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Slumping foreign reserves have raised fears that Nepal could be another Sri Lanka in the making. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has increased the cost of imports, saddling Nepal’s economy with galloping inflation.

According to the World Bank, exporting countries such as Vietnam, Thailand, and Mexico are seeing significant decline in their manufacturing capacity, particularly in energy-intensive sectors, as a result of the war. Crop exporters such as Turkey, Brazil, and India, as well as fossil fuel exporters like Nigeria and Middle-East countries are also facing difficulty with exports.

Analyzing the data from the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies, Nepal gets almost two-thirds of the goods—from petroleum to cereals—from India. With India itself grappling with the economic jolt dealt by the Russia-Ukraine war, Nepal is not just importing goods but also inflation. Currently, every exporting country that Nepal relies on has been facing a price hike, which automatically drives up the import rates. 

Looking at the data, Nepal’s import bill seems to be increasing in the alternate years we tracked, starting from the fiscal year 2009/10. The increment started well ahead of the Russian-Ukraine war. The war only acted as a catalyst to push Nepal towards an economic crisis.

The government has enforced restrictions on the import of luxury goods to maintain the country’s dwindling foreign currency reserves, but it continues to import the essentials like petroleum and cereals, as well as raw materials like iron and steel at increased rates. 

Easier to import goods than manufacture them in Nepal

Pabitra Bajracharya, President, Nepal Retailers Association 

Although we can see that the import cost has reduced significantly in 2020, it was a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. The import rate, without a doubt, will escalate in the coming years. One of the solutions to reducing imports is promoting domestic goods. But the policy for domestic production is not favorable for investors as well as industry owners. 

Our policies have made it easier to import goods rather than manufacture them within the country, increasing the country’s dependency on foreign goods. The reason for this is the higher cost of manufacturing in Nepal. 

Moreover, importing raw materials, ensuring the manufacture of final goods and hoping to make profit out of them are tedious processes. It is far easier to import, which also ensures profit for a lot of businesspersons. 

There is also the insecurity of not being able to attract an adequate number of buyers. This insecurity is driving up imports and discouraging local manufacturing. 

The constant increase in the import cost seen over the last decade might be pushing Nepal towards a devastating economic crisis. The Russia-Ukraine war has hugely affected the import rate. 

If we do not proceed with caution, Nepal will become the next Sri Lanka before we know it. 

A strong tremor was felt in Kathmandu on Saturday morning.

At least 14 people were killed and around 40 others injured after a fire swept through a nightclub in Chonburi province in south-eastern Thailand, BBC reported.

The fire broke out at 01:00 local time on Friday (18:00 GMT Thursday) at the Mountain B nightspot in Sattahip district, police said.

Footage shows people screaming as they flee, some with clothes on fire. 

The cause of the fire is not clear, with rescuers saying flammable material on the walls may have exacerbated it. 

The venue in Chonburi, a province located 150km (90 miles) south of Bangkok, was a single-storey complex measuring 4,800 square metres (51,660 square feet).

Firefighters battled for more than two hours to bring the fire under control, local media reported. The blaze apparently broke out during a live music performance at the venue, according to the mother of one of the music performers who died in the incident.

Bodies of the victims were mostly found near the entrance and in the bathrooms. Others were found near the DJ booth. 

So far, all those who died are believed to be Thai nationals. 

Officials from the Sawang Rojanathammasathan Rescue Foundation said flammable acoustic foam on the club's walls might have accelerated the speed at which the fire tore through the venue. 

Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha on Friday ordered an investigation into the fire, and said that families of the victims would receive aid from authorities. He also urged entertainment venues nationwide to ensure they had proper emergency exits and safety measures in place.

Officials said the venue had been turned from a restaurant into a nightclub and was likely operating without permission, according to BBC.

This is not the first time a deadly fire has broken out in a Thai nightclub. 

In 2009, more than 60 people died in Bangkok after a fire spread at the Santika Club in the early hours of New Year's Day. Two men, including the owner of the club, were jailed in 2011.

And a fire at a nightclub in the popular Thai tourist destination of Phuket in 2012 killed four people and injured about a dozen others.

A campaign has been put in place to eradicate tuberculosis from Nepal by 2050.

Minister for Health and Population Bhawani Prasad Khapung inaugurated a workshop organized by the National Tuberculosis Control Center here today to review and expand the Tuberculosis-Free Nepal campaign.

Minister Khapung called for cooperation from NGOs, INGOs and international stakeholders to eradicate tuberculosis from Nepal within the stipulated time.

The campaign is being launched in 25 local levels at present and would be expanded to all 753 local levels within four years, the Minister said.

Similarly, Shyam Sundar Yadav, secretary at the Ministry of Health and Population, viewed that if local level would track down tuberculosis patients at every home and relay information to the Centre, the patients would avail medical intervention on time.

Janakpur Sub-Metropolitan City Mayor Manoj Kumar Shah opined that many people would be benefited if the campaign was taken forward in coordination and collaboration with the people's representatives.

Last year around 17,000 people died of tuberculosis in Nepal on the part of concerned authorities' managerial weakness, shared tuberculosis experts Dr Dirgha Singh Bom, Dr Rajendra Panta and Dr Maheshwor Shrestha. They pressed for an effective strategy to eliminate tuberculosis from the country.

Centre's executive director Sanjay Thakur shed light on the campaign in the workshop attended by representatives from various provinces of the country.