NC Gears Up For National Congress

The ruling Nepali Congress (NC) is gearing up for the 14th general convention scheduled to be held in Kathmandu from December 10. The country’s oldest democratic party is going to elect its leadership for the next four years. The NC that has already chosen its leadership at the local level also held elections for the Province Committee in six provinces on Saturday. In most provinces, camps led by president and Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, senior leader Ram Chandra Paudel and leader Krishna...

Guard Against Omicron

As more cases of Omicron variant have now been detected in many countries including India after its first identification on November 23 in South Africa, Nepal, too, is at high risk. Despite such a looming danger, people do not seem to be very serious about abiding by basic health safety protocols. The Nepali month of Mangsir (mid-November to mid-December) is a major wedding season when a large number of young men and women tie their nuptial knots. But it is a mat

Fresh UML Leadership

As the periodic elections energise democratic institutions and elect new national leadership, the conventions of political parties pick heads and office-bearers to strengthen and run their organisations. The national congresses are crucial to deciding the party policy and principles having broader implications not only for the life of a party but for the overall political and economic development of a nation. The national conventions boost inner-party democracy and offer chances to find new and competent...

End Child Marriage

The scourge of child marriage throughout the world is well documented. In an effort to stop the social evil from rearing its ugly head, many countries have enacted various laws. While the frequency of child marriage has dramatically dwindled across the world, thanks to the concerted efforts put into raising awareness, in impoverished countries plagued by a string of problems, such practice is still widespread. According to the UNICEF, child marriage is defined as a marriage of a girl or boy bef

Threat Of Omicron

The entire world is once again worried about the emergence of Omicron, a newer strain of SARS-CoV-2. Classified as B.1.1.529, Omicron is considered to be more transmissible than its previous variants. What is more worrying is that the variant, which was first detected in South Africa on November 24, has already been found transmitted to several countries, including Australia, Belgium, Botswana, Germany, Israel and India. Hong Kong has also reported two cases related to this variant. No sooner had...

End Gender-based Violence

Women in Nepal constitute more than 50 per cent of total population. Their strong demographic presence indicates their important role in the overall development process of the nation. Nepal has witnessed increased women empowerment over the years, thanks to the political awareness, education, constitutional arrangement, implementation of pro-women laws and frequent campaigns against female discrimination. Their

Call For Unity

Citizens look up to political parties and leaders whenever a country passes through a crisis. Ditto is true about Nepal and the Nepalis. Since the time the nation was transformed into a federal democratic state, the people have reposed their faith in leaders and parties, which have reciprocated positively on several occasions to respect the people's trust in them. They have launched various political movements and struggles in unison to realise the people's aspirations. This was quite evident when...

Check Tobacco Use

There is no denying the fact that smoking is hazardous to human health as it causes numerous diseases and inflicts harms to almost all organs of the body. All types of tobacco consumption are risky. Be it cigarette smoking, cigars, hookah smoking or roll-your-own tobacco, they cause damage to health in one way or the other. Cancer, heart disease, stroke, lung diseases and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (C

Misuse Of Social Sites

The rise of numerous social networking sites, better known as social media, have changed the way the people interact and develop relationship with each other. The virtual connectivity has become so powerful that even strangers turn close friends within a short span of messenger chats. Social sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are not just the means of sharing personal views and photos but also constructive platforms to share information and ideas. They are now effective instruments of...

End Evil Practices

Nepal has come a long way through various political, socio-economic and developmental changes and all these changes continue to contribute collectively to the betterment of the community and lives of the people as a whole. However, despite political restructuring and promulgation of the new constitution, Nepal has still been grappling with the medieval practices of caste-based discrimination, child marriages, dowry dema

Vaccination Gains Pace

Although Nepal had to face a shortage of COVID-19 vaccine and other logistics in the beginning, the country has lately managed to speed up the inoculation drive against the pandemic. According to the Ministry of Health and Population

Fulfil Climate Pledges

Situated along the southern slopes of the Himalayan mountains, Nepal boasts of distinct identity with towering peaks in the world. The Himalayan range has been source of civilisation, livelihoods and ecological system for centuries. The world’s tallest peak, Sagaramath (Mt. Everest), and scores of other mountains lie in this country. In a globalised world, these shiny mountains are of great attraction for the tourists engrossed in exploring thr

Importance Of Yoga, Ayurveda

The benefits associated with yoga are many. For several people, it is a treatment of bodily ailments without using medicines. Because of its harmlessness, yoga has become popular around the world and many follow it routinely, which also shows its significa

E-passports For Security

Nepal has finally introduced e-passports that ensure greater security than the Machine Readable Passports (MRPs). Senior culture expert Satya Mohan Joshi has become the first person to receive the biometric passport. On Wednesday, Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr. Narayan Khadka launched the e-passport by handing over the document to the 102-year-old Joshi. Having received the digital passport, Joshi handed over his old passport to the Department of Passport to keep it at the latter’s museum. It...

Boost Clean Energy Use

In recent United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, UK, Nepal presented ambitious plan to reduce emissions as Himalayan nation continues to face threat from the consequences of climate change. It promised to attain a net-zero emission by 2045, increase the share of clean energy in total energy demand to 15 per cent and forest cover to 45 per cent by 2030. Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, who addressed the historic

Nip Corruption In Bud

Corruption is an enemy of the development, progress and peace of the country. It may be creeping in every layer of institutions - be it in the public or private spheres of the society. Abuse of authority, financial misappropriation, bribery and poor public procurement practices can be described as corruption or irregularity but it may have wider tentacles and may be prevalent in subtle forms. Laxity in work, under performance, evading taxes, exploiting peop

MCC For Infrastructure

As Nepal is in dire need of infrastructure projects to help accelerate the development activities and revive the pandemic-hit economy, the country’s private sector has reiterated its call for endorsing the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC)'s Nepal Compact Programme. Various business associations, including Nepal-USA Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NUSACCI), have called on Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba to create an alliance of lawmakers to approve the US grant programme as soon as possible....

Census For Development

Demographic information is vital for devising development planning, policy and programmes. Population data are pooled from censuses, household surveys and routine data systems, which give insight into the size, social conditions and migration trend of people. Though a scientific analysis of population census provides data of people of particular time and place, it enables the government, private sector and international agencies to forecast social, economic a

Punish The Guilty

A recent investigation has unearthed that several high-ranking officials at one of the nation's prime health institutions were involved in irregularities, abuse of authorities and embezzlement, which make them worthy of due punishment. Owing to disregard for rules and regulations, these officials, indicted for their misconduct in the investigative report, have left the BP Koirala Institute of Health and Sciences (BPKIHS) in disarray in recent times. Following months of upheavals at the BPKIHS that...

Make Census Count

Nepal has more than 110-year-old history of population census. In 1911, the country carried out the first population count. The initial censuses were less precise and scientific as compared to the modern ones owing to lack of educational and technological advancement. Four censuses undertaken prior to the 1952/54 census are dubbed as ‘head counts’ because they enumerated only the population. The 1952/54 census was take