have been providing all three types of services, including issuing institutional and individual labour permits and their renewal. Renewal of labour permit and issuance of individual labour permit has been started from the Labor and Employment Office at Surkhet and Kailali also. Arrangements have been made for providing all types of labour permits from the Labour and Employment Office based at Biratnagar and Janakpur from next Sunday, Joint Secretary and Ministry Spokesperson Dundu Raj Ghimire said. With this, provision has been made for issuing all types of labor permits from the Labor and Employment Office in all the seven provinces. The Ministry stated through a press release that arrangements have been made for accessing all types of labour permits online without the service-seeker having to be present in person at the Labour Office and the problem of having to face various hassles has been removed.  

The government made public the decisions of the Cabinet meeting held on Thursday. Government spokesperson and Finance Minister Bishnu Poudel made public the decisions on Friday. He said that the Cabinet meeting has given approval to carry out the Organization and Management Survey to establish a customs office at Pokhara International Airport on the proposal of the Ministry of Finance. Similarly, the government has decided to hold the National Assembly by-election on February 8. The government has also decided to provide Rs 1 million each to the family of Sanjeeb AD and Chetan AD who died during the elections to the House of Representatives and Province Assembly. Likewise, the meeting has decided to provide financial support to bring the body of Nirakar Pandey, who died in a fire in Cambodia, to Nepal. On top of that, the government has decided to appoint Toyama Raya as Finance Secretary and Ram Prasad Ghimire as Revenue Secretary.  

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has instructed the Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) to take steps for reducing the prices of petroleum products. According to the Prime Minister’s Secretariat, the head of the government directed the oil monopoly to adjust the prices of petroleum products commensurate with the international market price. At present, the prices of petroleum products have fallen in the global market. During his meeting today with Toyam Raya, Secretary at the Ministry of Commerce and Supplies, at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, the Prime Minister gave this instruction. The Commerce Secretary is the Chairperson of NOC, the State’s monopoly of oil supplies. According to the NOC latest details, the NOC is likely to secure a profit of Rs 990 million in 15 days. Despite a fall in the petro prices in the international market, the NOC is reluctant to adjust the prices citing a burden of previous losses though it has already switched to an automatic fuel pricing system. As it says, their debt obligation is worth Rs 18 billion. The PM’s direction follows the NOC stand not to reduce the prices in spite of a wider pressure for the same.

The government has decided to appoint Toyam Raya as the secretary of the Ministry of Finance. A Cabinet meeting held on Thursday decided to appoint Raya, Secretary at the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, as the secretary of the Ministry of Finance. Similarly, the meeting has also decided to appoint Ram Prasad Ghimire as the revenue secretary. Earlier, he was in the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA).