Page 33 - Nepal

The New Year looks decidedly gloomy in India's political neighbourhood

Three key countries with which India has economic ties - Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal - are facing risks that appear to be worsening

India emerges as Nepal's top inbound tourist market in 2022, shows data

India has emerged as Nepal's top inbound tourist market in 2022, the tourism authority here said on Monday, as the key sector in the Himalayan nation is gradually witnessing recovery from the onslaught of the coronavirus pandemic. Of the total 614,148 foreign visitors from January to December last year, 209,105 were from India, followed by the US with 77,009 and the UK 44,781, according to data published by the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB). Australia is in fourth place with 26,874 inbound visitors, while Bangladesh with 25,384 tourists ranked fifth in the list. The arrival of 614,148 tourists last year indicates a significant recovery in the Nepal tourism sector, NTB CEO Dhananjay Regmi said. In 2021, the country witnessed only 150,962 tourist footfall, while it was 230,085 in 2020, according to the data. Before the pandemic hit the tourism industry, Nepal received 1.2 million tourists in 2019. The highest number of 88,582 tourists entered Nepal via air routes in October 2022. Of the

Nepal's newly-appointed PM 'Prachanda' to take vote of confidence on Jan 10

Nepal's newly-appointed Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' has decided to take the vote of confidence in the Parliament on January 10, an official said on Monday. The 68-year-old CPN-Maoist Centre leader was sworn in as the Prime Minister for the third time on December 26 after he dramatically walked out of the pre-poll alliance led by the Nepali Congress and joined hands with opposition leader K P Sharma Oli. Prachanda on Monday requested the parliament secretariat to arrange to table the agenda of the vote of confidence in parliament on January 10. "The Prime Minister has sent a letter to include the subject of vote of confidence on the agenda of the Parliament on the 10th of January," said Rojnath Pandey, the spokesperson of the Parliament Secretariat. There is a constitutional provision that a person who has become the Prime Minister should take a vote of confidence within one month of swearing into office. President Bidhya Devi Bhandari called the first session of

Int'l airport built with Chinese assistance, donations inaugurated in Nepal

Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal on Sunday inaugurated the country's third international airport, built in the backdrop of the Annapurna Mountain Range with Chinese loans and donations.The third International airport of the Himalayan nation has been inaugurated in the tourist valley as the previous airport had no proper infrastructure and also failed to provide an air route via India. The airport had inadequate hotels in the surroundings for stay and no proper transport.Nepal earlier in 2022 had inaugurated another airport, the Gautam Buddha International Airport built in Siddharthanagar near the Indian border. The airport is barely getting international fliers though it was expected to act as a supplement to Tribhuwan International Airport (TIA) in the capital Kathmandu.While inaugurating the airport amid a ceremony, the Prime Minister claimed that airports would connect the land-locked nation with the rest of the world, working as effective means of transportation."The ...

Indian envoy hands over PM Modi's message to Nepal counterpart Prachanda

Modi was the first foreign head of the government to congratulate Prachanda upon his election as the Prime Minister of Nepal on December 25

Political turbulence in 2022 turned rivals into allies in Nepal

Nepal witnessed political turbulence in 2022 that dramatically turned rivals into allies and throned former guerrilla leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal "Prachanda" as the Prime Minister for a third time, as Kathmandu made efforts to balance ties with immediate neighbours India and China with high-profile talks and visits. Prachanda, the 68-year-old CPN-Maoist Centre chairman, surprisingly left his pre-poll alliance with the Nepali Congress and joined hands with rival CPN-UML led by former premier K P Sharma Oli and five other smaller parties to become prime minister. Elections to the lower house and seven provincial assemblies were held last month to end the prolonged political instability that had plagued the Himalayan nation. However, the polls resulted in a hung parliament, with the Nepali Congress emerging as the single largest party, followed by CPN-UML and Prachanda's CPN-Maoist. No party in the 275-member House of Representatives got 138 seats required to form a government. The whee

Third force: The tightrope walk that awaits Prachanda, Nepal's new PM

On Christmas day, Dahal became prime minister of Nepal for the third time - with Oli's assistance. The story of how he achieved this is a riveting one

Nepal's power sector may lose competitive advantage to India's new policy

Nepal's power sector fears that they will lose the competitive advantage in the Indian market following New Delhi's recent decision to waive off the Inter-State Transmission System (ISTS) charges to India's hydropower projects, a move they say will severely hit their exports. On December 2, India's Power Ministry announced a waiver of ISTS charges on wheeling electricity for 18 years for new hydropower projects. The waiver is already available to solar and wind power projects. The government has set an ambitious plan to have 500 GW of generation capacity from non-fossil energy-based sources by 2030. The waiver is applicable exclusively to domestic Indian power producers and power exported from Nepal is not entitled to this concession. In essence, this will make hydropower generated by Indian companies cheaper than what is being produced by Nepal, according to hydropower experts here. The waiver is already available for wind and solar projects. "This is an internal matter of Indi

4.7 and 5.3 magnitude earthquakes strike Baglung district of Nepal

Two earthquakes of magnitude 4.7 and 5.3 hit Nepal's Baglung district in early hours of Wednesday, according to the National Earthquake Monitoring & Research Center (NEMRC), Nepal.As per the readings from the center, an earthquake measuring 4.7 occurred around Adhikari Chaur of Baglung District at 01:23 (local time)."An Earthquake of ml 4.7 occurred around Adhikari Chaur of Baglung District at 01:23 on 2079/09/13 NEMRC/DMG," NEMRC tweeted.The second earthquake of magnitude 5.3 on the Richter scale reportedly struck around Khunga of Baglung District at 02:07 (local time), NEMRC, Nepal tweeted."An Earthquake of ml 5.3 occurred around Khunga of Baglung District at 02:07 on 2079/09/13 NEMRC/DMG," the tweet read.No loss of lives and properties has been reported yet.

China nudges Nepal to expedite BRI projects as Prachanda becomes new PM

A day after Maoist party chief Pushpa Kamal Dahal aka Prachanda was appointed as Nepals new prime minister, China Monday said that it looks forward to working with the new government to push projects

Nepal's former TV anchor Lamichhane becomes Deputy PM, Home minister

Rabi Lamichhane, a former TV anchor whose newly-launched party won a surprisingly huge mandate in the November 20 elections, on Monday joined Nepal's new government led by former Maoist rebel chief Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda as the Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister. Lamichhane's Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), which was formed just months ago, won 20 seats in the 275-member House of Representatives and is the third largest party among the ruling alliance. Speaking to the media after the meeting of the ruling coalition at the Parliament building in Naya Baneshwor on Monday, he said that he decided to join the new government after a common agreement was made among the ruling alliance members to form a mechanism empowered to investigate corruption issues. He said that all the ruling parties have agreed on this matter. Lamichhane joined the office at Singh Durbar shortly after taking the oath of office and secrecy at the President's Office, Sheetal Niwas. Lamichhane also said t

Nepali Congress ready to share PM's post by rotation: NC Spokesperson Mahat

Mahat is a multi-time minister and presently a member of parliament

Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' takes oath as Nepal's new prime minister

Pushpa Kamal Dahal "Prachanda" was on Monday sworn in as the Prime Minister of Nepal for a third time, a day after President Bidya Devi Bhandari appointed him as the new premier. The 68-year-old former guerrilla leader was appointed as the country's new prime minister after he submitted a letter to the president showing the support of 169 members in the 275-member House of Representatives. Prachanda took the oath of office and secrecy from President Bhandari at an official ceremony at Shital Niwas. Born in Dhikurpokhari of Kaski district near Pokhara on December 11, 1954, Prachanda remained underground for almost 13 years. He joined mainstream politics when the CPN-Maoist adopted peaceful politics, ending a decade-long armed insurgency. He led the decade-long armed struggle from 1996 to 2006 that ultimately ended with the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in November 2006. The Nepali Congress is the largest party with 89 seats in the House of Representatives while CPN-U

Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda set to take oath as Nepal's new PM today

Pushpa Kamal Dahal "Prachanda" will be sworn in for the third time as the Prime Minister of Nepal on Monday, a day after President Bidya Devi Bhandari appointed him as the new premier and ended the protracted political uncertainty in the Himalayan nation. President Bhandari on Sunday appointed 68-year-old Prachanda as the country's new prime minister as per Article 76 (2) of the Constitution after receiving the CPN-Maoist Centre chairman's claim to the seat, backed by as many as 169 Members of the House of Representatives. The former guerrilla leader will take charge as the prime minister after taking the oath of office and secrecy from President Bhandari at an official ceremony at Shital Niwas on Monday afternoon. Despite getting appointed prime minister with an overwhelming majority, Prachanda will now have to win a vote of trust from the lower house within 30 days as per Article 76 (4) of the Constitution. "The prime minister of a coalition government must prove that he has the

'Bikini killer' Charles Sobhraj freed from Nepal jail after 19 yrs 2 mths

Charles Sobhraj, 77, who is popularly known as "serpent killer" and "bikini killer" was freed from the jail on Friday afternoon as per the order from the Supreme Court of Nepal

PM Modi congratulates Nepal's new Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday congratulated Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' on being elected as Nepal's PM. Taking to his official Twitter handle, PM Modi stated that he looks forward to working with 'Prachanda' to further strengthen the "friendship" between India and Nepal.PM Narendra Modi noted that the "unique relationship" between the two nations is based on "deep cultural connect" and ties between people. He tweeted, "Warmest congratulations @cmprachanda on being elected as the Prime Minister of Nepal. The unique relationship between India & Nepal is based on deep cultural connect & warm people-to-people ties. I look forward to working together with you to further strengthen this friendship."On Sunday, Nepal President Bidhya Devi Bhandari appointed Maoist Center leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' as the country's Prime Minister, the Nepal President's Office said. "Pushpa Kamal Dahal of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) will take oath as the new ..

Nepal President appoints Pushpa Kamal Dahal as new Prime Minister

Nepal President Bidhya Devi Bhandari on Sunday appointed Maoist Center leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal as the Prime Minister of the Himalayan nation, Nepal President's Office said

Prachanda set to become Nepal's next PM with support from Oli-led CPN-UML

In a dramatic turn of events on Sunday, opposition CPN-UML and other smaller parties extended their support to CPN-Maoist Centre chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal "Prachanda", who is now set to become the next Prime Minister of Nepal. A crucial meeting of former prime minister K P Sharma Oli-led opposition CPN-UML, CPN-Maoist Centre, Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) and other smaller parties agreed to form a government under the leadership of Prachanda'. The CPN-UML, CPN-MC and other parties are set to stake a claim for Prachanda's premiership at the President's Office Sheetalniwas' with the signature of 165 lawmakers under Article 76 (2) of the Constitution, General Secretary of CPN-MC Deb Gurung said. Gurung said that an agreement letter is being prepared to submit to the president. The meeting was attended by Oli, Prachanda, RSP president Ravi Lamichhane, Rastriya Prajatantra Party chief Rajendra Lingden, Janata Samanwadi Party president Ashok Rai among others at Oli's residence ...

Nepali ruling party discusses PM candidate as new govt deadline looms

The Nepali-Congress-led ruling coalition has intensified its negotiations to choose its prime ministerial candidate, as the deadline given by President Bidya Devi Bhandari comes closer

Nepal health ministry issues alert on new Covid-19 variant BF.7

It added that fever measurement, antigen testing and genetic testing of suspected travellers coming from international checkpoints and airports are currently being carried out in Nepal