NC STUDENTS CLOSE DOWN DOLAKHA INDEFINITELY Kathmandu, 3 June: NC students Monday closed down the central hill Dolakha district. They are demanding action against Maoist YCL for attacking Nepal Taraun Dal leader Sanu Sharpa Sunday in Charikot. NC students are demanding action against YCL district leaders for the attack. Markets, industries, educational institutions were closedown and vehicles stayed off road. Nnnn POLL BEFORE MID-DECEMBER SAYS COMMISSIONER Kathmandu, 3 June:: Election Commissioner (EC) Dr. Rambhakta PB Thakur has said that the Election Commission has all prepared to hold next CA election by the middle of December this year, RSS reports from Birgunj, the Himalayan Times reports... Addressing a press meet organized here today, he said the main objective of the commission and the government is to hold fresh election, therefore the commission was well prepared to hold the election in a fair and fear-free environment. Election is a prime concern for all, he added. As per the preparation, the commission has updated the voters´ lists and just completed the party registration process, he said. He further expressed the belief that the CPN-Maoist will take part in the CA election ´as it is a responsible political force´. Nnnn 35% REVENUE GROWTH TARGETED KATHMANDU: The government has projected to achieve 30 per cent to 35 per cent revenue mobilisation growth in the next fiscal year 2013-14, compared to the current fiscal year. Briefing the chairman of Interim Election Council Khil Raj Regmi, here today, finance minister Shankar Koirala said that the change in tax brackets and plugging of leakages is expected to help the government mobilise 30 per cent to 35 per cent more revenue. “The private sector will be at the centre of the budget,” he said, adding that export promotion, commercialisation of agriculture, tourism and energy will be the key focus of the fiscal policy. However, the government has not been able to spend on development activities in the current fiscal year. “Only 34 per cent of the capital budget has been spent on development work by nine months,” informed finance secretary Shanta Raj Subedi. “However, trade deficit has increased to Rs 351 billion, though revenue mobilisation has recorded a growth of 23.2 per cent in the 10th month as compared to the same month of last fiscal year. The performance evaluation of the government is not based on revenue mobilisation but on the effective mobilisation of revenue to achieve economic growth that is projected to be at around 3.5 per cent in the current fiscal year. Government is also targeting six per cent growth in the next fiscal year’s budget that it claims will come on time. Nnnn ONE KILLED IN TRIYUGA ACCIDENT Kathmandu, 3 June: Kumar Adhikari, 35, of Triyuga Municipility-1, Bokse, who was critically injured in a road accident last night, died this morning in course of treatment at Neuro Hospital Biratnagar, said police, RSS reports from Rajbiraj. He sustained injuries when a tractor (Se.1 Ta. 2538) knocked him down while he was returning home from Jaljale on his motorbike (Ba.16 Pa. 5685) at 8:00 p.m. on Sunday, said SSP Bhog Bahadur Thapa at the Zonal Police Office. The police are searching for the absconding diver. The tractor and the motorbike are impounded by police. Nnnn PASHMINA PROJECT TO GET MONEY Kathmandu, 3 June: The International Trade Center (ITC) has finally approved a budget of $2 million for the Pashmina Enhancement and Trade Support (PETS) Projectm The Himalayan Times reports.. According to the Ministry of Commerce and Supplies (MoCS), the PETS project of ITC, under the Technical Assistance and Capacity Building initiative, will now receive a budget of $2 million. Pashmina Enhancement and Trade Support is a three-year long project, which the International Trade Center is responsible for implementing, with a total cost of $2 million. According to the ministry, the project proposals were developed through a wide stakeholder consultation process, including rigorous discussions and interactions at different stages. MoCS is also planning to sign an agreement with ITC within this month, said an official at the ministry. ITC is supporting Nepal to strengthen backward and forward linkages of trade. It is also supporting tea and coffee along with pashmina products. Its project titled ‘Pashmina Enhancement and Trade Support’ will contribute to economic and social development through export growth and market diversification of chyangra pashmina products manufactured in Nepal. “The project will help us lower our cost of production and also help us sustain in the international market,” said general secretary of Nepal Pashmina Industries Association (NPIA) Vijay Dugar. According to NPIA, the estimated budget of around $2 million will be used for branding, marketing and designing chyangra pashmina. The association and the government had earlier requested ITC to cooperate with the pashmina industry to develop its trademark and brand in the international market. The three-year project is expected to help pashmina create backward and forward linkages. NPIA is also waiting for approval to launch the Pashmina Trading Story, a programme under the WTO/Enhancement Integrated Framework (EIF) Trading Stories Project. The Pashmina Trading Story is a short film, which will highlight the various stages of pashmina production and its trading. Under the WTO/EIF Trading Stories Project, Nepal had selected three products — ginger, chyangra pashmina and tea — a year back. The trade story’s main objective is to implement the Nepal Trade Integration Strategy (NTIS) and to publicise the products at the international level. Under the Pashmina Enhancement and Trade Support project, the trading story of the products will be circulated to member countries of World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the project will publish a book on the story. The Pashmina Enhancement and Trade Support project, under the WTO, aims to respond to trade related development priorities in the NTIS, as well as to build sustainable local capacities and leverage additional resources from development partners pursuant to the goal. nnnn MEDIA GOOGLE “European countries should invest in tourism, agriculture and infrastructure. The government will bring the Foreign Investment and Technology Transfer Policy and Foreign Investment and Technology Transfer Act to encourage foreign investors.’ (Finance Minister Shanker Koirala, The Himalayan Times, 3 June) nnnni