COMPLETE BUDGET 3 MAY

COMPLETE BUDGET 3 MAY

Kathmandu, 7 April: Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Bharat Mohan Adhikari told the cabinet Wednesday decided to present a complete budget for coming fiscal year 2011/12 on 3 May after an abortive attempt to announce a supplementary budget for the remaining three months.
The cabinet endorsed the proposal.
Education Minister and Government Spokesman Ganga Lal Tuladhar made public the plan Wednesday even amid initial protests from Maoists.
Main opposition NC and sections of society opposed plans for a supplementary budget aborted after Finance Secretary Rameshwor Khanal walked out of office revealing the document was being prepared without consultations institutionally in the
finance ministry.
Adhikary said the budget would be ‘miraculous’.
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FIVE PLANNING BOMB BLASTS IN CAPITAL ARRESTED

Kathmandu, 7 April: Five persons of CPN (Rebel Maoists) were arrested in Bhaktapur and Baluwatar in the capital Wednesday in raids during a politburo meeting.
Former Maoist Lalit Limbu, 29, is the leader of the outfit.
Limbu was arrested along with Vice-chairman Bhim Ojha of RPP, Treasurer Barun Shrestha, Military Commander Ajaya Thapa Magar and Secretary Netra Prasad Dahal.
The group was launched May 2010.
The group was preparing to set off 15 bomb blasts in the capital.
A 9mm automatic pistol, two crude guns, material to prepare bombs, two bullets and party literature were recovered.
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NEPAL HOSTING 13TH SAG

Kathmandu, 7 April: Nepal will host the 13th South Asian Games (SAG) in 2014; the cabinet gave its nod Wednesday.
Ministry of youth and sports has been entrusted responsibility.
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TASK FORCE TO REFORM CRIMINAL LAW

Kathmandu, 7 April: Supreme court justice Kalayan Shrestha heads a task force to reform criminal law.
Attorney general, law secretary, a justice and legal experts will be its members.
A report will be submitted to government in six months.
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DIPAK MANI DAHAL IN NEPAL TELECOM

Kathmandu, 7 April: Dipak Mani Dahal has been executive general manager of Nepal Telecom (NT) pending another arrangement.
Daahal was transferred to NT from Nepal Television; he was it’s deputy general manager.
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BIHAR MINISTERS INSPECT KOSI

Kathmandu, 7 April: Bijaya Chaudhary and Bijendra Yadav, ministers in the
neighbouring Indian state of Bihar, accompanied by state officials, inspected flood-ravaged areas long Kosi river Tuesday.
India is responsible for maintenance of Kosi dam.
The ministers, accompanied by Nepali officials, also inspected flood-hit areas off West Kushaha in Sunsari.
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NEPAL ARMY NEEDS
INDIAN ARMS

Kathmandu, 7 April: High level talks between Nepal and India on security challenges and cooperation concluded in Pune, Maharashtra today [Wednesday], Ram Kumar Kamat reports
in The Himalayan Times from New Delhi. .

Officials of both countries will formally sign a minute tomorrow. A 15-member Nepali team was led by Hari Kumar Shrestha, South Asia Division Chief of Foreign Ministry, while the Indian team was led by Satish Mehta, Northern Division Chief of Indian Ministry of External Affairs. Six high level army officials of Nepal also participated. Senior Indian army and police officials are among the Indian delegates.

The Nepali team informed about Nepali Army’s need of arms and ammunition, military hardware, vehicles, uniforms, equipment and advanced training for army officers, said Nepali team member colonel Ashok Narsingh Rana, military attaché at the Embassy of Nepal. “As far as resumption of Indian arms assistance to Nepal is concerned, government of Nepal needs to make a formal request to the Indian government,” Rana said. He said though the Indian government was ready to resume arms supply to Nepal, it wanted to do so only when the government of Nepal makes a formal request. Rana said the Indian government understood well the sensitivity of resuming arms supply at this stage when the peace process was still on. Nepali Army is in dire need of arms and ammunition for its training and other duties including for peace missions, but the government of Nepal has so far shied

away from making a formal request to the Indian government for the same due to UCPN-M objection. Rana said details of Indian

assistance on security would be discussed in future at higher levels.

Both the teams dealt with aspects of close cooperation including intelligence sharing so that both armies could sufficiently counter security challenges in their territories, said Rana. Asked if the Indian side raised the issue of Nepal being used by forces inimical to India including the issue of fake Indian currency, Rana said the Indian side did not raise those issues. Seizure of huge amounts of fake Indian currency in Nepal in recent years and reports of anti-India elements exploiting the open Nepal-India border to pump fake Indian currency into the Indian market to destabilise the Indian economy have worried the Indian government.
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Recent News

NEW CONSTITUTION POSSIBLE ONLY 12-POINT AGREEMENT IS IMPLEMENTED





Kathmandu, 7 April: The new constitution is possible only if the political parties abide by the 12-point agreement, youth leaders and lawyers said here on Wednesday, The Rising Nepal reports.
Chairman of the Constitutional Committee (CC) Nilambar Acharya said that it was possible to draft constitution in next 50 days if the political parties could arrive at an agreement. Political confrontation is what has been hindering the process of constitution writing, he said.
"If we fail to move ahead by the spirit of the 12-point agreement, even the gains of the people’s movement might be lost," CC chief Acharya said.
Advocate Tikaram Bhattrai said, however, that promulgating the new constitution was impossible within the given timeframe. Even following political consensus, at least 120 days are necessary to draft the new constitution. We have to move on the fast track if we want to promulgate timely constitution, he suggested.
Central committee (CC) member of the UCPN-Maoist and party spokesman, Dinanath Sharma, said that the constitution would be drafted within the stipulated time despite disputes on some topics. There is no alternative to political consensus for constitution, he said.
CA members and former minister of Nepali Congress leader Dr Ram Saran Mahat said that the current political dispute arose from the seven point agreement reached between Maoist Chairman Prachanda and Prime Minister Jhala Nath Khanal. He said that his party NC would not join the present government.
CPN-UML leader and former minister Shanker Pokhrel said that the main hurdle in drafting the new constitution is the dubious activities of the Maoists.
Senior journalist Kanak Mani Dixit said that Maoists were not cooperating in the drafting of the new constitution. "Every one of us has to fulfill all the commitments made in the past about peace and constitution making," he said.
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