| March 20, 2019
Menu

SLC, 82, RIP

Changed school educationWith the publication of the results of this year’s School Leaving Certificate (SLC) examinations, the certificates of millions of Nepalis who have over the years passed through the dreaded “iron gate” will start to look outdated. Their children…
Read more...

Right to wrong

Corruption in NepalThe annual Corruption Perception Index (CPI) published by the Berlin-based Transparency International, a global anti-corruption watchdog, is the most trusted barometer of corruption around the world. Year after year, it has ranked Nepal as being perceived by its…
Read more...

Time for change

Nepal-India treatiesThe Nepali Eminent Persons’ Group (EPG) is scheduled to hold its first joint meeting with its Indian counterpart on July 4th and 5th. In this connection, the four-member Nepali EPG has been consulting people from various walks of life—foreign…
Read more...

Priced out

Post-budget inflation In a mature economy the monetary policy of the central bank plays a big role in determining the level of inflation. If there is excess supply of money in the market and the price of goods and services…
Read more...

Where to, comrade?

Relevance of Naya Shakti NepalFormer Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai’s Naya Shakti Nepal party was formally launched on Sunday amidst a cheering crowd at Kathmandu’s Khullamanch. According to Bhattarai, the promulgation of new constitution on November 20th, 2015, marked the end…
Read more...

Mend-fence mission

Foreign Minister’s India visitDeputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Kamal Thapa left for a three-day official visit to India on Friday. This visit is being seen meaningfully: it is the first time a top government official is visiting…
Read more...

Tipping point

Stalled political negotiationsThe political leaders affiliated with the Federal Alliance, which includes Madhesh-based parties, deserve a pat on their back. Instead of choosing highly disruptive forms of protest like border blockade that not long ago caused great hardships to common…
Read more...

Lives on the line

Shortage of doctorsThe recently announced budget aims to have at least one medical doctor in every Village Development Committee (VDC) in Nepal. There are currently 3,276 VDCs in the country. Theoretically, arranging for one MBBS-pass doctor for each VDC should…
Read more...

Eighth wonder

School education reformsThe eighth amendment of the Education Act (1972), which was approved by the parliament on Saturday, could prove to be a watershed moment in the field of education in Nepal. First of all, it does away with the…
Read more...

Top priority

Protecting environmentSpeaking on the occasion of the World Environment Day on Sunday, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli pointed out how it is tricky for an underdeveloped country like Nepal to strike a balance between development and environment conservation. He also…
Read more...

Chaos, united

Trade unionism in NepalThe history of trade unions can be traced back to the heydays of the Industrial Revolution at the fag-end of the 18th century. As more and more people came to be employed in machine-driven organized industries—as compared…
Read more...

Justify it

Government changeWhether or not there was a 'gentleman's agreement' (and we suspect there was one) between CPN-UML and now CPN (Maoist Center) on government change, we don't see any rationale for Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli passing the baton to…
Read more...

Off the blocks

Universal health coverageUniversal health coverage of all Nepalis is a brilliant idea. It appears realistic too. Since 2012, the government has been piloting the scheme in three districts—Ilam, Kailali and Baglung—to great success. The success of the pilot program is…
Read more...

The great exodus

Missing women and childrenJhapa district is emblematic of the recent uptick in disappearance of a large number of Nepali women and children from border areas as well as the 14 districts that were the worst hit by last year's earthquakes.…
Read more...
Subscribe to this RSS feed