Standing Prepared For Monsoon Fury

Within the first week of the start of this year's monsoon, flash floods and landslides triggered by torrential rains have wreaked havoc in different parts of the country, killing several people and causing a huge loss of public and private properties.

COVID-focused Budgets

Nepal’s seven provinces are pulling their weight to stand on the firm financial footing. In February 2018, all seven provinces had formed their governments following their elections in November and December of 2017. Considered as the pillar of federalism, these provinces are striving to achieve a balanced, equal and sustainable development. In their budgets for the fiscal year 2021/22 unveiled on Tuesday, they sought to attain this goal. They target to eradicate COVID-19 pandem

The Jumbo Migration

A few days ago, a herd of wandering 15 elephants in China hit the headlines of the media across the globe. Around this time, Nepal witnessed the similar sight of migrant elephants wandering and entering Nepal from India. On June 10, a herd of around 40 to 45 elephants entered Bardiya district of Nepal from across the border. The elephants, including their calves, entered the Shiva Community Forest in the district through Khata Wildlife Corridor from Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary in Uttar Pr

Oxygen Adequacy And COVID-19 Treatment

It is needless to say that oxygen is the lifeblood of the human body. Medical oxygen is considered as an essential substance in the treatment of patients suffering from ailments ranging from pneumonia, heart failure, sleep apnea, asthma, lung disease, bronchopul

Provinces Focus On Fighting Pandemic

Despite the chaotic political environment, Nepal’s federalism is sailing smoothly. In 2015 when the Constituent Assembly promulgated the historic constitution, Nepal formally ushered into a federal democratic republic. Its transformation from a unitary state to a federal one brought structural changes in the governance system. It created three-tier political and administrative units – federal, provincial and local. In 2017, elections to the three levels of government were held successfully to...

Tackling Monsoon Predicaments

This year's monsoon has already entered the country from the eastern region. Following a build-up of low pressure around the Bay of Bengal region, the monsoon clouds entered Nepal from Province 1 in eastern Nepal. After reaching Province 2 and Ba

Chure Conservation Issue

As Nepal's ecology is very fragile, the country has an important role to play in preserving the natural environment. There is no doubt that the country has expressed its firm commitment to abiding by many international conventions and pacts associated with the ecological conservation. The nation has been working towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) despite facing a variety of constraints and challenges. This is certainly a testimony to the fact that Nepal is making a great stride...

Easing The FDI Flow

With the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic more than a year ago, the global economy has nose-dived on an unprecedented scale. The global health crisis forced nations to adopt tough restrictive measures, including lockdown and prohibitory orders to rein in the spread of coronavirus. The transport, trade, manufacturing and tourism has come to a grinding halt, triggering massive lay-offs and economic recession. The pandemic has badly struck the economic globalisation as the globa

Development In Focus

Politics reigns supreme in a state as it influences every sector of the society including the economy. However, the statecraft is not the end in itself; it is basically a means to ensure development, prosperity and happiness of the citizens. End is more important than the means. Politics for the sake of politics, with its departure from ends, cannot win the trust of the people.  Systems of governance that fail to deliver development and prosperity cannot sustain. Working of a syst

Vaccinating The Elderly

Even amidst a shortage of vaccines against COVID-19 in Nepal, the government has started vaccinating people aged 60-64 across the country since June 8. This has become possible with the support of one million more doses of Vero Cell vaccine from China. Th

Defunding The Pork Barrel Programmes

Just, judicious and need-based allocation of resources is the key to the success of any development project. The development budget needs to be allocated and spent based on the principle of equity, fairness and necessity. It should enhance basic infrastructure development, create jobs and fuel economic growth. This is because the countries with scarce resources lack economic wherewithal to boost the development activities. Failure to properly utilise the tax payers’ money result in failure of projects....

Preserving Ecosystem

Environmental degradation has become a burning issue in the modern world. The exploitation of the environment has increased in recent years with the increase in population, land encroachment, unmanaged infrastructure construction, rapid urbanisation and higher growth of industrialisation. Climate change, an outcome of environmental degradation, has led to major environmental disasters. The rise in temperature, natural calamities, loss of habitats, difficulties in availing safe drinking water as

Extension Of Restriction

The number of COVID-19 infections and deaths seems to have been showing a downturn trend gradually even in the virus hotpots like the Kathmandu Valley and Nepalgunj, thanks to strict preventive measures, including the partial prohibitory orders. The local administration has extended the prohibition order in the capital valley for the next 10 days since June 4. The decision in this connection was taken by a joint meeting of the Chief District Officers of Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur distric

Irreparable Loss

The novel coronavirus disease has turned out as the cruellest pandemic of the 21st century. Even if the world has succeeded in making anti-COVID-19 vaccines within a year of its outbreak, the loss of lives and economic costs it caused were beyond imagination. Over 3.5 million people have succumbed to the pandemic that hit almost all countries across the globe. It has exposed unequal social order, turned the economy upside down and created political crises in many places. T

Preparations Toward Budget Execution

The budget estimate for the upcoming fiscal year 2021/22 presented on Saturday by Minister for Finance Bishnu Prasad Paudel has an ambitious plan to revive the COVID-19 pandemic- hit economy back to its healthy shape. Targeting a growth of 6.5 per cent at this difficult situation is a challenging affair but post-pandemic recovery naturally calls for steps that are progressive and untraditional. The budget statement has injected new rays of hope in all sectors of national life and

Ensure Gender Equality

Despite having a patriarchal social structure, Nepal has been making a steady progress in terms of reducing gender inequality. As achieving gender equality is one of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the country has remained effortful in realising this. The Constitution of Nepal, 2015 envisages a society which is free from all sorts of gender disparity. Article 43 of the national charter deals with women's social, economic and health-related rights. It ensures their rights to lineage, right...

People-Centric Budget

The government unveiled the annual budget for the fiscal year 2021/22 on Saturday, which primarily seeks to end COVID-19 pandemic and gain fast economic recovery. The post-pandemic phase demands greater investment to revive economy through growth, reconstruction, and employment generation so the budget size has been increased by Rs. 173 billion from the last fiscal year. While announcing the budget of Rs. 1.647 trillion, Finance Minister Bishnu Prasad Paudel had incorporated the sound suggestions...

Polls End Uncertainty

The Prime Minister a week ago recommended the dissolution of the House of Representatives and dates for general elections. Before the PM's decision, President Bidya Devi Bhandari on May 21 had rejected the claims of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and Nepali Congress president Sher Bahadur Deuba to the premiership post, prodding the Prime Minister to make his recommendation to her. Earlier, Prime Minister Oli and Deuba had staked conflicting claims to form the new government as per Article 75 (6) after...

Laudable Vaccine Support

Since the resurgence of the deadly second wave of COVID-19 in Nepal, the country has been grappling with this unprecedented public health challenge. It has been quite difficult for the country with a poor healthcare system to deal with such a devastating situation. In the initial days, it was a Herculean task for the government to manage oxygen and other essential medical supplies for hospitals taking care of the COVID-19 patients. However, doctors and other health workers have be

Urgency Of Vaccines

The world is now in a fierce battle against the COVID-19 pandemic. Up to now over 3.38 million people have succumbed to the virus that first spread in late December 2019. Owing to its highly contagious nature, it travelled fast across the world. Its mutational quality made it dangerously fatal. As a result, its second and third waves are hitting the nations leaving behind a trail of deaths and scenes of desolation. Despite loss of lives and economies on an enormou