KATHMANDU, March 21: The government has decided to accept a grant aid of 50 million Euros from the European Union for the school education sector programs.

KATHMANDU, March 20: Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has said that he will hold discussions from tomorrow to give full shape to the cabinet.

KATHMANDU, March 20: The government has halted the decision made by the thematic committee of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development and has decided to continue the subsidy on chemical fertilizers.

KATHMANDU, March 20: The government has asked for suggestions from various stakeholders regarding the revenue policy to be included in the financial act for the fiscal year 2023/24.

KATHMANDU, March 20: In the name of administrative reform, more than two dozen high-level commissions, working groups and committees have been formed in the last 71 years. But instead of implementing most of the reports given by those commissions, working groups and committees, the government is shying away from its responsibilities against public interest.

KATHMANDU, March 19: The Nepali Congress (NC) is going to participate in the government led by Pushpa Kamal Dahal.

KATHMANDU, March 18: The government has started issuing permits for mountain climbers in the spring season.

The government has recently announced measures to tackle the widening budget deficit caused by low revenue collection. The budget deficit as of eight months of the current fiscal year 2022/23 has surpassed Rs 156.44 billion, with the government having spent Rs 779.23 billion of its budget as of mid-March this year, while the revenue collection stood at Rs 622.78 billion.

KATHMANDU, March 16: The government has removed the provision of two-year in issuing labor permits for foreign employment. The provision was removed by a Prime-Ministerial decision, according to the Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security.

Mayday call for economy

March 15, 2023 07:30 am

The news report of the government failing to meet the revenue collection target for the first eight months of the current fiscal year is alarming. The government's inability to generate enough revenue indicates that it may not be able to fund its development projects and maintain its regular operations.

KATHMANDU, March 14: The government has not been able to meet the revenue collection target of the first six months of the current financial year even in eight months. By the end of eight months of the current financial year, there is a huge gap between the targeted revenue collection and actual collection.

KATHMANDU, March 14: The government has cut the grant amounts being provided to farmers for the purchase of chemical fertilizers, which will hit farmers hard with expensive agricultural inputs.

KATHMANDU, March 8: The country's public debt is increasing every year. By mid-February of the current fiscal year (FY 2022/23), the debt liability of the government has reached about Rs 2 trillion. Experts have said that the country's economy has become more challenging due to the increasing debt obligations.

Danger Ahead, Caution Needed!

March 8, 2023 07:40 am

The rapidly growing public debt in Nepal is a cause for concern, and officials’ assurances that the country can handle public debt up to 53 percent of the country’s GDP should not be taken lightly. The government has been relying on loans to meet the regular expenditure of the country, which is not a good sign, and if not addressed, could lead to economic doom for Nepal.

KATHMANDU, March 6: The government has prepared the legal basis for the 10 billion rupees worth project announced to be established by the Non-Resident Nepali Association (NRNA). To encourage non-resident Nepalis to invest in Nepal, the conditions for establishing an investment company have been amended.

KATHMANDU, March 4: The government has amended the conditions for establishing investment companies in order to encourage non-resident Nepalis to invest in Nepal.

KATHMANDU, March 3: The government has decided to hike the price of milk by Rs 9 per litter.

KATHMANDU, March 2: The government has added five more locations for receiving applications for the National Identity Card.

PM Dahal’s troubling message

March 1, 2023 08:02 am

It is highly concerning to learn that Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has stopped Foreign Minister Bimala Rai Paudyal from attending the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) meeting in Geneva, and has instead sent his advisor Gobinda Bandi, whose appointment was not publicized before, to represent Nepal in the international forum. This move raises serious questions about the government's commitment to human rights and the rule of law. This also shows how our diplomacy is heavily politicized in Nepal.

KATHMANDU, Feb 28: The government has operated the Integrated Website Management System (IWMS) and the web monitoring system in a bid to strengthen security system by bringing uniformity in websites of all government sectors.

KATHMANDU, Feb 26: The government is preparing to issue an entry pass with a photo and expiry date on it for the entry of the visitors into the Singhadurbar, the main administrative center in the country.

Govt fixes support price of wheat

February 26, 2023 09:30 am

KATHMANDU, Feb 26: The government has determined the support price of wheat. A meeting of the Council of Ministers on February 23 decided to fix the price of wheat at Rs 3,351 per quintal for the fiscal year 2079/080.

RPP exits from govt, withdraws support

February 25, 2023 10:38 am

KATHMANDU, Feb 25: The Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) has decided to withdraw from the government led by Pushpa Kamal Dahal.

KATHMANDU, Feb 24: After receiving complaints that there were too many public holidays, the government has decided to open essential services on public holidays except Saturdays.

KATHMANDU, Feb 24: The government is preparing a working guideline to provide startups with collateral free subsidized loans of up to Rs 2.5 million.

KATHMANDU, Feb 18: The government has announced eight industrial villages across the country. As per government decision, the places to have the industrial village are Mandandeupur-6, Bethanchowk-2, Likhu-4, Raghuganga-2, Tatopani-4, Ribdikot-3, Ruruchhetra-4, and Apihimal-4.

KATHMANDU, Feb 17: The government has withdrawn the First Amendment to the Constitutional Council Bill, 2079 (Functions, Duties, Powers and Procedures), which was submitted to the parliament.

The recent move by the government to table a bill in parliament with the aim to amend the law and legalize unsourced wealth is a gross violation of international best practices in curbing money laundering. The proposed amendment, which would allow those with illegally acquired wealth to legitimize their assets by paying taxes, is a backward step in Nepal's fight against corruption.

KATHMANDU, Feb 16: The government has proposed to amend the law so as to legalize unsourced wealth by paying tax. A bill has been presented in parliament to amend some laws related to the 'Prevention of Money Laundering and Promotion of Business Environment' to help legitimize the wealth illegally earned by top politicians, businessmen and corrupt government employees.

KATHMANDU, Feb 16: The government is reluctant to release Resham Chaudhary, the founding chairman of Nagarik Unmukti Party (NUP) who is allegedly the mastermind behind the Tikapur carnage.

KATHMANDU, Feb 15: The government is making preparations for mandatory use of operating licenses to carry out real estate transactions.

KATHMANDU, Feb 14: As the government is unable to improve its capacity to spend the development budget, the work progress of national pride projects appears pathetic.

KATHMANDU, Feb 14: The government has called the agitating transport workers for dialogue today.

KATHMANDU, Feb 14: The Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) led by Rabi Lamichhane has decided not to join the government ‘anytime soon’ even though the ruling CPN-UML is exerting pressure on Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal to bring the party onboard the government.

KATHMANDU, Feb 13: The government has reduced the size of the budget for the current fiscal year.

KATHMANDU, Feb 12: The decision of the Pushpa Kamal Dahal-led government to declare a public holiday on Monday to mark the People's War Day has drawn severe backlash. A cabinet meeting held on Sunday took a decision to this effect.

KATHMANDU, Feb 8: Minister for Communications and Information Technology Rekha Sharma has said that efforts are being made to bring the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) back into the government.

KATHMANDU, Feb 6: The government has begun homework on presenting the bills of public interest and concern in parliament.

It's a good thing that we have a wealth of "isms" – communism, Marxism, Leninism, Maoism, socialism, liberalism, capitalism etc - to choose from to solve poverty, because clearly, just one isn't enough!

Act with caution

February 6, 2023 07:35 am

Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) on Sunday decided to pull out of the government led by Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal. All minister representing the RSP submitted their resignation to Prime Minister Dahal on Sunday itself. Although the party has decided not to immediately withdraw its support to the government, the decision of the RSP to quit the government barely 41 days in office has raised concerns over the possibility of a fresh round of political instability in the country.

KATHMANDU, Feb 2: Chairman of the ruling CPN-UML KP Sharma Oli has said that he does not feel that the current government is in crisis.

KATHMANDU, Feb 2: The Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) has called a joint meeting of the Central Committee and the Parliamentary Party.

KATHMANDU, Feb 2: The government has decided to cut down unnecessary expenses to maintain a fiscal balance that has become vulnerable due to the gap in government expenditure and income.

KATHMANDU, Jan 24: Cable television entrepreneurs have warned of protest if the government does not create an environment for regular transmission of cable television services.

KATHMANDU, Jan 23: The government has failed to bring in the new electricity act even in one and a half decades of finalizing the related draft.

KATHMANDU, Jan 19: The government collected mere Rs 1.23 billion in capital gains tax (CGT) out of the stock transactions in the first half of the current fiscal year, which was almost one-seventh of the amount generated under the heading during the same period in the last fiscal year.

KATHMANDU, Jan 19: The government has fixed the minimum support price of sugarcane at Rs 540 per quintal, which is Rs 20 more than the floor price set for the last fiscal year.

JSP not to join the govt anytime soon

January 18, 2023 17:45 pm

Janata Samajwadi Party (JSP) Nepal has decided not to join the government anytime soon. A Parliamentary Party (PP) meeting of the JSP held on Wednesday decided not to join the government immediately, according to JSP.

KATHMANDU, Jan 16: The government’s revenue collection fell short of the total expenses by Rs 81.50 billion in the first half of the current fiscal year, which ended Saturday.

KATHMANDU, Jan 15: Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC), which used to seek funds from the government to pay its loans, has started to shoulder its own financial liabilities after an improvement in its daily businesses.