EIB to support Nepal in energy, transport and forestry

European Investment Bank is supporting Nepal for energy, transport and forestry.
"Nepal has shown how investment in renewable energy can both transform access to electricity and harness clean power sources to benefit rural communities," said vice president of the European Investment Bank (EIB) responsible for South Asia and global energy activity Andrew McDowell, ahead of his arrival in Kathmandu.
The European Investment Bank is committed to supporting transformational climate related investment across Asia and my team and I look forward to discussing how the European Union’s Bank can strengthen engagement in Nepal in the years ahead," said McDowell, who is accompanied by a high-level delegation for a four-day visit to Nepal at the start of a South Asia regional visit this week.
Whilst in Nepal McDowell will meet Prime Minister KP Oli and government ministers, diplomats and business representatives to discuss future European Investment Bank engagement in Nepal. He will also attend a ground-breaking ceremony to formally mark the start of construction of the Chilime-Trishuli transmission line by the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA). The project is part financed by the European Investment Bank under its largest single project in Nepal.
The European Investment Bank has provided more than Euro190 million for energy investment across Nepal over the last five years.
Following Nepal McDowell will visit India to highlight support for improving access to clean energy and enabling expansion of renewable power generation.
The high-level delegation led by McDowell – for the first time in five years – is also expected to address financial crunch for physical infrastructure development of Nepal to some extent. The delegation will also hold consultations with politicians and industrialists to identify areas of the cooperation in energy, transport and forest sectors.
"This week’s visit by McDowell and colleagues from the European Investment Bank, the EU Bank, will allow future investment to be considered and recent support for rural electrification in Trishuli to be seen at first hand," ambassador and Head of the European Union (EU) delegation to Nepal Veronica Cody said, adding that the EU and Nepal recognise the challenges of a changing climate and the importance of new climate related investment.
The European Investment Bank is the world’s largest international public bank and owned directly by the 28 European Union (EU) member states. The EIB supports investment in 160 countries worldwide and activity in Asia focuses on support for climate related investment.

BRI to help Nepal: Finance Minister

Nepal can take advantage from China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), according to a minister.
"Nepal should not be skeptic of China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) as it could create a win-win situation for all the nations involved," said finance minister Dr Yuba Raj Khatiwada, inaugurating the third international conference on BRI organised by Nepal-China Friendship Forum here today.
He also claimed that the debts under the initiatives are sustainable and will come handy to Nepal at a time when the investments in infrastructures are set to decrease. "With more investments needed for social security, we are set to see a decrease in investments in infrastructures,” he said, adding that the Chinese loan will be of good help for Nepal.
All the nations under the initiative should come together in planning, working and sharing the benefits of the initiative to make sure that it becomes a success, though there is a widespread critisism of BRI, which is claimed to push a nation into a 'debt trap'.
Chinese ambassador to Nepal Yu Hong, on the occasion, said that BRI is not a debt trap for the South Asian developing nations. He also claimed that the initiative aims at creating a win-win situation for all the parties involved. "There are enough evidences which support the fact that the initiative can produce positive result," she said, adding that the international community is divided over the initiative with some nations terming the initiative as a 'Chinese debt trap'. Most of the critics have claimed the loans granted by China will create problems for the developing nations.
Citing the example of Sri Lanka which only owes 10 per cent of its foreign loans to China, the envoy said that China offers loan with interest rates, lower than those in the global market. "How can the loans be a problem,” she asked adding that it is high time that China and South Asian countries worked together for the initiative.
The two-day conference is engaging various international experts, who will come together in deliberations, sharing of experience, knowledge and expertise on various topics relating to BRI.

Make toilets and safe sanitation services accessible to all: WHO

All people everywhere should have access to safe sanitation services, including hygienic toilets that are connected to quality sewage systems, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
For many people across the WHO South-East Asia Region, as across the world, access to these services nevertheless remains a problem, with 900 million region-wide lacking basic sanitation, and more than 500 million practicing open defecation, said WHO regional director for South-East Asia Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, on the occasion of World Toilet Day, tomorrow.
"It leads to increased human-feces contact and the transmission of a range of diseases, from cholera to typhoid and hepatitis A and E to tapeworm," she sadi, adding that in recent years member states have made significant progress. "Region-wide, urban coverage of basic sanitation is now close to 70 per cent."
In a majority of countries rural coverage exceeds 50 per cent. The share of the region’s population practicing open defecation has meanwhile been reduced from more than 50 per cent to less than 30 per cent, while several member states have achieved more than 90 per cent coverage of basic sanitation services. "Though these advances are to be commended, more than that, however, they must also be built on. The return on every dollar invested in safe sanitation is estimated to be nearly six times, due in large part to lower health costs, increased productivity and fewer premature deaths," she added.
First, health authorities should work across sectors to ensure all communities have access to toilets that adequately contain excreta. Of key importance is targeting communities in hard-to-reach areas, as well as those living informally in cities or urban zones.
Second, authorities should ensure all toilets are connected to services that provide safe sewage treatment and disposal. This means conducting health-risk assessments of sanitation systems on an ongoing basis, with issues or gaps remedied as a matter of priority. It also means engaging planning authorities at the local level to ensure this process is sustainable and that the environment remains free of human waste.
And third, health facilities themselves must provide safe and functional water, sanitation and hygiene services. Region-wide, too many facilities still lack these basic services, representing a missed opportunity to drive down health care-associated infections, reduce the length of hospital stays and decrease maternal and newborn deaths among other benefits.
WHO, according to her, is committed to supporting member states as they strive to make toilets and safe sanitation services accessible to all. "Doing so will help achieve several of the region’s own Flagship Priorities, as well as the wider Sustainable Development Agenda (SDG), including SDG 3 and 6, on health and sanitation respectively," she added. "Indeed, as World Toilet Day highlights, the benefits of access to toilets and safe sanitation for all are many and must be harnessed to maximum effect."

King’s College to host province-level International Conference in Dhangadhi

King’s College announced the hosting of its third annual international conference on entrepreneurship, 'Entrepreneurship and Economic Growth in Federal Nepal' in Dhangadi of Sudur Paschim province.
While the conference to be held on November 22-24 is a continuation of its annual trend that began from 2016, it also marks the beginning of a new trend which is to organise a province-level international conference to foster the dialogue and stir actions in entrepreneurship ecosystem of all provinces.
"With the country adopting the federal model, we believe the spirit of entrepreneurship should not limit to Kathmandu but the equal share of cake should be tasted by the people across the nation,” informs principal of King’s College Narottam Aryal.
According to him, the major objectives of the conference is to assess, question and to understand the entrepreneurship agenda put forward by the country in the federal states, globally and nationally, look for its sustainability and seek its contribution to economic development.
“As an academic institute, we, therefore, want to provide an informed global platform to debate, build on good practice and seek novel solutions to flourish entrepreneurial ecosystem in the country and thus contribute to economic growth,” he adds.
As Nepal prepares to decentralise country’s policies and programmes from formerly centralised government to the state and local levels, King’s College feels need to host an evidence-based conference in Nepal in order to support all stakeholders involved in the process of current transition, according to the conference coordinator Chittaranjan Pandey.
He further informed that the conference aims at touching upon some of the key issues that are crucial for driving entrepreneurial initiatives under Nepal’s decentralised economy. The sub-themes of the conference includes Federal, Provincial and Local Policies; Social Entrepreneurship; Technology, Innovation and Entrepreneurship; Private Sector and Entrepreneurship, and Vision 2030, SDGs and Entrepreneurship.
Issuing a press release, the College also informed that the conference will include plenary and parallel sessions, presentations and discussions of academic research, policy driven and reflective practitioner-oriented papers, networking opportunities for the future, showcase of entrepreneurial ventures, social interactions and awards for two best papers, including others.
The College has collaborated with Dhangadhi sub-metropolitan city to host the conference which is being held in support of Sudur Paschim Provincal Government. The three-day long event will also feature five noted international speakers – Prof Satyajit Majumdar and Dr Samapti Guha from TATA Institute of Social Science and Ulla-Maija Seppanen, Janne Karjalainen and Kimmo Paajanen from OAMK Labs Finaland (Oulu University of Applied Sciences)
King’s College had in 2016 hosted its first international conference – entitled, 'International Conference on Social Entrepreneurship', which was followed by the similar conference, '16th International Entrepreneurship Forum' in 2017 – in a bid to encourage dialogue on entrepreneurship and hold government responsible for policy change.

World Bank Group committed to support Nepal’s development goals

World Bank Group’s reiterated its commitment to support Nepal.
Concluding his five-day visit to Nepal, World Bank vice president for South Asia Region Hartwig Schafer today reiterated the World Bank Group’s commitment to support Nepal in its ambitious transition to federalism.
During his meeting with Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, Schafer congratulated the government’s visionary goal of reaching middle-income country status by 2030, and reaffirmed the World Bank’s commitment to support government priorities to help the country raise additional finance from a broader range of sources.
Likewise, in his meeting with finance minister Dr Yuba Raj Khatiwada he also discussed further support to the federalism transition, as well as the planned International Investors’ Conference in 2019 in support of Nepal’s agenda to crowd in private finance for development.
"With a stable government that has prioritised broad-based reforms and private sector-driven growth, I am positive that Nepal can achieve higher growth rates for the next several years," he said, adding that the World Bank wants to help Nepal mobilise investments from sources that go beyond traditional development finance to sustain higher growth. "We call this approach Maximizing Finance for Development."
Private sector investment will only come if there is a transparent, conducive policy environment,” he said, “Nepal is one of the first countries where we are approaching this in a systematic way with the World Bank, IFC and MIGA coming in and helping to provide a platform for private investments in the energy, technology, and other sectors."
This will also create jobs for more and more Nepalis, which is the need of the hour, he added.
The WB vice president also had a joint field visit with finance minister Khatiwada and energy minister Barsha Man Pun to discuss the potential of tourism, hydropower and private sector investment in the country. The team visited Solukhumbu district and Sankhuwasabha district before seeing houses being rebuilt after the earthquake in the Majhi settlement of Gaikhura in Manthali Municipality, Ramechhap. 
Walking through the houses being rebuilt, Schafer met members of local communities, commending their resilience and efforts to build back better after the earthquake. He also met elected members of parliament and local level representatives. “It is heartening to see the collective effort of so many actors to ensure that people’s homes and lives are rebuilt,” Schafer said, adding, "We must pick up the pace of reconstruction, and also ensure that disaster risk reduction measures are put in place to deal with future contingencies."
The World Bank has provided a credit of $500 million to the government through the Earthquake Housing Reconstruction Project.
In Kathmandu, Schafer also participated in the launch of a joint report of the World Bank Group entitled 'Country Private Sector Diagnostic: Creating Markets in Nepal'. He was a part of the signing of two agreements between the government and World Bank. The agreements, totaling $155.7 million, will be invested in the construction and maintenance of safe, resilient and cost-effective bridges in Nepal, and in improving food security of vulnerable households and communities.
In his first visit to Nepal as the World Bank vice president for South Asia, Schafer also met with opinion leaders, senior government officials and civil society representatives. In engaging with the private sector, he visited Saral Urja Nepal – the investee clients of Business Oxygen (BO2), an IFC SME-Venture Fund – and Incessant Rain Animation Studios, a state-of-the-art animation and visual effects studio.
After his interactions with the team at Incessant Rain, Schafer commented thathe enjoyed the opportunity to visit an enterprise that is nurturing the artistic and creative talents of the Nepalese youth. "With a world class facility that provides services to well- known international clients, organisations like this play an important role in putting Nepal on the map as an outsourcing destination."
Apart from contributing to the economic growth through exports and job creation, it is a pleasure to see a home-grown company that promotes the country’s rich cultural heritage and diversity. "It is the kind of future we want for the private sector in Nepal, and the World Bank is committed to support this vision," he added.

Surya Nepal, Siddhartha Rana highest taxpayers

Siddhartha SJB Rana bagged the award for paying the highest amount of income tax in individual category, whereas Surya Nepal paid the highest tax among the companies. Likewise, Sipradi Trading paid the highest tax among trading companies for the last fiscal year 2016-17.
Rana – the executive chairman of Sipradi Trading – has bagged the highest taxpayer award for the fifth time in last seven years. The Inland Revenue Department (IRD) today honoured Rana and Sipradi Trading amid a function organised in the capital today, on the occasion of 7th National Tax Day.
Rana was awarded the highest taxpayer for the consecutive five years (2012-13, 2013-14, 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2016-17), whereas Sipradi Trading has earned the distinction of being the highest income tax payer among trading companies for the consecutive four years – from 2012-13, 2014-15, 2015-16 to 2016-17.
Along with being the executive chairman of Sipradi Trading, Siddhartha SJB Rana has been instrumental in consolidating and expanding various businesses in Nepal. As a young visionary in the Nepali corporate world, he was selected as the 'Global Leader for Tomorrow' by the World Economic Forum (WEF), Davos in 2001. Rana is a committed philanthropist in education, economic upliftment, heritage preservation and wildlife conservation. He has made the single-largest personal donation to Help Nepal Network (HeNN) that works in the field of health and education in rural Nepal. Rana was also awarded with the Karobar Excellence Award 2018 as the highest individual taxpayer of the country.
Likewise, Sipradi is a major player in automotive and allied business for over 37 years in Nepal. The company has been a sole distributor of Tata Motors, India and is an exclusive distributor of MAK Lubricants, Michelin Tires, Exide Batteries, TATA-Hitachi and other various line of products in Nepal. Sipradi was also honoured by Inland Revenue Department (IRD) for being the first company in Nepal to embrace and implement Central Billing Monetary System (CBMS) in the year 2017 and bringing all trading records of the firms into the government’s surveillance system. 
The government has honoured some 15 highest taxpayers under different categories today to promote the taxpaying culture in the country. Finance Minister Dr Yuba Raj Khatiwada honoured the top companies in 15 categories during the programme organised by the Inland Revenue Department (IRD).
Leaving the last year's highest tax payers telecom companies far behind, multinational company Surya Nepal was announced the highest taxpayer this year. Surya Nepal has been a top taxpayer twice in the past as well,
Probiotech Industries (agro and livestock sector) under the the Nimbus Holdings that deals with around 20 products in animal feed, another 20 in feed supplements and 20 more in fine chemicals, vaccines and medicines also bagged the award. Likewise, Chhimek Laghubitta Bittaya Sanstha (cooperatives and microfinance institutions), Nabil Bank (bank and financial institutions and remittance companies), Nepal Reinsurance Company (among insurance companies), Noble Medical College and Teaching Hospital (among health and education service providers) and F1 Soft International (IT sector), Taragaon Regency Hotels (tourism sector), Nepal Investment (companies with annual turnover up to Rs 400 million), Nepal Stock Exchange (highest amount of income tax among the list of companies which have annual turnover between Rs 400 million and Rs 800 million), Dabur Nepal and Himal Power.
Addressing the programme, finance minister Dr Khatiwada urged to pay tax. "Non-payment of tax would be a hindrance to the nation," he said, stressing on the need of raising awareness that even the lowest tax-payer is a respectable tax-payer.
Likewise finance secretary Dr Rajan Khanal, on the occasion, said that the government is planning tax reform and that some changes have been visible in the last few years.
Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) president Bhawani Rana, Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI) chair Hari Bhakta Sharma and president of Nepal Chambers of Commerce Rajesh Kaji Shrestha drew the government’s attention towards creating environment conducive for investment in the industrial sector by making industry-friendly taxation system.

Number of Nepali students reach highest in US

Nepalis are the fifth largest foreign community to receive H-1B visa to the US between 2012 and May this year. "The number of Nepali students studying in the US has increased by 14.3 per cent over the prior year," according to a report.
The '2018 Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange' data released by IIE and the US Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, the number of Nepali students in the US has once again posted the highest growth among the top 25 sending countries, and increased to a record level, totaling 13,270, the third year in a row to see growth. "Nepal now ranks 10th among the top 25 for undergraduate students in the US," the report reads. "Six years ago, Nepali community was the 13th largest foreign community to get the employment visa to the US."
India with 101,211 recipients is the largest foreign community to receive H-1B visa, followed by China, South Korea and Taiwan. "International students studying alongside Americans are a tremendous asset to the US," assistant secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs Marie Royce said, adding that they need to develop leaders in all fields who can take on the toughest challenges. "We need people who can find solutions that keep us secure and make us more prosperous. We want to send a message that international education makes us stronger as a country."
In the 2017-2018 academic year, for the third consecutive year, the US colleges and universities hosted more than one million international students, reaching a record, of 1.09 million students. It said there was 20 per cent increase of Nepali students enrolled in the US higher education institutions in 2017, taking the size of total Nepali students to 11,607. Though the enrollment data put Nepali students at 13th position, their growth was the highest among foreign students.
It also marks the twelfth consecutive year of continued expansion. The number of Americans studying in Nepal has also significantly increased – by 57 per cent – compared to the previous year. "We believe, institutional collaboration and student exchange programs have played a vital role in stimulating growth over the past two years."
The Open Doors Report also marks the celebration of International Education Week (IEW) from November 12- 16, a joint initiative of the US Department of State and the US Department of Education, designed to attract future leaders from other countries to study, learn, and exchange experiences in the US. In support of IEW 2018, the US Embassy in Nepal’s partner organisations, The United States Educational Foundation Nepal (USEF), EducationUSA Reference Center Learning House, and American Center will host ‘Get Inspired’ programmes featuring Nepali alumni of US universities, student visa sessions by Embassy’s Consular officers, trivia, host webinars an online college fair and other activities to discuss and promote US higher education and career options for Nepali students.
According to Education Ministry of, some 2,485 students acquired No Objection Certificates to study in the US which is fourth highest after India, Australia and Japan.