PRESIDENT CONSULTING PARTIES IN DISSOLED PARLIAMENT Kathmandu, 23 Dec.: President Dr Ram Baran is consulting parties represented in the dissolved parliament after the fifth deadline was missed by the Big Three and Madesh Morcha to form a consensus government in one month. The head of state is making the move before leaving for India Monday. nnnnr FORMAL REQUESST FOR CHINESE LOAN Kathmandu, 23 Dec.: The Ministry of Finance has formally dispatched a letter to the China EXIM Bank requesting soft loans for the purchase of four Chinese aircraft for Nepal Airline Corporation (NAC), Sangam Prasai writsin The Kathmandu Post.. China has pledged to provide a 19-seater Harbin Y-12e and a 58-seater MA60 turboprop in grant and the government plans to purchase four other aircraft—three Harbin Y-12e and an MA60—by taking the soft loans from the bank. “We sent a formal request letter to the China EXIM Bank a few days ago,” said Finance Secretary Shanta Raj Subedi. “Formal negotiations will take place after we receive the bank’s response.” Subedi, however, said the request was sent after the Chinese side agreed to extend soft loans for the purpose during a recent meeting. If the plan materialises, the national flag carrier will get new aircraft in 25 years. After receiving the Chinese bank’s response, the government will form a loan negotiation team led by a joint secretary of the Tourism Ministry, according to Subedi. According to Subedi, the team will finalise the terms of negotiation and ascertain the actual amount required to fund the aircraft purchase. “First, the two government will sign an agreement and then a subsidiary agreement will be signed with the bank,” he said. Earlier, the Chinese government had planned to include the two aircraft in its annual grant to Nepal. “But after the Finance Ministry refused to entertain such an idea, the aircraft will not be included in the annual Chinese grant, but will be a separate grant,” said a senior Finance Ministry official. China has been providing annual grant of 150 million Yuan to Nepal. The interest of the loan has not been fixed yet, but Nepali officials expect it will be less than 1.75 percent per year. As per the commercial agreement signed between the NAC and AVIC International Holding, a Chinese government undertaking, on November 29, the Chinese side has given a five-year grace period for the loan and interest repayment. The provision will enable NAC to enjoy earnings for at least five years. If things go as planned, NAC will receive the first delivery of the two aircraft in grant within two months after the loan agreement, according to NAC officials. Rest of the deliveries is expected within five months after the first delivery. On August 7, 2011, NAC had written to the Finance Ministry, requesting it to purchase eight aircraft in foreign grant. And in November 2011, the ministry requested China to provide aircraft either in grant or on concessional loans. The Chinese side then responded positively, expressing their readiness to provide some aircraft in grant and some under soft loans. An NAC technical team, following its inspection visit to China, reported the airplanes were fit for the Nepali skies. Subsequently in December 2011, the Chinese government formally informed the Finance Ministry that three aircraft would be provided to NAC in grant and the others on soft loans. However, the process landed in controversy, with the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority being called to probe alleged irregularities. The government again revived the plan on October 17, 2012, under its Immediate Governance and Economy Reform Action Plan 2012. nnnn PARTY NO TO PM BHATTARAI’S PROPOSAL Kathmandu, 23 Dec.: Giving Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai the cold shoulder, the extended office bearer meeting of the UCPN (Maoist) on Saturday elected to hand over the government leadership to the Nepali Congress (NC) provided the latter agrees a package deal, including elections in April-May, Kamal Dev Bhattarai writes in The .Kathmandu Post. The meeting entrusted the party’s four-member office bearers’ panel with the right to take any decision on the fundamentals of such a pact. The Bhattarai faction of the UCPN (M) has been accusing party Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal of being in a rush to hand over the government leadership to the NC, abandoning the party’s agendas. It has warned that “power handover in advance will cost the party dear”. The latest decision is likely to deepen the rift between Dahal and Bhattarai, though it is yet to be seen how far Dahal moves ahead bypassing Bhattarai while striking a deal with the other parties. The party virtually has rejected PM Bhattarai’s political line that the current government should first get the shape of national consensus before handing over the leadership to other parties. Dahal enjoys the support of Vice-chairman Narayan Kaji Shrestha and Secretary Post Bahadur Bogati in the office bearers’ committee. Leaders close to the Dahal faction say bringing the opposition parties on board the incumbent government is not their priority if the other parties agree to address the Maoist agendas. During Saturday’s meeting, Dahal said the party should take an initiative pronto to form a unity government to hold elections in April-May at any cost. Leaders close to Bhattarai, however, declared their readiness to seek any alternative, but said that “handover of the government leadership to the NC would not be a wise decision to guarantee elections and peserve the achievements made by the dissolved CA”. Bhattarai’s loyalists also suggested that the party should choose Chairman Dahal as a prime ministerial candidate instead of supporting NC President Sushil Koirala, who is accused of opposing federalism and 12-point understanding. Though Dahal is against transforming the incumbent government into national consensus to ensure a dignified exit of the PM, it won’t be easy for the Maoist chief to hand over the government leadership to the NC, said the Bhattarai camp. “He cannot alone hand over power to the NC as the ruling ally, Samyukta Loktantrik Madhesi Morcha, is in favour of a package deal, which includes transformation of the incumbent government into national consensus,” said PM’s political advisor Devendra Poudel. Team Bhattarai also said Dahal cannot take decisions unilaterally as the government is responsible to implement all the agreements made by the parties. nnnn TENDULKAR RETIRES FROM ODIS DEC 23 - One of the game's all-time greats, Sachin Tendulkar , on Sunday announced his retirement from one-day cricket, bringing to an end a glorious 23-year-old career in the format during which he rewrote numerous batting records. "I have decided to retire from the One-Day format of the game. I feel blessed to have fulfilled the dream of being part of a World Cup wining Indian team. The preparatory process to defend the World Cup in 2015 should begin early and in right earnest," the 39-year-old said in a statement released by the BCCI today. "I would like to wish the team all the very best for the future. I am eternally grateful to all my well wishers for their unconditional support and love over the years," he added. Tendulkar, considered the most complete batsman in modern cricket and one who was considered next only to the legendary Sir Donald Bradman, retires from the ODI format at the top of the run-getters' list. Tendulkar goes out after amassing 18,426 runs in 463 one-dayers at an average of 44.83. The diminutive right-hander has an astonishing 49 hundreds in the format, including a double hundred -- the first in this form of the game. Tendulkar made his ODI debut against Pakistan way back in 1989 and interestingly he is quitting the scene just ahead of another series against the arch-rivals. The Mumbaikar, who made himself unavailable for Twenty20 after playing just one game in 2006, will now remain active in only the Test arena. The brightest moment of his ODI career came last year when he finally became part of a World Cup winning Indian team after five previous appearances. nnnn