Further, Mr. Narendra Bahadur Singh Badal, Chairperson, Duhun Rural Municipality and Shri Prashant Kumar Sona, Second Secretary, Embassy of India, Kathmandu was jointly inaugurated School building of Shree Janabikash Secondary School at Duhun Rural Municipality, built at project cost of NR.33.70 million, under ‘Nepal-India Development Cooperation’. Political representatives, government officials, social workers, representative of the school management, teachers, parents and students were also present on this occasion.

The Government of India grant under ‘Nepal-India Development Cooperation’, will be utilized for the construction of double storied school building, toilet block, boundary wall and entry gate with other facilities for Shree Himalaya Secondary School at Byas Rural Municipality. Also, the GoI grant was utilized for the construction of a school building with other facilities for Shree Janabikash Secondary School, Duhun Rural Municipality.

These projects taken up as a High Impact Community Development Project (HICDP), under an Agreement between Government of India and Government of Nepal. The projects being implemented through Byas Rural Municipality for Shree Himalaya Secondary School and Shree Janabikash Secondary School, was implemented through Duhun Rural Municipality, Darchula. The project is an important example of the robust development partnership between India and Nepal.

Chairpersons Byas Rural Municipality and Duhun Rural Municipality in their remarks appreciated the continued developmental support of the Government of India in upliftment of the people of Nepal in priority sectors.

The new school buildings would be useful in providing better education facilities to students of Shree Himalaya Secondary School and Shree Janabikash Secondary School in Darchula, Nepal and would create an improved environment for learning as well as contribute to the development of the education in this area.

Since 2003, Government of India has taken up over 551 HICDPs in Nepal in various sectors and has completed 489 projects. Amongst these, 40 projects are in Sudurpashchim Province in various sectors, which include 10 projects in Darchula. In addition to these, Government of India has gifted 1009 ambulances and 300 school buses to various hospitals, health posts and educational institutions in Nepal on the occasion of Independence Day and Republic Day of India. Amongst these, 60 ambulances and 20 school buses have been gifted in Sudurpashchim Province, including 8 ambulances and 2 school buses provided in Darchula District.

As close neighbours, India and Nepal share wide-ranging and multi-sectoral cooperation. The implementation of HICDPs reflects the continued support of the Government of India in bolstering the efforts of the Government of Nepal in upliftment of its people, augmenting infrastructure in the field of priority sector, especially in the education sector in Nepal.

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During the courtesy call held at the headquarters of the Nepali Army, Jangi Adda, they discussed issues including strengthening bilateral relations.

Also, Lieutenant General Pradeep Chandran Nair had a meeting with Indian Ambassador to Nepal Naveen Srivastava at the Indian Embassy. He came to Kathmandu on March 26 for an official visit to Nepal.

During the visit, he visited the Indian Gorkha Soldiers’ Residence, Pension Payment Office, Pokhara and Pension Payment Office, Dharan, according to the Indian Embassy here. He also addressed the rally in Kathmandu, Pokhara and Dharan, which included ex-Gorkha soldiers living in Nepal.

Lieutenant General Pradeep Chandran Nair praised the bravery of the Gurkha soldiers and appreciated their courage and devotion to the nation.

Commemorating the priceless sacrifices and sacrifices of former brave Gurkha soldiers, Lieutenant General Pradeep Chandran Nair said that Assam Rifles, Indian Army and the Government of India will always be committed to the welfare of Gurkha soldiers.

The keys of the vehicles were handed over by Shri Naveen Srivastava, Ambassador of India to Nepal in the presence of H.E. Mr. Barsha Man Pun, Hon’ble Finance Minister, Government of Nepal. Mayors and Chairpersons of Municipalities and Rural Municipalities of various districts as well as representatives of various beneficiary organisations, political representatives, officials of Government of Nepal, and social workers were also present at the event.

Out of the total 101 vehicles gifted today, 2 ambulances were handed over on location in the earthquake-affected Jajarkot and West Rukum districts by the representative of the Embassy of India in the presence of district officials and local residents.

Government of India has been gifting ambulances and school buses on the occasion of the Independence Day and the Republic Day of India for 3 decades to various beneficiary organizations in different parts of Nepal, giving high priority to Nepal’s health and education sectors.

The Ambassador stated during the event that this has been one of the long-standing initiatives of the Government of India under the Nepal-India Development Partnership to bolster the efforts of the Government of Nepal to strengthen its infrastructure in health and education sectors. Ambassador further highlighted that this is a part of the robust and strong development partnership between India and Nepal and has a geographical spread throughout Nepal, touching people’s lives and bringing out tangible progress in the development journey of Nepal.

Hon’ble Finance Minister Mr. Barsha Man Pun, in his remarks, appreciated Government of India’s various ongoing developmental projects in Nepal and expressed that these will continue to strengthen people-to-people connectivity and bilateral relations between the two countries. He emphasized that this flagship programme is very beneficial for the people of Nepal.

Since 1994, Government of India has gifted 1009 ambulances and 300 school buses across Nepal, including those gifted today. It is part of Government of India’s continued support for the efforts of Nepal to strengthen its health and education facilities and to facilitate easy physical access to these services.

Madhes Chief Minister Saroj Kumar Yadav inaugurated the first session of the festival as the chief guest. In the first session of the program, Harivansh Jha presented an important lecture on ‘Janki Leela’. The program included sarees as well as an exhibition of forts from India and Nepal and a Maithili Food Festival presented by renowned chef Santosh Shah.

In the second session of the program, the gurus and artists of Swami Vivekananda Cultural Center presented a musical performance of Bhajans based on the biographies of Lord Rama and Sita. The special attraction of the second session was the performance of famous Nepali singer Menuka Paudel. Menuka Poudel managed to make it to the top 10 of Indian Idol 2024.

Manoj Kumar Sah, mayor of Janakpurdham sub-metropolitan city, attended the evening’s cultural program as the chief guest. The festival was attended by members of the provincial assembly of Madhes province, eminent personalities and media persons and there was a large presence of spectators.

The second edition of Janakpurdham Cultural Festival highlighted the common cultural heritage of India and Nepal reflecting the common tradition of art, culture and festivals of the two countries. The first edition of Janakpurdham Cultural Festival was organized in April 2023.

Political representatives, government officials, social workers, representative of the school management, teachers, parents and students were also present on this occasion.

The Government of India grant under ‘Nepal-India Development Cooperation’, will be utilized for the construction of double storied academic and administrative block with other facilities for this school.

The project is taken up as a High Impact Community Development Project (HICDP), under an Agreement between Government of India and Government of Nepal being implemented through Chichila rural Municipality, Sankhuwasabha. The project is an important example of the robust development partnership between India and Nepal.

Chairman, Chichila Rural Municipality in his remarks appreciated the continued developmental support of the Government of India in upliftment of the people of Nepal in priority sectors.

The new school building would be useful in providing better education facilities to students of Shree Diding Basic School in Chichila Rural Municipality, Sankhuwasabha and would create an improved environment for learning as well as contribute to the development of the education in this area.

Since 2003, Government of India has taken up over 550 HICDPs in Nepal in various sectors and has completed 488 projects. Amongst these, 85 projects are in Koshi Province in various sectors, which include 2 projects in Sankhuwasabha.

In addition to these, Government of India has gifted 974 ambulances and 234 school buses to various hospitals, health posts and educational institutions in Nepal on the occasion of Independence Day and Republic Day of India. Amongst these, 141 Ambulances and 35 School Buses have been gifted in Koshi Province, including 13 ambulances and 3 school buses provided in Sankhuwasabha District.

As close neighbours, India and Nepal share wide-ranging and multi-sectoral cooperation. The implementation of HICDPs reflects the continued support of the Government of India in bolstering the efforts of the Government of Nepal in upliftment of its people, augmenting infrastructure in the field of priority sector, especially in the education sector in Nepal.

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Samsung inspires the world and shapes the future with transformative ideas and technologies. The company is redefining the worlds of TVs, smartphones, wearable devices, tablets, digital appliances, network systems and memory, system LSI, foundry and LED solutions. For the latest news on Samsung Nepal, please visit Samsung Newsroom at http://news.samsung.com/in.

Nepal School and Hostel building of Shree Sharada Secondary School, Rawa Besi Rural Municipality, Khotang, built with Government of India’s financial assistance of NRs. 36.10 million under ‘Nepal-India Development Cooperation’.

The building was inaugurated today jointly by Mr. San Bahadur Rai, Chief, District Coordination Committee; Mr. Phatik Kumar Shrestha, Chairman, Rawa Besi Rural Municipality, Khotang and Shri Suman Shekhar, First Secretary, Embassy of India, Kathmandu.

Public representatives, government officials, social workers, representatives of the school management, teachers, parents and students were also present on this occasion.

The Government of India grant under ‘Nepal-India Development Cooperation’ was utilized for the construction of a double storied school building, hostel building and procurement of furniture for both buildings. This project was implemented through the District Coordination Committee, Khotang.

The project was taken up as a High Impact Community Development Project (HICDP), earlier known as Small Development Projects, under an agreement between the Government of India and the Government of Nepal.

Shree Sharada Secondary School was established in 1952. The school is providing education from Class 1 to 10+2 level. There are over 365 students studying in the school, about 50% of whom are girls. The school has achieved remarkable success in providing quality education.

Since 2003, Government of India has taken up over 550 HICDPs in Nepal in various sectors and has completed 488 projects. Amongst these, 85 projects are in Koshi Province in various sectors, which includes 1 project in Khotang.

In addition to these, Government of India has gifted 974 ambulances and 234 school buses to various hospitals, health posts and educational institutions in Nepal on the occasion of Independence Day and Republic Day of India.

Amongst these, 141 Ambulances and 35 School buses have been gifted in Koshi Province, which includes 4 ambulances and 1 school bus provided in Khotang District. As close neighbours, India and Nepal share wide-ranging and multi-sectoral cooperation.

The implementation of HICDPs reflects the continued support of the Government of India in bolstering the efforts of the Government of Nepal in upliftment of its people, augmenting infrastructure in the field of priority sectors especially in the education sector in Nepal.

In the rationale statement, ICRA Nepal states, “The rating reaffirmation factors in the bank’s sustained strong capitalisation profile with capital to risk weighted assets ratio (CRAR) of ~16% and tier-I capital of ~13% as of mid-January 2024 against the regulatory minimum of 11% and 8.5%, respectively.

The rating also factors in the bank’s robust asset quality with reported gross non-performing loans (NPLs) of 1.60% as of mid-January 2024, which remains much lower as against the commercial banking industry average of 3.63%, despite the recent increase (NPLs were 0.72% as of mid-January 2023, when last rated).

The rating action also continues to factor in the bank’s long track record of operations (since 1987) and its strong parentage (~70% subsidiary of the Standard Chartered Group) along with the Group’s management/oversight support.

The bank’s healthy deposit profile with relatively high share of low-cost deposits has resulted in the bank maintaining lowest cost of funds in the industry, which remains a major strength. The rating further continues to factor in SCBNL’s competitive positioning underpinned by its global brand reputation and competitive cost of funds.”

Anirvan Ghosh Dastidar, CEO of Standard Chartered Bank Nepal Limited, said, “The reaffirmation of AAA rating for five years in a row is a strong validation of our commitment towards our clients and all our stakeholders. We thank everyone for making this possible.”

SAARC countries have established a number of institutional frameworks to promote regional economic integration over the last three decades. However, the share of intraregional trade in the total trade of the South Asian countries is stagnating at 5% only, less than one third of its potential. One of the major impediments in unleashing the true potential of the region is lack of an integrated transport and people to people connectivity.

Connectivity links both places and people by creating the physical infrastructure necessary for the flow of goods, labour and information. Connectivity is the cornerstone of regional economic integration, shaping regional production networks and trade patterns through its impact on competitiveness. Connectivity has psychological implications and extends beyond people’s mental boundaries. Improving people-to-people connectivity and removing physical and mental borders could lead to meaningful cooperation.

Chandiraj Dhakal

Cross-border transportation facilitation is still lacking despite improvements in transportation infrastructure and services in all South Asian countries at different paces. Regardless of their size, member nations of SAARC could benefit greatly from improving transport connectivity. For instance, Nepal has the potential to see GDP gains of up to 14%.

Costs of trading within South Asia remain high at 114% of the value of the goods being exported, making trading with neighboring nations more expensive or less competitive, compared to trading with distant partners and discourages the formation of regional value chains despite the geographic contiguity. Poorly developed land transportation infrastructure is a key reason behind high trade costs which is further exacerbated by strict visa regimes and non-existence of air connectivity within the region.

Even though South Asia is blessed with a long coastline and access to international shipping routes, the region’s overall trade costs remain comparable to those of the landlocked countries of Central Asia, which suffer from severe transport constraints. These are indicative of the prevalent shortcomings related to both transport and trade facilitation in the region, which hurt its trade prospects.

Lack of integrated connectivity is not only restraining the economic integration of South Asian region rather restricting the people of the region to revel the socio-cultural festivities together. Despite of the fact that SAARC being home to marvels like Taj Mahal, Ajanta, Sigiriya, Timpu, and Taxila, home to the highest and the second highest mountain peaks of the world Everest and K2 and with an unmatched biodiversity South Asian region has the key ingredients to delight its visitors.

The tourism potential of the region is unmatched and yet waits to be unleashed, lack of transport routes, non-existence of air connectivity and strict visa regimes not only restricts the flow of intra-regional tourist across the region rather restricts the movement of international tourists visiting the region.

Restrictive policy regimes have restrained the beneficial effects of common cultural affinity and geographical proximity, and the ‘gravitational’ pull of proximity on movement of goods and people. In 1948 the intra-regional trade of South Asia was more than 20% that has reduced to mere 5% today. Over the past seven decades only half-hearted steps have been made to restore or build transport linkages.

Due to inefficient transport infrastructure trade transactions in South Asia are high ranging between 13-15% as compared to 5-6% in the neighboring trading blocs. Similarly, air connectivity within the region has rather decreased significantly over the years. Major flights between South Asian capitals have ceased, therefore the people of South Asia have to travel to via Middle East, with exorbitant time and monetary costs.

South Asia today is most disconnected region in the world, not mere physically or in terms of infrastructure but in our commitment toward regional prosperity promised in the SAARC Charter. The Summit is due for almost a decade now, the regional committees are hardly meeting even in this digital era, the reginal recognized bodies are paralyzed and regional activities have ceased. The member states need to move SAARC from declaratory to implementation phase, and that requires political will from the political leadership of the South Asian member countries.

Regional connectivity in the region needs integrations of not only business, commerce and trade but for the people who actually move. Extensive modernization of trade and transit facilities between Afghanistan-Pakistan, Bangladesh-Nepal, India-Pakistan and Bhutan to Bangladesh are needed to be built with economic rational on the lead.

(The writer is Vice President SCCI and former President of FNCCI.)