GERMAN ASSIST TO BENEFIT NEPALI, INDIAN PILGRIMS IN TIBET

GERMAN ASSIST THROUGH ICIMOD TO BENEFIT MAINLY NEPALI, INDIAN PILGRIMS

Kathmandu, 13 April: Nepal based Integrated Center for Mountain Development (ICIMOD) has handed over hydrological and meteorological equipment worth Rs 20 million donated by Germany to Department of Hydrology and Meteorology.
The equipment will held upgrade and maintain existing facilities while establishing new ones in Kailash Sacred Landscape covering Nepal, Tibet and India.
Mount Kailash, a sacred pilgrim destination of Hindus and Buddhists, lies in India.
Indian pilgrims transit the area normally through Nepal.
News stations will be established in Jumla, Simikot of Hilsa, Rara, Chainpur, Darchula, Baitadi ad Chameliya.
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ANTI-TOBACCO BILL A BIG ACHIEVEMENT





Kathmandu, 13 April: - Experts Tuesday hailed the endorsement landmark anti-tobacco bill by the parliament, citing that it would help check non-communicable diseases that claim the lives of hundred of thousands people in the country, Gita Sapkota writes in The Rising Nepal.
Some of them termed the passage of the bill as the government’s clear commitment to the public health.
Legislature-Parliament Tuesday unanimously approved the Tobacco Product Control and Regulatory Bill, 2010. It will come into effect 90 days after the President approved it.
"It is the big achievement in the health sector," said Dr. Pravin Mishra, secretary at the Health Ministry.
Mishra said that this also demonstrated the government’s priority to the public health.
Once the Bill is implemented through the enactment of Regulation, it will discourage the use and availability of tobacco products in the market, he added.
"This will have positive impact on the health of young people as they are tempted to consume the tobacco products," he said.
The non-communicable diseases caused by the use of tobacco products are responsible for 51 per cent deaths in Nepal. These diseases include cancer, heart diseases and chronic obstructive pulmonary infection.
Some important features of the bill include the mandatory provision of keeping 75 per cent pictorial health warning on the total outer part of packet of cigarette and other tobacco products; ban on smoking and tobacco use in public and work places, and public transportation; complete TAPS ban; ban on children under 18 year and pregnant women to use tobacco product; provision of health tax fund from tobacco products and others in line with FCTC.
The concerned official said that it took around six month to implement the statutory picture in the cover of the tobacco products.
Anyone violating the law will be fined Rs. 5,000 to Rs. 100,000 with a jail term.
The country already signed WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, 2003. All 168 signatories in the convention approved the bill from parliament.
There is a provision that laws should be formulated corresponding to the convention within three years of being a party to the convention and Nepal fulfilled it obligation in time.
The anti-tobacco bill has been lying idle in the parliament for a year.
Lawmakers Gagan Thapa, Yashoda Subedi, Mangal BK, and Amrita

Thapa, among others, had prepared the draft of the bill which received support from all political parties saying that it was related to the health of the public health concern.
Some six months ago anti-tobacco directives were passed but they did not correspond to the bill.

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GOCT. WHITEPAPER A SUPLEMENTARY BUDGET
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Kathmandu, 13 April: After failing to present a supplementary budget amid strong criticism from all quarters, the government on Tuesday unveiled a White Paper on the economy, incorporating ‘distributive programmes’, Prithvi Man Shrestha writes in The Kathmandu Post reports.
The White Paper presented by Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Bharat Mohan Adhikari at the Ministry of Finance (MoF) is different from earlier ones. It talks about waiving customs duty and providing subsidy, which are generally included in a regular budget.
In Nepal, White Papers are generally brought after major political changes and they have been brought three times over the last 20 years. The then Finance Minister Devendra Raj Pandey brought the first White Paper after 1990’s political change. Ram Saran Mahat brought in 2006 after Jana Aandolan-2, and it was last brought in 2008 by Baburam Bhattarai after the formation of the Maoist-led government.
According to finance ministry sources, the White Paper was brought to address the Maoists’ pressure for a supplementary budget. “After strong criticism over the supplementary budget, the White Paper has been introduced to cater the Maoists’ demand,” said a senior ministry official. Programmes incorporated in the White Paper also suggest the same. There are programmes such as youth-self employment, cooperatives shops and cooperatives in villages and towns. Some of these programmes were introduced by the then Maoist-led government.
Adhikari has termed the White Paper as ‘guiding principle’ for the next year’s budget which the government plans to present on May 3. “It will be a guiding principle to be adopted in the next budget,” said Adhikari.
Given the ruling parties failing to bring a common minimum programme (CMP) due to delay in the Cabinet formation, the government said it will use the White Paper as the CMP to prepare the next year’s budget. After the introduction of the White Paper, Adhikari said the government will not introduce a supplementary budget. However, economist Biswombher Pyakurel termed the White Paper a supplementary budget. “This is a supplementary budget in the name of White Paper,” said Pyakuryal.
The Maoists also admitted that the chances of bringing a supplementary budget were almost non-existent. “We had informed the government about our party’s policy stance for the new budget. This might have been reflected in the white paper,” said Dilli Raj Khanal, an economist close to the Maoists.
With the White Paper looking like a supplementary budget, there are fears that the government might implement the programmes immediately. However, Adhikari said the government would not cut down allocated resources for programmes approved by the current budget to finance programmes mentioned in the White Paper. “We will only transfer unspent resources,” said Adhikari.
However, finance ministry officials say that chances of transfer of huge resources to new programmes are high because the government treasury currently holds Rs 14 billion unspent.
The White Paper talks about providing subsidy to several areas including fertiliser, vocational training in community schools, income generating activities for deprived sector and cooperatives run by women and dalits, among others. The government will increase the current subsidy on chemical fertilisers.
The white paper has also announced programmes for remote areas. The government will provide additional resources to districts in the Karnali and surrounding districts for agriculture. It will also give capital subsidy for the production, collection and processing of agricultural products, medicinal herbs and fruits, in the areas. There are not much specific programmes for the private sector apart from drafting an anti-dumping law and establishment of an infrastructure development fund. The government has also assured that if the industries produce power as a by-product in the process of industrial production, Nepal Electricity Authority will purchase that power.
Besides continuing the current infrastructure projects, the government will construct Tamsaling Lokmarga connecting six districts. “If the quality of roads and bridges are degraded before the stipulated time, the construction company will be fined,” says the White Paper.
It has also envisioned programmes for tourism promotion in the far-western region with unified tourism development approach. In the mid-western region, the White Paper seeks to make a trekking route along Rara-Sinja-Pupal-Dhorpatan-Sisne and Jaljala areas.
The White Paper talks about developing a model village in all districts with facilities including roads, drinking water, telephone, electricity, schools, health post, cooperatives and police post, among others.
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