PRACHANDA, PRESIDENT MEET UNDERWAY; OTHER DETAILS Kathmandu., 27 Nov.: With two days remaining for parties to choose a consensus government by four in the afternoon Thursday, Maoist Chairman Prachanda is expected to hold consultations with President Dr.. Ram Baran Yadav Tuesday. A meeting between Maoist Chairman Prachanda and President Dr. Ram Baran Yadav is underway Tuesday morning at Shital Niwas The Maoist .chief is holding discussions with the president for the second time after the head of state’s Friday call for a consensus government y Thursday four in the afternoon. Only two days remain for parties to meet the controversial call.. UCPN Maoist headed by Prachanda and Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarau have called the presidential move unconstitutional with the premier saying sources are colluding with the head of state to finish off a republic. A meeting between NC President Sushisl Koirala and Deputy Prime Minister Bijaya Kumar Gachedhar who heads a five-party Madesh Morcha in government is also underway. nnnn UML POLUTBURO MEETS TUESDAY Kathmandu, 27 Nov. Opposition UML politburo meets Tuesday to discuss currnt situation after presidential call to submit a name for candidate of a cnsnsus prime ministr by Thursday. The party has already welcomed the presidential decision and asked main opposition NC to select a candidate. nnnn RULING MADESH MORCHA MINISTER WELCOMES PRESIDENTIAL ACTION Kathmandu, 27 Nov.: Irrigation Minister Mahendra Yadav Monday welcomed presidential action to beak a standoff and form national consensus government by Thursday. Yadav hails from TMLP which is in government which has yet to take an official decision on the appeal. Sharan Singh Bhandary, leader of a Madeshbadi party government welcomed the presidential move saying the action of the head of state ‘was natural’. Nnnn RCT PLAYS FRIENDS CLUB IN FOOTBALL LEAGUE TUESDAY Kathmandu, 27 Nov.: RCT plays Friends Club in the Martyrs Memorial A Division League Championship Tuesday at Dashrath Rangashkla. Tribhuvan Club of Nepal Army plays New Roiad Team in the second match (NRT) Nnnn DELINEATION OF ELECTORAL CONSTITUENCIES NOT A BIG ISSUE Kathmandu, 27 Nov : Though, the government has to review the number of election constituencies before conducting fresh election following the publication of the new census report on Monday, senior officials at the Election Commission (EC) said it was not a big deal, Republica reports. "I don´t think the increased number of population will affect the number of election constituencies on a larger scale," Election Commissioner Ayodhi Prasad Yadav told Republica. According to the census report, the total population had increased by 3.3 million in comparison to census of 2001. As per the interim constitution, elections constituencies should be delineated on the basis of census report. Another official at the EC said that delineation of election constituencies will not make any difference if new election is supposed to be held by mid May. The government had recently announced that it would hold fresh election by mid May. "If you ask about election of the 2008 Constituent Assembly (CA), delineation of election constituencies was done after announcement of the CA poll´s date," said the official requesting anonymity, adding, "It can be accomplished within two or three months." However, Yadav stated that it will be dependent on when the government will form a commission for delineation of election constituencies. "The time given to the commission and who heads it are the important issues," he added. The EC has been running without a head while two post for commissioners are vacant since a couple of years. There were 240 election constituencies in the 2008 CA election. Nnnn BANK PROFITS SURGE 41 PERCEENT Kathmandu, 27 Nov First quarter net profits of commercial banks jumped 41.23 percent on the back of higher net interest income and good recovery of written off loans, Rupak D. Sharma writes in Republica.. A total of 32 commercial banks posted net profit of Rs 3.82 billion in the first quarter of the current fiscal year as against Rs 2.70 billion recorded in the same period last fiscal year, unaudited balance sheets of banking institutions published till Monday show. The banks were able to post higher net profit despite reporting 71 percent hike in amount allocated for losses likely to be triggered by loan defaults, albeit part of this cost was offset by recovery of loan amount of Rs 221.01 million that was previously written off and Rs 1.19 billion that previously went for loan loss provisioning. The league table on net earnings in the quarter that began in mid-July was led by Nabil Bank, which posted net profit of Rs 588.99 million. Next came Nepal Investment Bank whose net earnings stood at Rs 477.37 million, followed by Standard Chartered Bank Nepal which recorded net profit of Rs 331.82 million. On the heels were Everest Bank and Agriculture Development Bank Nepal which posted net earnings of Rs 327.65 million and Rs 307.12 million, respectively. The net profit growth in the quarter came as banks reported higher net interest income - the difference between income generated through extension of loans and expenses incurred while paying depositors. Banks generated net interest income of Rs 9.05 billion in the quarter, up 30 percent, as interest income of Rs 20.99 billion superseded interest expenses of Rs 11.94 billion. They were also able to boost their net interest income in the quarter as most of the banks reduced deposit rates, while keeping lending rates almost flat. This practice of slashing deposit rates and keeping credit rates at almost the same level as in the past widened interest spread -- the difference between deposit rates and lending rates -- to 4.20 percent in the quarter from 2.67 percent a year ago. If this trend continues, depositors looking for good returns and borrowers looking for cheaper credit will be hard hit. Ajay Shrestha, CEO of Bank of Kathmandu, however, said conclusions should not be made by going over first quarter figures. “There has certainly been correction in fixed deposit rates because of liquidity surplus but at the same time lending rates are also coming down. So we can get a complete picture of where the banking sector is heading only at the year end,” he said. Although what Shrestha said is valid, what is also true is the days of higher deposit rates are over at least for now, while lending rates may not fall as sharply as deposit rates as most of the banks say there are very little viable investment avenues for loans to be soaked up. This is one of the reasons why deposits and lending growth rates of banks have been shrinking of late. Deposit growth rate of 32 commercial banks, which stood at 20.45 percent this quarter on year-on-year basis, shrank to 1.58 percent if compared with figures of previous quarter to July 15. For instance, Standard Chartered was the only bank to report fall in deposits on year-on year basis. But if latest deposit figures are compared with that of previous quarter, they show deposit contraction in at least 13 other banks, including Nepal Investment, Rastriya Banijya Bank, NIC, Nepal SBI, Siddhartha, Laxmi, Bank of Kathmandu, Nepal Bangladesh, Prime, Bank of Asia Nepal, NMB, Grand and KIST. The trend is the same in case of lending. While the banking industry reported 20.90 percent credit growth rate this quarter as against that of the same quarter a year ago, comparison of first quarter figures vis-a-vis previous quarter shows lending growth rate sliding down to 5.69 percent. Surprisingly, total credit issued by reputed banks like Nabil, Standard Chartered, NIC and Bank of Kathmandu even fell this quarter compared with the figures recorded till July 15. Top 5 banks in terms of profit: Nabil Bank - Rs 588.99 million Nepal Investment Bank - Rs 477.37 million Standard Chartered Bank Nepal - Rs 331.82 million Everest Bank - Rs 327.65 million Agriculture Development Bank - Rs 307.12 million Nnnn ________________________________________ PM BHATTARAI PATCHES UP DIFFERENCES WITH PARTY BOSS PRACHANDA Kathmandu, 27 Nov.:: Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai and his party Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal today said to have patched up differences that had arisen after conflicting comments surfaced regarding the presidential call to pick consensus prime minister by November 29, Tika R Pradhan writes in The Himalayan Times. . “After the media reported about misunderstanding between them, the two leaders held a meeting this morning and agreed to patch up differences,” said Devendra Poudel, chief political adviser to Prime Minister Bhattarai. The two leaders were giving conflicting comments regarding the President’s Friday’s call to form consensus government. Dahal took a softer stance to the call while Bhattarai went harsh, saying the call was ‘unconstitutional’. Sources in the Unified CPN-Maoist claimed that the President had made the move only after taking Dahal into confidence and therefore Bhattarai was miffed at Dahal for he had ‘construed the development as part of his party chief’s ploy to oust him from power’. Things had gone from bad to worse in the party after Dahal loyalists refused to incorporate any struggle against the President call in their press statement and reportedly made an attempt to prevent the ruling alliance’s decisions from sending to the media. Bhattarai this morning rubbished the media reports that he was on bad terms with his party chief and President Ram Baran Yadav. “I have no dispute with Chairman Dahal and the President,” Bhattarai told the media after the inauguration of a programme at Jawalakhel in Lalitpur today. “Reports that relations between us have soured are baseless,” he said, adding that Chairman Dahal was making all efforts to forge consensus. Sources have claimed that Dahal is desperate to oust Bhattarai and present himself as the new prime ministerial candidate. He has also been forging an alliance with Mohan Baidhya-led CPN-Maoist and reported to have promised to support CPN-M General Secretary Ram Bahadur Thapa as the prime ministerial candidate. ‘Prez bid threat to republicanism’ BHAIRAHAWA: Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai on Monday said President Ram Baran Yadav’s seven-day deadline to form consensus government was a ‘ploy to finish off republicanism’. Speaking at the 15th general assembly of Nepal Construction Entrepreneurs Federation, Bhattarai said, “Though the opposition parties have welcomed his step, it is nothing but a conspiracy to nip our achievement (republicanism) in the bud. So, parties should not provoke him.” But he was quick to assure that he did not have any tussle with the President. Nnnn LAWYERS WORRIED BY CONSTITUTIONAL CRISIS Kaathmandu, 27 Nov.: A former Attorney General and senior advocates today criticised yesterday’s Cabinet decision questioning President Ram Baran Yadav’s call to form a consensus government as going against the Constitution, The Himalayan Times reports.. “The Cabinet did not maintain political ethics and constitutional norms by challenging the President’s call,” Yagya Murti Banjade, former attorney general said. “It is a matter of shame that a caretaker government should want to retain power for indefinite period unconstitutionally,” he added. Banjade was speaking at an interaction on constitutional crisis organised by the Constitutional Lawyers Forum. Banjade stated that the caretaker government did not have the right to question the presidential call to form government as per the constitution. “The Cabinet has not maintained minimum standard of constitutional ethics by questioning the Presidential call,” senior advocate Ram Prasad Shrestha said. According to Shrestha, Baburam Bhattarai’s government challenged the President’s constitutional duty to form the government. He also said the Cabinet decision was against constitutionalism. Senior advocate Harihar Dahal questioned the government’s motive behind lingering in power indefinitely. “Why has the Cabinet questioned the President’s call when it did not challenge the President’s letter of May 29 that declared the government a caretaker one,” Dahal said adding, “So, how can the Cabinet now question the move of the President at a time when the Head of state has begun the process of forming a government.” Advocates Chandra Kanta Gyawali, Yag Raj Pokhrel, Ananta Raj Luitel and Dinesh Tripathi questioned the government’s motive because it has been obstructing the government formation process. They said the tussle between the PM and President was deepening the constitutional crisis. Yadu Nath Khanal, President of Democratic Lawyers Forum said the President can play the role of guardian of the constitution in times of crisis. Ram Narayan Bidari, however, said lawyers defending the President were provoking him to misuse his discretion against the constitution. “How can he appoint a PM when there is no Parliament and the constitution requires a member of parliament to hold the top executive post,” Bidari asked. Nnnn MAOIST CHIEF SAYS HIS FIRST PRIORITY UNITY GOVT.UNDER PM BHATTARAI Kathmandu, 27 Mov/: - UCPN (Maoist) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal on Monday said there are four leaders who could possibly be named as prime ministerial Candidates, The Himalayan Times reports. Talking to reporters at his residence in Lazimpat, Dahal said his first priority is a unity government under Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai after also offering "lucrative" ministries to the Nepali Congress and the CPN-UML. According to Dahal, his party can try out Deputy Prime Minister Narayan Kaji Shrestha if parties fail to agree on the first option. The other possible PM candidate s that Dahal mentioned are Bijaya Kumar Gachhadar from the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum-Loktantrik and Mahanta Thakur, the chairman of the Tarai Madhes Loktantrik Party Nepal. Dahal also revealed that President Ram Baran Yadav called upon the parties to form a unity government as per an understanding with him. "I had expected a political statement, but the head of state issued a statement citing clauses of the Interim Constitution, which is objectionable," Dahal said. He added that the NC must come up with a clear view on the contentious issues of a new constitution while claiming leadership of a unity government. "We are positive about an NC-led government, but it would be unfair for the Maoists to leave the government without a package deal among the parties," Dahal said. Dahal had invited journalists at his residence to refute charges made by the PM Bhattarai faction of his party that he was supporting the President in the latter's move. Dahal downplayed the issue and said that he has taken the President's step positively, though, according to him, it was unconstitutional. Nnnn GOVT. INTRODUCING STIFFER CODE OF CONDUCT Kathmandu, 27 Nov.: The government is all set to bring forth a sterner and more comprehensive diplomatic code of conduct , adding more provisions that will work concurrently with the new aid and investment policy aimed at monitoring and standardising INGOs and NGOs operating inside the country, Anil Giri writes is The Kathmandu Post.. The code, submitted on Sunday to the Prime Minister's Office during the regular secretaries' meeting, will soon be made public. "The meeting instructed a panel headed by Foreign Secretary Durga Bhattarai to revisit the code and further tailor it," said a secretary on condition of anonymity. Secretaries from the Home and Finance ministries are also members of the panel. The new code will elaborate provisions for political leaders meeting foreigners, diplomats and other visiting dignitaries. As of now, political leaders are not required to state the contents of their meetings with foreigners. The same provisions will also apply to senior bureaucrats. "Senior bureaucrats will be barred from frequently attending INGO and NGO programmes. If they need to attend such meetings, they will have to undergo several steps. They need to clarify the nature of the INGO or NGO, what they will speak about if they are participating in the programme and statements made will need to be recorded to ensure institutional memory," said the secretary. The new code will also cover the foreign visits of ministers and secretaries. "In our case, there is no rationale behind which junket is important to attend and which is not. We also need to be cautious about protocol so a clear policy on the foreign trips of ministers and secretaries is necessary," said the official. "This is not to antagonise the donor community, nor to discourage them. This is an effort to put a system in place and keep our own house in order," said another PMO official. Besides specifying the ways to conduct diplomatic meetings, diplomatic correspondence and requiring the Foreign Ministry's approval for all meetings with foreign dignitaries, the code also states how office bearers should present themselves at diplomatic meetings and functions. The new code will make it mandatory for even former prime ministers to approach the Foreign Ministry before meeting foreign ambassadors, leaders and diplomats. As the current diplomatic code of conduct provides concessions to political party leaders who do not hold public posts, the new code will soon be gradually applied to the heads of political parties too. “The new code will be fundamentally different from what we have now. It will be in line with international standards and will bring more sections under its ambit,” said the PMO official. Last August, the Foreign Ministry unveiled a diplomatic code of conduct for sitting government officials, including the President, the prime minister and ministers, to make official meetings, contacts, negotiations and communication with foreign governments, officials, diplomats and representatives of international organisations more systematic and “dignified". "That code was not complete so we need a new one that is more comprehensive and sterner and will lay out a proper system," said the official. However, officials said that a human resource crunch at the Foreign Ministry can make monitoring and implementation of the code difficult. Nnnn