FAR-WEST STRIKE CALLED OFF

FAR-WEST STRIKE WITHDRAWN

Kathmandu, 9 Aug.: A three-day strike in Kanchanpur in the far-West was withdrawn on the second day Tuesday.
The strike demanding establishment of a university in the region was withdrawn after government Monday appointed Jaya Raj Awasthi vice-chancellor of Far-West University.
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GLOBAL BANK GOES FOR MERGER

Kathmandu, 9 Aug.: Global Bank special general assembly meeting Monday in Birgunj opted for a merger in principle.
Board of directors has been empowered to search for a partner
The bank has 28 branches.
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INDIAN ARMY TEAM ARRIVES

Kathmandu, 9 Aug.: A three-member Indian Army team led by Lt Gen.D.S.Thakur, Director General of Military Intelligence,
arrived Tuesday for a three-day visit.
The team will hold discussions with Defence Minister Bishnu Paudel and Army Chief Gen. Chartaman Singh Gurung.
Indian Army is Nepal Army’s major supplier of arms and ammunition.
The supply is currently on hold amid talks to resume it.
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RAKESH SOOD REURNS HOME TUESDAY

Kathmandu, 9 Aug.: Indian Ambassador Rakesh Sood returns home Wednesday to take up a new assignment as ambassador to France.
Maoists pursued Sood during visits to districts for alleged anti-China activities along border districts along Tibet forcing him to cancel visits.
Sood has been replaced by Jayant Prasad, whosefatherm Bimal Prasad, was also ambassador to Nepal.
Prasad is a former ambassador to Afghanistan like Chinese Ambassador Yang Houlan.
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DENGUE SURFACES IN CHITWAN
Kathmandu, 9 Aug.: Score of patients suffering from viral fever has alarmingly gone up in Chitwan, RSS reports from Chitwan.
Over 35 per cent of the patients visiting the hospitals are found to have suffered from viral fever, according to the District Health Office, Chitwan.
As many as 602 viral fever patients have been found in Bharatpur hospital, Chitwan medical college, Narayani community hospital and National city hospital based in Chitwan, informed Vector Controller of District Health Office, Chitwan, Ram KC.
He further informed some four patients have been detected with dengue in Chitwan during the first 11 days of Shrawan (third and fourth week of July).
Last year too, dengue broke out in Chitwan since the third week of July. Some 743 patents are found to have detected with dengue from July last year to this date, a statistic of the Office shows.
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MINISTRIES FAIL TO MEET DEADLINE TO SETTLE ELECTRICITY BILLS
Kathmandu, 9 Aug.: Ministries largely ignored a 15-day deadline set by Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA ) .to settle their electricity bills by Monday, Annapurna Post reports.
Only Rs, 29.51 million were paid by Monday evening by some ministries.
Bills totaling Rs. 400 million are yet to be cleared.
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REMITTANCE CONTRIBUTION TO CAPITAL FORMATION LOW


NEW NA REP IN SPECIAL COURT SECRETARIAT
Kathmandu, 9 Aug.: Brigadier General Hari Bahadur Basnet is likely to replace his colleague Major General Mahesh Bikram Karki in the Secretariat under the Special Committee (for supervision, integration and rehabilitation of Maoist combatants). With his promotion last month as Maj Gen, Karki has been assigned with the duty to command NA’s Eastern-Division. NA Spokesperson Ramindra Chhetri said Basnet was likely to represent the national army in the Secretariat as ‘he is incumbent director of the Directorate of Military Operation’, a position earlier held by Karki before he was promoted. Besides eight representatives from major political parties, the SC Secretariat has one representative each from the Nepali Army, Nepal Police, the Armed Police Force and Maoist People’s Liberation Army. An official at NA’s Directorate of Public Relations, however, said Basnet’s deputation was yet to be confirmed, The Himalayan Times reports.
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REMITTANCE CONTRIBUTION TO CAPITAL FORMATION LOW

Kathmandu, 9 Aug.: Remittance is widely spent on daily consumption, followed by loan repayment and household property instead of capital formation, according to third Nepal Living Standard Survey published today [Monday], The Himalayan Times reports.

Some 78.9 per cent of the remittance is used on daily consumption, whereas 7.1 per cent of the remittance is used to repay loans followed by 4.5 per cent on household property, 3.5 per cent on education and only a minimal 2.4 per cent is used on capital formation, stated the survey published by the Central Bureau of Statistics here today.

“However, percentage of household receiving remittances has also more than doubled from 23.4 per cent 15 years ago to 55.8 per cent in 2010.”

Consumption of expenditure on food, housing and education has increased but on other non-food items it has decreased. “Share of food in total household consumption has seen a increased to 61.5 per cent from 59 per cent in 2003-04, whereas share of non-food consumption has decreased to 22.2 per cent in 2010-11 from 2003-04’s 28.7 per cent,” according to the survey that reflects the migration has not only increased the average income of a Nepali and consumption pattern but changed the social structure too.

“The female headed households percentage has doubled — to 26.6 per cent from 13.6 pre per cent — in the last 15 years since the first Nepal Living Standard Survey 1995-96.”

Despite the remittance being used on household property, households that owned houses have decreased while those renting houses have increased and access to power, safe drinking water and toilet also increased though the laod sheddig hours are increasing and water comes once in a week in most urban centres.

As a major shift in the agriculture that contributes 33 per cent to the GDP, agriculture households and average size of agriculture land both decreased in the last seven year between second survey in 2003-04 and third survey in 2010-11, whereas self agriculture is still the main sector of employment with 61.3 percentage, though it’s share has come down from 70.7 percentage in 1995-96. The share of wage agriculture as a sector of employment has also dropped significantly from 12.2 percentage to 2.8 percentage in a decade-and-a-half.

Similarly, share of farm income in household income has dropped to 27.7 per cent from 61 per cent in 1995-96. However, share of non farm income surged to 37.2 per cent from 22 per cent and share of other income has doubled in 2010-11 to 35.1 per cent from 16 per cent in the first Nepal Living Standard Survey. The nominal average household income has gone five times up to Rs 202,375 from Rs 43,732.

The survey revealed that the nominal average per capita income of a Nepali has increased by seven times to Rs 41,659 in last one-and-a-half decade from Rs 7,690 in 1995-96. “The poorest 20 per cent of population has seen their nominal average per capita income rise by seven times but the riches 20 per cent of population has seen their nominal average per capita income hike by only around five times.

Similarly, the working group population has increased but those dependent (60+) has also increased, whereas dependent population below 14 years has decreased.

In a positive development, more households are now borrowing from banks than from money lenders, according to the survey that was carried out across the country 500 village development committees (VDCs) of 73 districts, said director general of Central Bureau of Statistics Uttam Narayan Malla.

The Survey conducted according to the World Bank’s Living Standards Measurement Study (LSMS) has collected the datas from 5988 households, he said, adding that the survey conducted every seven years is the third and this survey has some new datas also that will help government formulate policy.
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