HELLO NEPAL

The Himalayan Times 26 December 2019 Vulnerable people The varied geographical structure of Nepal has naturally given it a unique land scape ranging from the Himalayan, mid-hill to the Tarai regions. Nepal is located in subtropical latitude constituting for its variations in climates. Throughout the year, the climates of different regions vary according to the altitude and seasons. The Himalayan region mostly covered with snow is not inhabited. The mid-hill region, which has a pleasant climate, is densely populated by different ethnic communities whereas the Tarai is a low land region heavily populated by Madhesi and indigenous Tharu people.   Owning to this varied topographical structure, people have to face different types of seasonal natural calamities. During the monsoon, people lose lives due to landslides in the hilly regions and heavy floods in the Tarai areas. Likewise, during the winter, some of the unfortunate Tarai people lose their lives due to c...

The Himalayan Times 19 December 2019 Dismal capital spending Nepal has been practicing the system of annual programme planning and budgeting for decades in more or less the same pattern. The Ministry of Finance (MoF) is the responsible authority of the government that formulates the yearly budget in close collaboration with the related line ministries and departments in line with the policy and guidelines prepared by the National Planning Commission (NPC). As outlined in the new constitution, the MoF has to present the annual budget by May 25 of each financial year to the Parliament for deliberation and approval. The government’s annual plan and budgets is approved once the overall deliberation on the programme and budget in the Parliament is completed. Soon after the approval of the annual plan and budget, the MoF used to instruct other line ministries and departments to release the budget spending authority letter to their district-based offices. Now, the federal s...

The Himalayan Times 12 December 2019 Easier said than done Nepal has been practicing the federal system for the last two years in accordance with the new constitution promulgated on September 20, 2015. This is the seventh constitution of Nepal which was guided by the 2007 Interim Constitution and the Comprehensive Peace Agreement. The first Constituent Assembly that was in place from May 28, 2008 to May 28, 2012, failed to draft the new constitution and was compelled to extend its mandate for the second term. Soon after the promulgation of new constitution, three tiers of elections were held to elect people’s representatives at the local, provincial and federal levels.  The then Madheshi Janadhikar Forum led by Upendra Yadav, joined the current federal government after signing a two-point agreement. One of the main deals was the amendment of the constitution. Now, his party got merged with Naya Shakti Party, led by Baburam Bhattarai, now bearing a new na...