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Nepal has been according high priority to the climate change issue which has emerged as the topic of global concern over the recent years.

Nepal's participation has also been increasing in the national and international programs and forums related to this issue.

In this context, Nepal has resumed preparations to organize 'Sagarmatha Sambaad (Dialogue)' after a long wait. Earlier in 2076 BS, preparations for the Sagarmatha Dialogue initiated by the then Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli-led government had to be postponed at the last moment due to COVID-19.

The government has advanced the Sagarmatha Dialogue to gain global leadership on climate change and advocate for climate justice.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Forests and Environment have initiated preparations for the event by forming various committees.

The Council of Ministers has made a decision to organize the Sagarmatha Sambaad every two years. In 2025, it is proposed to be convened on May 15, 16 and 17.

Heads of state and government of mountainous and maritime countries, experts working in the field of climate research, representatives of the private sector of national and international level, subject experts, media experts and social influencers will be especially invited to the dialogue.

Dialogue to be made part of International Year of Glaciers' Preservation

Joint-secretary and chief of the Climate Change Management Division at the Ministry of Forests, Dr Maheshwor Dhakal, said that Nepal is going to start the preparations for the Dialogue by declaring it as part of the International Year of Glacier Conservation tomorrow.

The United Nations is celebrating 2025 as the International Year of Glaciers' Preservation. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and UNESCO, representing the United Nations, are jointly launching the International Year of Glaciers' Preservation on January 21.

On this occasion, Prime Minister Oli will announce the Sagarmatha Sambaad in Nepal tomorrow or on January 21.

All ministers, secretaries, heads of diplomatic missions, chiefs of development partner organizations, heads and representatives of organizations working in the climate sector, media and others will participate in the announcement program to be held at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers.

The Sagarmatha Sambaad is going to be held for the first time in the country, under the theme of 'Climate Change, Mountain and Human Future'. Since COVID-19, four international conferences have been held in the field of climate change, namely COP-26 in Glasgow, COP-27 in Sharm El-Sheikh, COP-28 in Dubai and COP-29 in Baku. He said that since the climate agenda has become more pronounced, it is inevitable for Nepal to organize the Dialogue.

Joint Secretary Dr Dhakal, who is coordinating for the Dialogue, said, "Looking at the effects of climate change on the mountainous region and the problems faced by the local people, there is a need for more discussion and debate in this area. On the basis of this, the need to find solutions for collective efforts to develop the ability to deal with the effects of climate is being raised everywhere. Nepal has announced that it will reduce carbon emissions to zero by 2045.

Nepal's policies on climate are good, but the resources available for implementation are low and the capacity is weak economically and socially. "In spite of that, Nepal is providing services to the international community by protecting biological diversity and environment," he said, adding, "but instead of paying for these services, the international community has contributed to the melting of snow and glaciers on our mountains by emitting carbon."

According to him, during the dialogue, climate justice will be advocated for and if we fail to explain to the international community in time and find solutions, we may have to pay a huge price to save our human civilization. 

"Informing the international community about the impact of climate change on Nepal, thereby increasing capacity building for access to climate finance, increasing youth participation in technology development and expansion, providing more resources to local communities for adaptation are the objectives of the Dialogue."

Informing the world community about the pain of being exposed to high risk even with low carbon emissions, Nepal will also advocate during the Dialogue regarding the compensation that Nepal should receive from the damage it is suffering from climate change consequences and the payment for the environmental services provided by Nepal.

"Climate change is a serious global challenge to all. Its effect is more visible especially in countries like Nepal with a small crop and sensitive geography."

In this year alone, Nepal had to suffer a huge loss of life and property due to climatic disasters. It is estimated that climate-related risks and disasters will increase in the future. According to scientific studies, it is estimated that the temperature of the Himalayan region will be 0.3°C to 0.7°C higher than the average temperature of the world in the present and future.

Commercial banks have reported a healthy growth in margin lending in the first five months of the current fiscal year. According to Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), margin loans of 20 out of 19 commercial banks increased by 35.57 percent to Rs 86.33bn in mid-Dec 2024, compared to Rs 63.67 in mid-Dec 2023. 

Margin loans refers to loans extended by banks by accepting shares listed on the Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) as collateral.  Among commercial banks in the country, only Standard Chartered Bank Nepal Ltd has not issued margin loans. With liquidity in the banking system rising amid slowdown in credit disbursement and surging deposits, investors say banks are encouraging them to take margin loans.

The Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) removed the Rs 200m ceiling on margin loans for institutional investors through the Monetary Policy for fiscal year 2024/25. This means that institutional investors can now borrow as much as they want. The policy intervention has led to a surge in margin loan disbursements. Margin loans have been capped at Rs 120m for individuals. In the last fiscal year, lending against share collateral had declined by 18.1 percent. 

The total margin loans amounted to Rs 50.4bn in the fiscal year 2019/20. It grew by a whopping 110.84 percent to reach Rs 106.28bn by mid-Aug 2021 as investors poured money into the stock market due to a lack of viable investment avenues during the covid pandemic. Concerned by investment of over Rs 100bn in margin loans, the central bank started tightening such loans. As a result, such loans fell by 24.25 percent to Rs 80.5bn in mid-July 2022 and further to Rs 64bn in the next month.

Data provided by the central bank shows that margin loans of Nepal SBI Bank increased by a whopping 1,890.46 percent in the review period. The bank’s margin loans rose from Rs 23.94m in mid-December last year to Rs 476.58m in mid-December this year.

The bank, however, has the lowest exposure to margin lending. Nabil Bank Ltd has the highest exposure to margin loans among Class ‘A’ banks in the country. Such loans of the bank went up by 2.78 percent to Rs 11.39bn in mid-Dec 2024. The bank had disbursed Rs 11.08 billion in margin loans in mid-December last year.

Global Bank Ltd follows with total margin loans of Rs 11.31bn in mid-December this year—a growth of 77.87 percent from Rs 6.36bn in mid-December last year.

Table

Margin loan disbursement by commercial banks

Source: NRB 

The Gandaki Province Government has initiated plans to use Gurung and Magar languages as the official languages in the province.

Social Development Minister of Gandaki Province, Bindu Kumar Thapa, shared that processes have been forwarded to use the two languages for official communication in the province.

The Social Development Ministry conducted a program in Damauli on Sunday to collect recommendations for this purpose too.

Minister Thapa said that the province government has prepared a bill to use these two languages as the official languages and the recommendations have been collected from the districts. 

The bill is being formulated now and will be tabled in the Winter Session of the Gandaki Province Assembly, according to Minister Thapa. 

Minister Thapa argued that the move was aimed at preserving, promoting and developing the two dominant languages of the province, and to ensure prompt service delivery from the public agencies.  

The Language Commission of Nepal had also recommended the use of these two languages for official communications in the province.

In the province, Magar and Gurung communities make up 18.8 percent and 11 percent, respectively.

A workshop on autism conducted by Life Matra Nepal concluded successfully on Sunday.

Volunteers and health workers of the Kathmandu Metropolitan City-6 took part in the five-day event organized at the Urban Health Promotion Center, Ramhiti, Boudha, KMC-6.

The main objective of the workshop was to exchange knowledge and raise awareness about autism.

A report published by Autism Care Nepal Society (ACNS) estimated that 300, 000 children in Nepal are living with autism. Among them, 60,000 to 90,000 are severely affected.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), autism spectrum disorder (ASD) affects one in 160 children globally, and that boys are diagnosed with ASD more often than girls. However, some studies suggest that the gender disparity may be due to underdiagnosis of girls.

On the occasion, KMC-6 ward Chairman Bhuwan Lama underscored the need to develop a positive attitude towards breaking the deep-rooted stigma that autism is a mental illness. Instead, it is a development disorder.

He expressed his hope that this workshop would play an instrumental role to break the stigma towards autism in the society and encourage every individual and families to come forward and seek support they need.

Chairman Lama further hoped that this workshop would help the social workers go door-to-door to raise awareness about autism.

He also emphasized on expanding this kind of awareness campaign nationwide so as to educate the people about autism.

Life Mantra is an organization that raises mental health awareness through community programs, provides specialized counseling to help individuals overcome challenges and offers tailored training for education, health workers, parents and students.

The organization’s objective is to strive to foster social justice, equality, peace, and prosperity supporting disadvantaged groups like seniors, women, children and disaster survivors.

Life Mantra provides services like

- Individual Counseling (Relationship, Trauma, Depression, Anxiety, Stress)

- Yoga and Meditation

- Hiking for Well-being

- Training and Capacity Building Programs on Mental Health and Well-being

- Awareness Programs

- Parenting Skills Training

- Life Skills Training

- Rejuvenating Retreat