PM BHATTARAI, MANMOHAN SNGH HOLDING TALKS IN NEW DELHI FRIDAY

PM BHATTARAI BEGINS SUBSTANTIVE PART OF INDIA
VISIT FRIDAY

Kathmandu, 21 Oct.: Prime Minister Baburam
Bhattarai begins talks with his Indian counterpart
Manmohan Singh and will hold official bilateral talks Friday on the second day of his visit four-day to neighbouring India.
Agreements are being signed at the official level talks at Hydrabaad House.
He begins the day by laying a wreathe at The Samadhi of Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat and will pay a courtesy call on President Prativa Singh Patil
The premier was accorded a ‘correct’ treatment at New Delhi’s Indira
Gandhi International where he was received by Chief of Protocol Ruchira Khambol and other officials of the foreign ministry,
Bhattarai, without a Nepali cap, was probably the first government
chief to launch the visit described as official by the governments and
downgraded by his own UCPN (Maoist) as a goodwill trip, dressed in a suit and tie Wife Hishila Yami didn’t wear a sari and was wearing a suit.
The government chief is accompanied by a retinue of ministers from his coalition with Madeshi parties.
Main opposition NC rejected
an invitation of Bhattarai to include members of the party in the delegation.
Vice-president Ram Chandra Paudel said the invite was rejected as no party was included in the premier’s UN delegation that participated in the annual general assembly session in September
‘Political actors in Nepal need to agree on the form of democracy—whether we want a participatory one or otherwise, “ he said at a programme in the Indian capital Thursday.
:This is a century of Asia as western economy is stagnating. Nepal wants good with both India and China and all our neighbours,” he added further.
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PRODUCTION OF MAYOS NOODLES STOPPED

Kathmandu, 21 Oct.: Production of
popular brand Mayos noodles has
been stopped by Regional Food Technology and Quality Control Office (RFTQCO),in Bhairahawa
Himalayan Snax and Noodles, is the
manufacturer.
Its plant based in Kampaniya, Rupandehi,
has been closed down until further
The factory was closed down after
monitors weren’t happy with hygienic conditions at the plant.
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EVERY FOURTH NEPALI STILL IN PROVETY LINE

Kathmandu, 21 Oct.: A fourth of Nepal´s population is still below the poverty line, according to the latest report of the third Nepal Living Standard Survey (NLSS), Om Ashta Rai reports in Republica.

As per the preliminary report of the NLSS (2010-2011) made public by the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) on Thursday, 25.16 percent Nepalis are still struggling to rise above the poverty line.
Seemingly, there has been over five percentage points decline in Nepal´s absolute poverty in the last six years. In 2003-2004, when the second NLSS was conducted, 30.85 per cent Nepalis, more by 5.69 percentage points than present, were found living below the poverty line.

In 1995-1996, when the first ever NLSS was carried out, a staggering 41.76 percent Nepalis were below the poverty line. Taking into account three different NLSS reports, the number of poor has declined by 16.60 percentage points in the last 15 years.

However, statisticians say that the new poverty report cannot be compared with the previous two reports since the CBS has used a new food basket to gauge incidence of absolute poverty this time around.

This implies that it would not be right to categorically claim that Nepal´s absolute poverty has declined by 5.69 percentage points since 2003-2004 or by 16.60 percentage points since 1995-1996.

"If you just look at poverty decline percentage points, you may simply be misled," says Dinesh Bhattarai, a statistics official at the CBS, adding, "It is because we have used a new food basket this time."

Anil Sharma, another statistics official at the CBS, says that Nepalis´ food consumption patterns have drastically changed in the last 15 years since the first NLSS.

Today, Nepali people are eating less rice and other food grains. Instead, they are eating more protein-rich food items like meat, eggs, fish and milk. This has apparently made it compulsory for policymakers to change the traditional food basket.

"Now, people need to earn more money to manage basic food calories," says Sharma. "Therefore, you cannot compare the new report to the previous one and say that Nepal´s absolute poverty declined by five percentage points in the last five years."

Today, a person needs to consume an average of 2,220 kilo calories of food every day to rise above the poverty line. The NLSS uses the calory requirement plus person´s access to other non-food items as yardstick to measure absolute poverty.

Based on current market prices, a person needs to earn at least Rs 19,261 -- Rs 11,929 for food items and Rs 7,332 for non-food items -- every year to buy basic food calories.

In 2003-2004, a person would need 2144 basic food calories. Earlier, in 1995-1996, a person would require just 2124 basic food calories to escape the poverty line.

With the change in the food basket, people now need more money to manage basic food calories and manage essential non-food items.

The amount of money required for buying basic food calories varies from place to place. In Kathmandu, a person needs to earn Rs 40,933 per year for buying basic food calories and essential non-food items.

Interestingly, in Kathmandu, unlike in other places, buying required non-food items costs more money than buying basic food calories. Here, a person spends Rs 26,323 for non-food items as against Rs 15,610 for basic food calories.

Although the NLSS report shows that 25.16 percent of Nepalis are below the poverty line, the number of poor is higher in rural areas. In rural areas, 27.43 percent people are below the poverty line. On the contrary, only 15.46 percent of people are poor in urban areas.

According to the new NLSS report, Poverty Gap Index (PGI) and Squared Poverty Gap Index (SPGI) stand at 5.43 and 1.81 percents respectively. While the PGI shows how many people are below the poverty line and how far below, the SPGI shows the different poverty levels among the poor.

The Gini-coefficient that shows income inequality has also significantly declined to 0.33 as against 0.43 recorded by the previous
NLSS.
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AGREEMENT WITH BIG THREE THWARTED BY SECCOND MAOIST CHAIRMAN BAIDYA AND MADESHI FACTIONS

Kathmandu, 21 Oct : Despite tangible progress on some issues of the peace process, the major parties could not reach agreement on Thursday because of the Mohan Baidya faction and the Madhesi parties, thereby dashing the prime minister´s plan to go to Delhi with a deal signed, Kiran Chapagain/ Thira
L.Bhusal write in Republica.
A deal was expected before the prime minister flew to Delhi for a four-day visit and a working group comprising representatives from the UCPN (M), Nepali Congress and CPN-UML had prepared overnight a common proposal on the key contentious issues of the peace process.
According to a participant, the meeting of the major parties Thursday morning could not finalize the deal as Maoist Vice-chairman Baidya and Secretary CP Gajurel demanded that the party´s Central Committee discuss and endorse the contentious issues before reaching agreement at a political level.

"The meeting ended without discussing the proposal after Baidya said, ´The proposal has not touched basic things raised by us´," one leader told Republica.

Baidya was critical of the proposal to give a non-combative role to the directorate to be formed under the Nepal Army for integrating Maoist combatants, and of the proposal to integrate combatants on individual basis. The Maoists have been insisting on group integration, something opposed by the Nepali Congress, CPN-UML and others.

Prime Minister Bhattarai and the leaders of other parties urged that the issues be settled during the meeting. Leaders of other parties were also willing to reach an agreement. But Baidya faction leaders demurred.

"Why should we take decisions in haste just to please the masters?" a participant, preferring anonymity, quoted Gajurel as telling the meeting.

"We foiled the conspiracy of Indian expansionism," said Khadga Bahadur Biswakarma, who is close to Baidya, "Why was the deal pushed ahead of the India visit?"

Biswakarma said the leaders wanted to sign an agreement to start categorization of Maoist combatants and to that end finalize the number to be integrated and rehabilitation modality.

Former prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba of NC expressed a similar opinion at the meeting.

The meeting also saw the Madhesi parties unexpectedly insisting that the new directorate proposed to be set up under the Nepal Army for integration of Maoist combatants should reserve a certain percentage for recruitment from the Madhesi community. They further proposed that Maoist combatants of Madhesi origin be given priority in integration.

"The idea is to make the new directorate inclusive," said Jitendra Dev of the Madhesi People´s Rights Forum (Democratic) who participated in the meeting.

Dev said the reserved posts should be filled as per the standard norms of the army.

´The proposal of the Madhesi parties put the Maoist leaders in an uncomfortable position," said one participant.

Despite disagreements, the leaders of major parties said they were close to agreement and inter-party talks were heading in a positive direction.

"We are striving to settle all the issues in a package," said Maoist leader Barsaman Pun after the meeting.

CPN-UML leader Surendra Pandey told Republica that the leaders have shown flexibility over the contentious issues, and this was the basis for increased optimism in the talks.

Pandey said the Maoists have agreed on a mandate for the proposed directorate.

"The Maoists were okay on the proposal to give the directorate a mandate for industrial security, forestry security, disaster management and development work," said Pandey, who participated in the meeting, "We didn´t want to specify whether it was to be a combatant or non-combatant role."

The leaders also agreed to relax some provisions. Combatants will be given three years´ leeway on the age bar for recruitment. So, if one can join the army until the age of 23, the combatants will be allowed in until they are 26. This goes for other posts also.

On academic qualifications, they have agreed to accept one-level lower qualification for the combatants. Similarly, they will be allowed recruitment even if married.

But the parties differ on rehabilitation package.

A participant said Maoists leaders insisted that Rs.700,000 to Rs 900,000 be given each combatant opting for rehabilitation, depending on rank. But the other parties were for a rehabilitation amount of Rs. 300,000 to Rs. 600,000 in three installments.

However, a NC leader said they were ready to increase the amount if the rehabilitation package involves non-cash schemes like vocational training.

The meeting of top leaders ended, agreeing to meet again after the prime minister returns from India. They also agreed to continue informal talks in the meantime, said NC leader Krishna Sitaula after the meeting.
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