Political Life

 The Shah dynasty has ruled the country since its unification, except during the Rana period from the mid-nineteenth to the mid-twentieth century. During the Rana administration, the Shah monarchs were stripped of power and the country was ruled by a series of prime ministers from the Rana noble family. In 1950, the Shah kings were restored to the throne and a constitutional monarchy was established that eventually took the form of thepanchayatsystem. Under this system, political parties were illegal and the country was governed by local and national assemblies controlled by the palace. In 1990, the Movement for the Restoration of Democracy (People's Movement) initiated a series of popular demonstrations for democratic reforms, eventually forcing the king to abolish thepanchayatsystem and institute a multiparty democracy.
The country is divided administratively into fourteen zones and seventy-five districts. Local and district-level administers answer to national ministries that are guided by policies set by a bicameral legislature made up of a House of Representatives and a National Council. The majority party in the House of Representatives appoints the prime minister. The executive branch consists of the king and the Council of Ministers.

Leadership and Political Officials.The government is plagued by corruption, and officials often rely on bribes to supplement their income. It is widely believed that influence and employment in government are achieved through personal and family connections. The king is viewed with ambivalence. He and his family have been criticized for corruption and political repression, but photos of the royal family are a popular symbol of national identity and many people think of the king as the living embodiment of the nation and an avatar of the god Vishnu.

Social Problems and Control.International attention has focused on the plight of girls who have been lured or abducted from villages to work as prostitutes in Indian cities and child laborers in carpet factories. Prostitution has increased the spread of AIDS. Foreign boycotts of Nepali carpets have helped curb the use of child labor but have not addressed the larger social problems that force children to become family wage earners.

Military Activity.The military is small and poorly equipped. Its primary purpose is to reinforce the police in maintaining domestic stability. Some Royal Nepal Army personnel have served in United Nations peacekeeping forces. A number of Nepalis, particularly of the hill ethnic groups, have served in Gurkha regiments. To many villagers, service in the British Army represents a significant economic opportunity, and in some areas soldiers' remittances support the local economy.

Read more:  https://missionpudaini.blogspot.com

Population Growth in Nepal by Region, 1991-2001

   Population Growth in Nepal by Region, 1991-2001

July 2002) Wedged between the world’s two population billionaires, China and India, Nepal is struggling with its own population pressures. The country’s 23 million people, most of whom make their living from farming, have nearly run out of land to cultivate, while their numbers continue to grow; poverty, the highest outside of Africa, persists; and internal conflict is draining already scarce resources.

Nepal’s 10th population census, conducted in June 2001, produced a population count of 23,214,681. That number marked an increase of 5 million since the previous census in 1991 and an average annual growth rate of 2.3 percent. According to the census, 86 percent of this growing population lives in rural areas, and 82 percent of the economically active population works in agriculture, fishing, or forestry.

Because one-third of the country consists of mountains or hills, little additional land is available to tend. The share of land being cultivated rose from 17 percent in 1974 to 30 percent in 1998, and the remaining areas that could be added consist mostly of slopes and marginal lands that are environmentally sensitive and less productive.

 With population growth exceeding growth in agricultural production for the past three decades, poverty has become a fixture. Nepal is the poorest country in the world outside of Africa: With an annual gross national income per capita in 1999 of US$220, it ranked 164th out of 173 countries for which data were available. Even when income figures are adjusted to reflect the local cost of living, Nepal rises to only 134th out of 158 countries, higher only than neighboring Bhutan and the poorest African countries. The poverty rate in the country has remained at the same level for as long as it has been measured. According to the first Multi-Purpose Household Budget Survey in 1984-1985, 42 percent of the population was poor, and the most recent Nepal Living Standards Survey, conducted in 1995-1996, matched that percentage, although the methodologies may not be strictly comparable.

To combat poverty, the country has implemented a series of five-year economic development plans, the ninth of which ends this year. The current plan has made population management a central development goal, setting objectives of moving toward a two-child family norm and bringing fertility to replacement level — the level at which a couple has only enough children to replace themselves, or about two children per couple — within 20 years. The 2001 Demographic and Health Survey showed that the current total fertility rate or average number of children per woman is 4.1. In March, Nepal’s parliament legalized abortion to reduce maternal mortality. The maternal mortality ratio, 830 per 100,000 live births, is the fourth highest in the world outside of Africa.

Beyond promoting smaller families, the government has been redistributing poor, landless people to less densely populated areas of the terai, or plains (the lowest of the three topographical bands shown in the accompanying map). The terai contain the majority of the country’s arable land.

Since the advent of malaria-control measures in the 1950s, the terai have been the major region of population growth due to migration from the hill and mountain regions (see table). Outside of the terai, the fastest growing region in the country has been the capital city of Kathmandu, whose population exceeded 1 million people for the first time in the 2001 census. Yet government efforts to address population and to promote overall economic development have come under threat. Since 1996, Maoist rebels have been trying to overthrow Nepal’s multiparty democracy and constitutional monarchy to establish a totalitarian communist republic. They have attempted to exploit the young and the poor in remote rural regions, and the violent clashes between them and the government have severely crippled the tourism industry, one of Nepal’s major sources of foreign currency.

With a young population — 42 percent of people were under age 15 in 1991 — the country will continue to grow rapidly. Even if past fertility declines continue, the Ministry of Population and Environment still projects that the population will reach 32 million by 2016. In light of that increase, the prospects for economic growth and political stability appear fragile.

 

    Commercial banks reducing      deposit interest rates from next   week.

Kathmandu , Nepal Rastra Bank

Nepal Bankers’ Association, an organisation of managers of commercial banks, has decided to reduce interest rates on deposits beginning from coming Sunday. 

A recent meeting of the association decided to lower the rates within the limits set by the Nepal Rastra Bank, informs the association’s president Sunil KC. 

So far, the banks have been giving interest at a maximum rate of 12.13 per cent on individual deposits and of 10.13 per cent on institutional interests. Now, in effect from next week, they will go down.

Whereas the rates of interest on deposits will go down immediately, it will take three months to reduce rates of interest on loans, according to the association.

The Economy Of Nepal US Times

 There are several ways to potentially increase the economy of Nepal:

1. Developing tourism: Nepal is known for its natural beauty, including the Himalayas, and promoting tourism could bring in significant revenue for the country.

   
   

2. Improving infrastructure: Developing infrastructure, such as roads, airports, and telecommunications, could make it easier for businesses to operate and attract foreign investment.

   
   

3. Encouraging foreign investment: Nepal could attract foreign investors by offering tax incentives and a stable political and economic environment.

   
   

4. Developing agriculture: Agriculture is a major sector of the Nepali economy, and investing in technology and education to improve agricultural productivity could lead to economic growth.

   
   

5. Boosting the manufacturing and service sectors: The Government could also focus on developing the manufacturing and service sectors as it creates more job opportunities and diversify the economy.

   
   

6. Leveraging the potential of hydroelectricity: Nepal is rich in water resources and has a huge potential for hydroelectricity. Developing this sector could lead to significant economic growth.

   
   

7. Expanding trade: Nepal could expand trade with neighboring countries and other nations to increase exports and generate more revenue for the economy.

It's worth noting that these are only some of the possible ways to increase the economy of Nepal, and the implementation of these strategies would require careful consideration of the country's unique political and economic environment.

 

Nepal's war and political transition: a brief history.

Nepal’s war and political transition: a brief history

From 1846, the king of Nepal was reduced to a largely titular role after military officer Jung Bahadur Rana seized power in a coup, ushering in a prolonged era of hereditary rule by successive Rana prime ministers. The end of the Rana era a hundred years later came about through an armed uprising spearheaded by the recently formed Nepali Congress (NC) political party. But the 1951 Interim Constitution allowed the space for the monarchy to reassert itself.

After a brief interlude of democratic rule in 1959–60, King Mahendra took over and banned all political parties. A new constitution decreed by Mahendra in 1962 introduced the partyless ‘Panchayat’ political system – ostensibly a ‘Nepali’ version of democracy that in reality concentrated power in the palace. In 1990, a popular movement led to a return to multiparty democracy and a new constitution. The first ‘People’s Movement’ was led by a coalition of political parties that included both the NC and the ‘larger left movement’. But the failure to institute more fundamental reforms dismayed some members of the more radical left.

War

The launch of the ‘People’s War’ on 13 February 1996 by the Communist Party of Nepal–Maoist (CPN-M) was a violent expression of dissatisfaction with the pace, extent and direction of social and political change. Senior Maoist leader Baburam Bhattarai famously asserted that it was aimed at ‘establishing a new socio-economic system and state’. The Maoists’ 40-Point Demands presented to the government in the run-up to the war had called for an end to discrimination against women and of all class exploitation and prejudice – including the Hindu system of ‘untouchability’.

The Maoists’ social reform agenda and armed insurrection techniques attracted support from many impoverished people in the outlying hills and mountainous areas. Fighting remained relatively low-level until the end of the 1990s,and the government’s response was also initially restricted to deploying the police rather than the military. Increasing awareness of ethnic inequality and discrimination fuelled the insurgency. The entry of the Royal Nepali Army in late 2001 was accompanied by a massive increase in violence. Ceasefires in 2001 and 2003 both collapsed.

In 2002, King Gyanendra dismissed the elected government and assumed direct political control before seizing absolute power in February 2005. This led Nepali political parties across the spectrum to join to form the Seven-Party Alliance (SPA), and together they began serious discussions with the insurgent CPN-M. With the support of New Delhi, the Maoists and the SPA settled on a 12-Point Understanding in November 2005, which accepted parts of the stated Maoist agenda of social justice and state reform.

Comprehensive Peace Accord

In the spring of 2006 diverse sections of society and political actors joined in a mass mobilisation – the second People’s Movement. Daily rallies and demonstrations took place across the country for 19 days until King Gyanendra restored the parliament. Along with the return to power of the SPA, this triggered a succession of significant events: the end of all royal prerogatives; the declaration of Nepal as a secular country; the adoption of a ceasefire; the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Accord (CPA) between the SPA-led government and the Maoists; the adoption of the Interim Constitution; and the entry of the CPN-M into the newly renamed Legislature-Parliament.

As well as marking the official end to violence, the CPA dealt with issues of social and political transformation and inclusion. In particular, Clause 3.5 states that: ‘In order to end discriminations based on class, ethnicity, language, gender, culture, religion and region and to address the problems of women, Dalit, indigenous people, ethnic minorities (Janajatis), Tarai communities (Madhesis), oppressed, neglected and minority communities and the backward areas by deconstructing the current centralised and unitary structure, the state shall be restructured in an inclusive, democratic and forward looking manner.’

Following the appointment by the United Nations of first a special envoy and then an Office of the Personal Representative of the Secretary-General, the UN Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) was set up in 2007 with the mandate to ‘monitor the management of arms and armies’ (ie the Nepali Army and the Maoist army), and to provide electoral observation for the first CA election.

Post-war transition

The Interim Constitution adopted in January 2007 referred to secularism and republicanism, but not federalism. The Madhes Movement, a major protest by groups representing the Madhesi populations predominant in Nepal’s southern Tarai plains, began almost immediately, leading to the amendment of the Interim Constitution to restructure Nepal along federal lines. Federalism was associated with devolution of power and greater political representation of marginalised groups. The electoral system was also amended after the second Madhes Movement a year later, to allow for a higher degree of proportional representation.

The Maoists emerged as the largest party in the election to the first Constituent Assembly (CA) in April 2008. They formed a government with the Communist Party of Nepal–Unified Marxist-Leninist (UML), traditionally one of Nepal’s two largest parties along with the NC, and the new Madhes-based parties.

Tussles followed over the fate of the Maoist army, and then the failed attempt by Maoist Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda to assert authority over the Nepali Army, which led to his resignation in May 2009. The Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (UCPN-M – renamed after the CPN-M’s merger with another Maoist party in 2009) was ultimately not able to push for acceptance of its broader political agenda: a dignified transition for its fighters, civilian control of the army, a share of power in government, and social and political inclusion for marginalised groups. Nor could it change the balance of power that would help to achieve this.

 

UNMIN formally exited Nepal in January 2011 under growing resistance from the Nepali Army, the bureaucracy, and the NC and the UML, with the fate of the Maoist fighters in cantonments still unresolved. But the Joint Monitoring Coordination Committee (JMCC) that UNMIN headed had helped build trust between representatives of all sides involved in overseeing the armies. In early 2012, the Maoist People’s Liberation Army, by now confined to cantonments for over six years, was finally disbanded.

Fewer than 10 per cent of the originally registered 19,602 fighters were incorporated into the Nepali Army, a far cry from the ‘integration’ process envisioned by the Maoist leadership. But, over the years, the UCPN-M had steadily negotiated away its demands for PLA fighters as part of various power plays. The parties were ultimately unable to agree on a constitution and the first CA was allowed to lapse in May 2012. A period of constitutionally dubious political arrangements followed, including the appointment of the sitting chief justice as prime minister. The UCPN-M underwent a vertical split following the failure of the first CA, although many mainstream leaders remained in the parent party. The Maoists and Madhes-based parties performed badly in the election to the second CA in November 2013 as the more established parties regained ascendancy. The UCPN-M came in a distant third, while the newly formed Janajati-based parties also did very poorly.

2015 earthquakes

Following the devastating earthquakes of April and May 2015, the three major political parties – the NC, the UML and the UCPN-M – along with the largest Madhesi party, in the second CA the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum-Democratic (MJF-D), decided to fast-track the constitution.

July to September 2015 saw significant protests by major social groups as the new constitution began to take shape. Women’s groups protested citizenship laws. Madhesi, Tharu and Janajati groups variously demanded demarcation of states and then the arrangement of delineation itself, challenged the exclusivist nature of the decision-making process, and disputed the withdrawal of provisions from the Interim Constitution relating to greater inclusion and proportional representation. The constitution was ultimately promulgated in September 2015 amid mass protests in the Tarai and threatened shutdowns in eastern Nepal and elsewhere. At least 46 people were killed in five weeks of unrest in August and September 2015.

The constitution was amended in January 2016 to ensure a higher degree of inclusion. The government introduced a second constitutional amendment proposal in November 2016 that sought to allay some of the concerns relating to provincial demarcation, although protests erupted almost immediately in affected districts and at the time of writing the amendment had yet to be passed.

Nepali Economy

 

          Nepali Economy

Nepal today is a country in a hurry. Building on the dramatic political achieve- ments of recent years of expanding democratic freedoms and increasingly inclu- sive polity, Nepal now seeks to leapfrog in terms of development, harnessing its unexploited economic assets, consolidating social gains, and minimising location- specific vulnerabilities. Essays in this compendium are a welcome addition to en- riching contemporary discourse on facilitating social mobility and inclusion, accel- erating economic reforms, and deepening regional collaboration for shared progress.

Nepalis and their economy are innately resilient. Even when the earthquakes of 2015 devastated parts of the country, our GDP growth rate did not nosedive. It took a bigger blow, the Blockade, to grind it to a halt in 2016. This year, we have rebounded to a healthy growth of 7%, thanks to a shrunk base, good monsoons, steady electricity supply, and normalisation of trade. Our focus now should be on continuing on a high growth path of at least 7%, year after year. This will double the size of our economy in 10 years and make us a vibrant, enterprise-friendly, middle- income nation by 2030.

The priority now should be on job-creating economic change, propelled by large investments in infrastructure. Energy and connectivity can unleash potentials in manufacturing, tourism and agriculture. There are major irrigation projects, which, when complete, will be like having a good monsoon every year. Sustained rise in agricultural productivity will form a durable basis of high and inclusive growth for decades to come.

After a gap of nearly 20 years, elected local governments are being formed in the grassroots with great enthusiasm. The 2017 budget has made a transformative departure by transferring hundreds of billions of rupees to local government cof- fers. Like an Englishman’s home is his castle, parts of Singha Durbar will now be located in every Nepali village. This will redress our deficits in governance, public- service provisioning and lackluster rural growth. This is, however, conditional on local governments being functional. While the urban municipalities are better equipped, villages will need to be guided. Transitional handholding cannot be pater- nalistic because each local government is sovereign.

Implementation of federalism frees public bodies like the National Planning Commission and other think tanks to take the long view. This begins with Vision 2030 that articulates the sources of long-term prosperity. Going forward, we must nurture the following five Ds to form our tailwind of progress:

Distance: Our proximity to two of the world’s fastest-growing economies, and half the world living within five hours of flying distance, is a huge resource. With links forged with China’s One Belt and Road Initiative and India’s drive to connect its Gangetic hinterlands, we can reverse the effects of the 20th-century handicap imposed by our landlockedness. With lower costs of engagement, we can be part of international production networks, attracting FDI, and specialising in compo- nents where we have an edge.

Demography: Our greatest strength is our people, half of whom are aged below 22. After 2028 we will become an ageing society, and after 2054, an aged one. We have a narrow window left to reap the demographic dividend, and to make up for two slow decades.

Democracy: There is no better way than democracy to govern a heteroge- neous society like ours. But we need to revamp the way we celebrate and leverage democracy: it is not just about periodic elections; it has to evolve into a culture of rules-based governance that aggregates and responds to our diverse preferences. Without proper checks, federalism could go horribly wrong, transporting problems of Kathmandu to local units and amplifying them.

Digitisation: Our old model of trade and production is obsolete; we need to catch up by leapfrogging into the digital age of fragmented production across inte- grated economies. There is an advantage inherent in backwardness: 25 years ago, there were 71,560 phones in the entire country, today Nepalis carry 28 million cell phones.

Diaspora: Our diaspora is coming of age. They need to be courted as the first investors. They must be our emissaries for greater trade, investment and tour- ism, stronger socio-cultural ties and firmer academic exchange and transfer of knowledge.

Issues covered in this volume are helpful to frame a forward-looking vision of Nepal’s prospects. The wide span and eclecticism of topics reflects both the versa- tility of development challenges in a low-income country and the complex, interwo- ven linkages across sectors. I trust that this volume will have practical policy reso- nance, and shall be of interest to not just the policy makers, academics and journal- ists, but also a lay audience concerned about our country’s fortunes.

Credit goes  Swarnim Waglé, PhD

Member
National Planning Commission Kathmandu, Nepal