India hands over oxygen plant to Nepal

Indian ambassador to Nepal Vinay Mohan Kwatra handed over a 960 LPM Medical Oxygen Plant to minister of State for Health and Population Umesh Shrestha today at a ceremony organised at the Ministry of Health and Population.

The medical oxygen plant has been installed at BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences, and is designed to cater to providing 5 Liters Per Minute (LPM) per person amounting to a total capacity of 960 LPM, according to a press note issued by the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu.

"It has the capacity to serve 200 patients simultaneously," it reads.

Speaking on the occasion, Shrestha said that the oxygen plant is a critical health infrastructure that will reinforce Nepal’s efforts in tackling the Covid-19 pandemic.

At the ceremony, ambassador Kwatra highlighted the significance of the deep rooted and multifaceted partnership between India and Nepal and reiterated that this gift symbolised India’s continued commitment to Nepal in tackling the Covid-19 pandemic.

Oxygen is a very important clinical gas in health care centres and hospitals for treatment of Covid-19 patients, as has been experienced during the second wave of the pandemic in both India and Nepal. "With this DEBEL Medical Oxygen Plant that has been developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), hospitals now have the option of generating medical oxygen on-site, in a highly cost effective manner," the press note reads, adding that India is the fourth country in the world to develop this technology, which utilises Pressure Swing Adsorption technique and molecular sieve technology to generate oxygen directly from atmospheric air. "The installation of the medical oxygen plant would help in avoiding the dependency of hospitals for scarce oxygen cylinders."

"It will help in reducing the logistics of transporting cylinders and also continuous and reliable oxygen supply available round the clock," the press note adds.

Central bank unveils commemorative coins to mark Guru Nanak’s 550th birth anniversary

The central bank has unveiled three coins – the Rs 100, Rs 1,000 and Rs 2,500 denominations – to mark the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism and the first ten Sikh Gurus.
Central bank governor Dr Chiranjivi Nepal and Indian ambassador to Nepal Manjeev Singh Puri jointly unveiled the commemorative coins at a programme in the Capital today.
The central bank releases such commemorative coins to mark certain important occasions. Earlier this month, the central had released similar commemorative coins in the denomination of Rs 100, Rs 1,000 and Rs 2,500 to mark culture expert and historian Satya Mohan Joshi’s hundredth birthday.
Both Nepal and Puri, on the occasion, also released ‘Sikh Heritage of Nepal’, a book which attempts to highlight the major Sikh connection to Nepal, published by BP Koirala India Nepal Foundation under Embassy of India in Kathmandu.
Prominent leaders of the Sikh community from India, representatives of Nepal’s Sikh community and people from different walks of life attended the programme, according to a press note issued by the India Embassy in Kathmandu.  

Can Nepal achieve double digit growth

The caretaker government led by Prime Minister Dr Baburam Bhattarai have been stressing on double digit growth. The budget preparation is going on full swing and it is, according to finance minister, supposed to prepare a base for double digit growth.
The idea of double digit growth in itself is not bad but in absence of policy and political stability coupled with weak law and order situation domestic and foreign investors are losing confidence on the country. The political uncertainty has made the investors flee the country as some of them have already started campaigning for the law to invest abroad.
Not only the investors but also the common people — that the UCPN-Maoists claimed to be fighting for — are confused. The gap between haves and have-nots is increasing. In the last one decade, the Gini-coefficient — that measures the income inequality among the entire population of the country — has increased from 34 to 47.3 indicating that the gap is widening further.
But the UCPN-Maoists, instead of creating investment-friendly environment to attract investment that could create job and bridge the gap between rich and poor, are involved in further lengthening the political transition for their political interest.
After a decade-long people's war — in their own words — that took lives of thousands of Nepali youths, the UCPN-Maoists are concentrating now on state capturing instead of developing the nation.
It took over half a century and thousands of people's sacrifice for UCPN-Maoists ideologue Dr Bhattarai to understand that Nepal needs to create jobs that could only reduce the inequalities in income level.
It was in 1959 that Nepali Congress government led by BP Koirala had envisioned of increasing national income, bringing about the fundamental changes in the agriculture, providing adequate social welfare programmes for the people, solving the problem of unemployment and reducing the inequalities in income levels and the distribution of wealth.
But the incumbent Prime Minister, who is prescribing the double digit growth has anything different in the budget for the fiscal year 2012-12 to offer to the people from what BP's government had in 1959, over half century ago, said.
The budget presented by the then finance minister Suvarna Shamsher on August 9, 1959 had cautioned against excessive dependence on foreign aid for development projects. But Dr Bhattarai led government has planned to get commitment of over Rs 100 billion in foreign aid instead of creating jobs inside the country that is only increasing the country's dependency on foreign aid.
Though, the UCPN-Maoists led government time and again claim to create employment and bring inclusive growth, it was Nepali Congress government led by BP Koirala in 1959, that had outlined employment creation and inclusive growth as BP Koirala strongly believed that economic disparity will bring friction and tension in the society. He was a visionary and had foreseen conflict in the making that the UCPN-Maoists led in 1996.
But after a decade long armed conflict that was based on the widening gap in the society between the rich and poor, the UCPN-Maoists came to power but failed to deliver.
For a decade, youths of this country were forced to the jungle and after a decade, with uncertain future, they are forced to search their destiny in the Gulf countries. Dr Baburam Bhattarai came to power on August 28, 2011 and by the end of the 10th month of the current fiscal year some 313,093 youths have left the country in search of greener pasture, due to the government’s failure in creating jobs for them.
Prime Minister BP Koirala on June 26, 1960 — at a press conference of the second five-year plan — had spelled out his goal to create 50,000 new jobs and increasing national income by 30 per cent. BP Koirala knew that the country has twin problems – unemployment and poverty, and without creating employment and more investment on agriculture, the economy cannot grow.
If the UCPN-Maoists are claiming that the country has moved forward, they are wrong. The country is rather moving backward to half a century as the UCPN-Maoists ideologue Dr Bhattarai is prescribing the same solution for the country what BP Koirala did in 1959.
For a decade from 1996 to 2006, the UCPN-Maoists destroyed the infrastructure and agriculture forcing the people to leave their farm and shift to the urban areas for security, and after they entered into the peace agreement in 2006 and ascended the power being the largest party in the Constituent Assembly, they destroyed the governance, policies and the hopes of the Nepalis by forcing the industries to shut down increasing unemployment and destroying the economy.
As it was not enough, instead of promulgating the Constitution, they forced the Constituent Assembly to death on May 27 and send the country to never ending political transition. Never in the history of the country, the political parties were so weak and the society so divided.
Its not that the UCPN-Maoists have not understood that political system alone cannot guarantee peace and development in absence of economic growth but the largest party siding with the regressive forces forced the country to the unending turmoil for its own interest. They seem to be obsessed with their party thinking that the party is bigger than the country. But parties can never ever be bigger than the country; Dr Bhattarai might take another half century to understand it.
The UCPN-Maoists used the power to hijack the economy and captured the state as they have been repeatedly claiming but the Nepali Congress and CPN-UML never took it seriously adding the woes of the people further.

BP Koirala: The visionary of prosperous Nepal

Most of us have known Bishweshwor Prasad Koirala popularly known as BP Koirala as a political thinker and litterateur only. His economic thoughts and visions are less discussed.
But Dr Chiranjibi Nepal has brought 'BP’s Economic Thoughts' to remind us of his vision of economically prosperous and just Nepal, where he has dreamt of promoting economic growth and social justice.
BP knew the economic disparity will bring friction and tension in the society. Had his voice been heard by the leaders, the country would not have been plunged into a decade long armed conflict that was based on the widening gap in the society between the rich and poor.
The author Dr Nepal has in the book of eight chapters brought in front the economic vision, strategies, socio-economic reconstruction and political economy of BP, though his own party Nepali Congress (NC) has forgotten most of his visions.
It was the Nepali Congress of BP that abolished Birta System of the feudal economic base, in 1959. Not only the Nepali Congress but also the present government should learn the lesson from BP, who had reduced the salary of Prime Minister from Rs 2,500 to Rs 1,500 and salary of Ministers’ from Rs 1500 to Rs 1,000, when he became the Prime Minister in 1959. The ministers of the present government are not only visionless and redundant but also accumulating wealth at the cost of people’s lives.
The book gives us the BP’s vision on foreign aid, unemployment, technology and rural economy and above all social justice.
The reason, we have to read this book and go through BP’s economic visions is also to know the real ground and knowledge of the current governments. The present government’s budget has aimed nothing new from what BP had envisioned more than half century ago.
The budget presented by the then finance minister Suvarna Shamsher on August 9, 1959 had cautioned against excessive dependence on foreign aid for development projects. The BP’s government had brought the budget with five goals; increasing the national income of the country, bringing about the fundamental changes in the agriculture, providing adequate social welfare programmes for the people, solving the problem of unemployment and reducing the inequalities in income levels and the distribution of wealth.
Prime Minister BP Koirala on June 26, 1960 hinted at a press conference of the second five-year plan with a goal to create 500,000 new jobs and to increase the national income by 30 per cent.
He knew that we have twin problem – unemployment and poverty, and without creating employment and more investment on agriculture, the economy cannot grow. But the present government is busy in power play and losing annually over 200,000 youths, who leave the country in search of job. The successive governments failed measurably in creating job in the country forcing the youths to the death trap of deserts of Gulf. When the country cannot create jobs, it has to face the massive out flow of the manpower or political instability. Nepal today is facing both the problems due to visionless leaders.
The book could be a guide for those who want to really develop this country as BP had his own idea of economic development, which is very relevant today as well. He knew without developing the villages, the country cannot develop. “I will ask the planners to set their eyes on the villages and the villagers,” he used to say.

BOOK REVIEW:
BP’s Economic Thoughts
By Dr Chiranjibi Nepal
Published by: Pairavi Prakashan
Price: Rs 100

BP Koirala's economic thoughts still relevant

The revolutionary advances in technology and its growth could raise the living standard of the people of under-developed countries without lowering the standard of living of peoples of the advanced countries, the then Prime Minister and the president of Nepal Congress BP Koirala said, while addressing the 15th session of the UN General Assembly.
Launching the book on 'BP's Economic Thought' here today, speakers remembered him as a visionary socialist thinker, who was aware of rising rich-poor gap that could be the source of much friction and tensions.
"His visions are still relevant," said newly elected NC president Sushil Koirala after launching the book. "BP was the world renowned socialist thinker," he said adding that democracy is indespensible for the development.
"BP has always been seen as a politician only but he also had economic vision on how to develop Nepal into a prosperous and just country," said economist Dr Chiranjibi Nepal, the author of the book. "BP's economic thoughts will prove to be a mile stone for today's youth to lead a better nation," he added.
Blaming BP’s own party for misinterpreting Democratic Socialism that BP believed on, Prof Dr Bishwhambher Pyakurel said that BP’s discipals have misled the country.
“BP believed in individual's ability to grow, and entrepreneurship that's why he is democratic," said former finance minister Dr Ramsharan Mahat. "And his belief that there should be equality in the society made him a socialist," he said, adding that capitalism is the first stage towards socialism. "For equality, BP imphasised on increase of production."
Government alone cannot help increase production, thus BP believed on private sector's role in increasing the production, according to Mahat. "BP believed in capitalism with a human face."
“BP believed that Nepal lives in village and only village can become the centre of the economic transformation.”
Defending his liberal policy during NC's rule over one-and-a-half decade, Mahat claimed that he has always followed BP's economic vision. “Following BP's vision, NC has always emphasised on resource allocation to village where majority of Nepalis live."
"The indiscipline, lack of law and order situation and corruption were the major hurdles in fulfiling BP's economic dreams," he claimed