VOTING BEGINS IN UML’S YAN Kathmandu, 25 Feb.: The delayed election of UML Youth Association of Nepal (YAN) began in Butwal Monday. A direct contest for leadership of the association for a three-term is being held between Mahesh Basnet supported by KP Sharma Oli and Niraj Acharya supported by chairman Jhalanath Khanal. Results are expected later Monday. Voting was expected Sunday. A 135-member central committee is being elected. nnnn. WOMEN TO ATTEMPT KILIMANJARO Kathmandu, 25 Feb.: : In a bid to identify Nepal in the international community, a Nepali women mountaineers’ team is all set to climb the 5,895-metre Kilimanjaro peak in Tanzania of Africa on the occasion of International Women’s Day, RSS reports.. The team successfully scaled the world’s highest peak, Mt Everest in 2008, and Mt Kosciuszko and Mt Elbrus in 2010. The team which is inclusive in terms of ethnicity is departing for Tanzania on February 25 and will scale the peak from February 27 to March 5. According to Nepal Tourism Board (NTB), the team aims to climb the highest peak in each continent. So, the team known as the 7 Summit Women Team. After climbing Mt Kilimanjaro, the seven women will promote Nepal as a destination in Tanzania and South Africa. Delegates of Nepal Tourism Board will join the team in Dar es Salaam where a reception is scheduled for March 18. At a press meet organised today, Officiating Chief Executive Officer Subash Niraula said NTB will organise a promotional programme in Jerusalem and Johannesburg. The team comprises Shailee Basnet, Asha Kumari Singh, Chunu Shrestha, Pujan Acharya, Nimdoma Sherpa, Maya Gurung and Pema Diki Sherpa. Nnnn DALIT CONVENTION 2 MARCH Kathmandu, 25 Feb.:: Nepal Dalit Association, the sister wing of the Nepali Congress, is going to hold its Fourth National General Convention on March 2 in Birtamod of Jhapa district, RSS reports from Bhadrapur.. A 151-member General Convention Main Organising Committee and various sub-committees under it have been constituted under the convenorship of Uddhav Thapa, the Nepali Congress Jhapa district president, to hold the three-day general convention. Six hundred and fifty Association representatives from 75 districts of the country will participate in the general convention. Nnnn INCENTIVES FOR BUSINESSES Kathmandu, 25 Feb.: With the new Cash Incentive Regulation, both exporters and manufacturers will soon be able to enjoy the cash incentive facility. The Ministry of Commerce and Supplies (MoCS) in its cash incentive regulation draft has mentioned about allowing the facility for both exporters and manufacturers based on minimum value addition to products, The Himalayan Times reports.. “We have already submitted our final draft to the high level committee which will make its final decision in a meeting this week,” said secretary at the ministry Lal Mani Joshi. According to Joshi, the final meeting for the Cash Incentive Regulation will be organised within this week, which will approve the new regulation. “If the draft is approved, exporters and manufacturers will be eligible for cash incentive if their products fulfill the minimum value addition needed for an export based product,” he said, adding that the cash incentive percentage will now have a fixed interest rate and will be based on product. The ministry also informed that there will be no cash incentive facility for exporters to India as the documentation system for exports to India is not reliable. “Currently, we are not in a condition to allow cash incentive for exports to India,” said Joshi. According to him, till there is a reliable system of export documentation, the ministry will not be able to give cash incentive for exports to India. Earlier, MoCS had said that there are some exporters who do not use the banking channel while exporting goods to India, which will give rise to fraudulent activities. MoCS has also suggested that the cash incentive be provided to only those exporters who can clearly show their banking channels. After a cabinet decision on June 9, 2011, the government had developed criteria for cash incentive –– if a product has value addition of 30 per cent to 50 per cent, the exporter will get cash incentive of two per cent, whereas if the value addition is between 50 per cent to 80 per cent, the exporter will get three per cent, and if value addition is more than 80 per cent, the exporter will get a total cash incentive of four per cent. However, due to various complications, the cash incentive procedure was withheld for further simplification. From the time the cash incentive facility was launched, there have been disagreements between the government and industrialists due to the complicated value addition verification process. Citing a number of complications and low number of recommendations, the Ministry of Industry approached MoCS to develop a new module for the cash incentive process. The Department of Industry (DoI), till date, has recommended the names of 45 industries for cash incentive. There are more than 90 applicants in the pipeline for value addition verification. DoI has recommended a total cash incentive of Rs 110 million for 45 industries from the total budget for the cash incentive programme. Nnnn KOREAN LANGUAGE TEST FROM 27 MARCH Kathmandu, 25 Feb.: The Employment Permit System (EPS) Nepal office, under the Department of Foreign Employment, has planned to take Computer-Based Test (CBT) of Korean language from March 27. The CBT is targeted towards reentrants for the South Korean job market under EPS, The Himalayan Times reports.. The CBT is targeted towards Nepali workers who have already worked in Korea for three years and want to re-enter the country for employment, said officer at EPS-Nepal Gyan Nath Shakal. The office has planned to distribute forms for the test from March 6-8. EPS-Nepal has estimated about 500 to 700 to take the exam to join South Korean jobs again. “We don’t know what the exact number of participants will be but we believe it will not be more than 700,” he said. According to EPS-Nepal office, candidates who have returned from Korea after January 1, 2010, after working for more than three years and are between 18-39 years of age are eligible for the Computer-Based Test. Workers who had worked illegally in Korea and those who are prohibited by the Nepali government from travelling abroad are not eligible for re-entry. The Human Resource Department of Korea is planning to conduct the CBT of Korean language every four months. South Korea is a lucrative destination for Nepali migrant workers and thousands have shown interest in jobs in the destination. An EPS employee earns about $1,000 (Rs 85,000) in South Korea per month. The earning is more than four times that offered in other popular destinations — Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Malaysia. About 15,000 Nepalis are working in South Korea and 12,500 are EPS employees who reached there since the process began in August 2008. About 32,000 Nepali youths had applied for the first Korean language test in 2008 and the number has been growing every time — about 42,000 in 2010 and 51,000 in 2012. South Korea had decided to hire more than 15,000 Nepalis last year but it could not provide jobs to all. The country has been hiring from the roster that was created two years back. nnnn