My Republica

Mukesh Khanal

The author is an economist and a public policy researcher.
mukhanal@gmail.com

Nepal’s FDI Landscape: Issues and Solutions

Published On: November 2, 2023 08:10 AM NPT By: Mukesh Khanal

FDI brings not only capital into a country, but also transfers knowledge and technology from the sender to the recipient country. China benefited immensely from these. To some extent, this has happened in India and Bangladesh, but not so much in Nepal because Nepal’s FDI landscape is littered with issues that hurt the flow of FDI and the associated knowledge and technology transfers.

The Young, the Old, and the Dependent

Published On: October 8, 2023 09:00 AM NPT By: Mukesh Khanal

Had we been a European country, our youths would have launched multiple revolutions and overthrown their governments. Luckily for Nepal’s polity and the ruling class, our youths have a fatalistic attitude (courtesy of the Hindu belief) and accept the crisis they face as fate. They choose to migrate overseas for opportunities instead of confronting their ruling class.

What Ails Nepali Entrepreneurship?

Published On: September 21, 2023 08:45 AM NPT By: Mukesh Khanal

These last few weeks, I had opportunities to interact with a variety of entrepreneurs—taxi drivers, pharmacists, retail store owners, streetside vegetable vendors, automobile mechanics, non-profit organization directors, and for-profit organization directors. One consistent theme that emerged out of these interactions was that Nepal does not have a supportive climate to be an entrepreneur.

Talking movies during the coronavirus pandemic

Published On: May 14, 2020 02:00 PM NPT By: Mukesh Khanal

Recent weeks have seen a flurry of news items and interviews about the state of the Nepali movie industry in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.

What plagues Nepali movies?

Published On: August 31, 2019 12:25 AM NPT By: Mukesh Khanal

Recently, two supposedly super-hit Nepali movies uploaded in Youtube caught my attention: Anmol KC starrer “Kri” and Ramesh Upreti starrer “Aishwarya.” These movies highlight major issues plaguing the Nepali movie industry today.

Director and the troll

Published On: June 15, 2019 01:30 AM NPT By: Mukesh Khanal

Whether a movie is actually bad is beside the point. Your movie may win an Oscar, but if I don’t like it, I still have the freedom to shout from the mountain tops that your movie is bad

Humanity and power

Published On: April 7, 2019 12:25 AM NPT By: Mukesh Khanal

Humanity and power have an inverse relationship.  If that sounds like too strong an opinion, let us see two related examples. First, the Armed Police Force’s vehicle escorting Lokendra Bahadur Chand brushed a scooter riding female in the street. The police vehicle did not stop to check if the scooter rider was alright.

In defense of private schools

Published On: January 15, 2019 01:00 AM NPT By: Mukesh Khanal

Why can’t an entrepreneur open a private school and make profit in the process? Why don’t we let the market decide if it wants private schools?

Renewed opportunity

Published On: May 13, 2018 12:45 AM NPT By: Mukesh Khanal

It is only natural that two centuries of state-sponsored policies by and for the benefits of the ruling hill castes would one day boil over

Are we prepared?

Published On: February 12, 2018 01:00 AM NPT By: Mukesh Khanal

If matured federal republic like Canada still faces inter-provincial trade war, how can we be confident we won’t experience the same?

No quick fix

Published On: July 11, 2017 12:25 AM NPT By: Mukesh Khanal

Madhesi leaders do disservice to their constituents when they time and again ask “Are we there, yet?”

History revisited

Published On: July 3, 2017 12:25 AM NPT By: Mukesh Khanal

Exploitation of the country’s people and its riches truly took place during the continuous 105 years of Rana rule

Demonetizing corruption

Published On: November 28, 2016 12:15 AM NPT By: Mukesh Khanal

Kaushik Basu has proposed that the law be amended to reflect that giving bribe is legal but taking it is not

Trump phenomenon

Published On: November 15, 2016 12:15 AM NPT By: Mukesh Khanal

Much of white working class America sees the non-white immigrant population as the “other” and feels threatened by it

Faulty tool

Published On: October 25, 2016 12:35 AM NPT By: Mukesh Khanal

What would have happened if there was a referendum in 2007 on whether to accept the peace deal with the Maoist rebels?