Public debt exceeds 45 percent of country's GDP
The public debt obligation has crossed 45 percent of the gross domestic product of the country.
As per the report published by the Public Debt Management Office, the government loan stood at Rs 2.611 trillion till February 12 of the current fiscal year 2024/25.
"The public debt was Rs 2.434 trillion in the beginning of the current fiscal year and it was added by Rs 176 billion till February 12. The total public debt till February 12 stood at 45.77 per cent of the country's GDP," according to the report.
Of the total public debt, 50.87 percent is external loan and 49.13 per cent internal loan. The internal loan reached Rs 1.282 trillion while the external loan was Rs 1.328 trillion.
The country faced an additional loan burden of Rs 36.59 billion till the period due to plummeting value of Nepali currency against the US dollar.
The government had set the target of mobilizing Rs 547 billion public debts for the current fiscal year. The Office said it has raised Rs 290.57 billion public loans so far. The total public debt raised so far is 53.12 per cent of the annual target.
The government has the target of raising Rs 330 billion in domestic loans and Rs 217 billion in external loans in the current fiscal year.
The Office said that Rs 229.15 billion towards internal and Rs 61.42 billion towards external public debt has been raised until February 12 of the current fiscal year 2024/25 starting July16, 2024. The loan raised so far towards domestic comprises 69 percent and towards external 28.31 percent of the annual target.
Similarly, the government has allocated Rs 402.85 billion for paying the principal and the interest of the public debt. The Office stated that Rs 178.75 billion has been paid as principal and interest in the last seven months. The debt servicing expenditure until February 12 is 3.31 percent of the GDP.
159 students arrive home from India’s KIIT
Following the untoward incidents that occurred after the suspicious death of a Nepali student, Prakriti Lamsal, at Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) some days ago, 159 Nepali students at KIIT have returned home so far via Raxaul border.
Assistant Chief District Officer of Parsa, Suman Kumar Karki, said that 159 Nepali students arrived home from the Raxaul border point on Thursday evening.
Meanwhile, the youth in Birgunj organized a candlelight rally on Thursday evening calling to ensure justice to Prakriti Lamsal and one Rinku Sada, who was murdered after her rape in Siraha district.
One killed as three bikes collide in Bhaktapur
A person died and another sustained critical injuries after three motorcycles collided at Nalinchowk of Suryabinayak Municipality-9 in Bhaktapur district last night.
According to the Traffic Police in Bhaktapur, 21-year-old Timba Dorje Tamang of Sunapati Rural Municipality-4, Ramechhap district died while receiving treatment at Iwamura Hospital in Bhaktapur.
Likewise, Sajan Tamang (24) of Suryabinayak Municipality-9 is receiving treatment in a critical condition at Madhyapur Hospital.
1,081 incidents of human rights violation reported in Sudurpaschim Province
A total of 1,081 incidents of human rights violations and excesses have been reported in the Sudurpaschim Province in 2024.
The data was shared at a press conference on 'Nepal Human Rights Yearbook 2025 and the Situation of Human Rights in the Province' organized by the Informal Sector Service Centre (INSEC) Sudurpaschim Province Office, Dhangadhi on Wednesday.
INSEC Province Coordinator Khadkaraj Joshi said that 1,999 people across the province were affected by human rights violations and atrocities in 2024.
According to him, in 2024, 11 cases of human rights violations, including one woman and 10 men, and 1,088 cases of excesses, including 1,094 women and 34 men, were reported in the province.
It was informed on the occasion that there were 11 victims from the state side, including two in cases of beating, six in cases of arrest, one in case of death in jail, one death in custody and one in case of inhuman treatment.
Similarly, nine people were killed due to beating and assaults using sharp-edged weapons, 11 were injured while 105 cases were related to child rights violations, three to caste discrimination, 947 to women's rights violations, two to inhuman treatment, eight to beating and three to cases of intimidation.
He said that the number of victims of human rights and intimidation has decreased in 2024 compared to 2023.
The number of victims decreased by 102 people in 2024 compared to 2023.
