In Fiscal Year 2065/66 BS, the government set an ambitious target to eradicate illiteracy within two years through the National Literacy Campaign. Along with the announcement, a budget of approximately Rs 1.4 billion was estimated for the initiative.

More ‘austerity’

Published On: September 10, 2024 07:39 AM NPT By: Republica

Ever since returning to power, the Shehbaz Sharif government has been pushing an austerity narrative like all previous dispensations. This narrative is mostly built around the announcement of superficial measures and is not backed by concrete policy.

DDC must reform to address farmers' plight

Published On: September 9, 2024 07:30 AM NPT By: Republica

The government's recent decision to provide a loan of NPR 600 million to the Dairy Development Corporation (DDC) to settle the outstanding payments owed to milk-producing farmers is a step in the positive direction. This loan aims to clear the unpaid dues of the farmers.

Education lays the path for progress, but not everything that passes for education is a universal good. Immediate corrective measures are needed when it strays from its path, and the government’s decision to withdraw the Competency-Based Medical Education Curriculum guidelines published by the National Medical Commission (NMC) rich with blundering interpretations, jerks a retrograde move back within law, and reason.

Laudable Decision to Shun Pre-Electoral Alliance

Published On: September 7, 2024 07:30 AM NPT By: Republica

The Nepali Congress (NC) and the CPN-UML, two of Nepal’s major political parties, have decided not to enter into pre-poll alliances for the next general election, scheduled three years from now. Both parties’ internal committees have already backed this decision to contest the election independently

Fragile stability

Published On: September 6, 2024 07:46 AM NPT By: Republica

Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has once again contended that ‘Pakistan is heading in the right direction’, conceding the urgency of securing external financing for the approval of its $7bn bailout package by the IMF executive board.

Dhulikhel city in Kavrepalanchowk district has become the first 'healthy city' of Nepal. Not only is this city the first in Nepal, but it is also the second healthiest city in Asia.

The way out

Published On: September 4, 2024 07:45 AM NPT By: Republica

Our politicians seem to have no appetite for politics: they would all rather ride to power in a jeep than on the shoulders of the masses they claim to represent. Despite the wanton destruction wrought on the structural framework of Pakistani democracy over the last two years, neither its victims nor its beneficiaries seem to have had enough.

Handle Constitution Amendment with Care

Published On: September 3, 2024 06:20 AM NPT By: Republica

Given that the constitution is the fundamental law of the country, it is essential to achieve broader consensus among the people and the political parties that represent them. In fact, constitutional amendment was not a primary issue in the House of Representatives election, meaning the current parliament lacks the mandate—and arguably the moral right—to amend the constitution. This issue must therefore be handled with great care.

Growth matrix: On the economy’s performance

Published On: September 2, 2024 07:55 AM NPT By: Republica

The first official gauge of the economy’s performance so far in 2024-25 pegs real GDP growth at 6.7% between April and June, a five-quarter low and below the central bank’s projection.