National
ICYMI: Here are our top stories from Monday, April 29
Here are some of the top stories from The Kathmandu Post (April 29, 2019).Post Report
Here are some of the top stories from The Kathmandu Post (April 29, 2019).
Inclusion of railway in China’s Belt and Road renews optimism in Nepal
The incorporation of the Nepal-China Trans-Himalayan Multi-Dimensional Connectivity Network, including cross-border railway, in the joint communiqué of the second conference of the Belt and Road Initiative has renewed optimism in Nepal but the question remains: When will the Chinese rail arrive in Nepal and what are the preparations from both sides?
Train from China has been one of the most talked-about topics in Nepal in recent years.
While the inclusion of the cross-border railway in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is a significant step since Nepal signed up to Chinese President Xi Jinping’s flagship foreign policy initiative in May 2017, opinions are still divided.
As of now, Nepal and China are yet to arrive at consensus on the funding modality for the detailed project report.
Oli’s spokesperson unaware of Parajuli-led probe commission’s status
The government had formed a high-level commission on January 3 to probe the controversial procurement of two wide-body Airbus planes by the Nepal Airlines Corporation.
Government spokesperson had told journalists that the three-member probe panel led by former Chief Judge Govinda Prasad Parajuli would submit its report within 45 days.
But after almost four months, the Parajuli-led panel is nowhere in sight. The commission is neither in existence nor has it been dissolved.
Even Kundan Aryal, press advisor to the prime minister, said he was not aware of the status of the Parajuli panel.
Enquired about it after the 45-day tenure of the panel expired, prime minister’s chief advisor Bishnu Rimal had told the Post that the oath-taking ceremony was delayed after one of its members, Narendra Prasad Pathak refused to work saying that he was involved in another investigation. “Once a new member is appointed, the panel will become functional,” Rimal had said.
Fake VAT bill scam, which is under probe, estimated to be worth over Rs7 billion
The practice of issuing fake Value Added Tax bills has continued unabated, largely due to the failure of authorities to take timely measures, and non-implementation of laws, experts and officials say.
According to the Department of Revenue Investigation, which is investigating a new fake VAT bill issue, transactions of such fake bills could be worth over Rs7 billion, making it a scam as big as an earlier infamous scandal about a decade ago when tax authorities had decided to collect Rs6.59 billion from 518 firms.
Bankers willing to follow mega merger plan but want incentives
Recently, the government has considered facilitating mega merger among commercial banks to reduce the number of ‘A’ class financial institutions.
So far, commercial banks doing good business have shown little to no interest in merging.
Speaking at a programme on Sunday, the bankers, however, underlined the positive effects of a merger such as the reduction in overhead cost, consolidation of business, capacity to offer more loan and reduction in non-performing assets following the merger.
According to the bankers, issue of public and promoter shares, lack of clarity while signing the memorandum of understanding, a large number of turnover of the staffs after signing the MoU and a large number of duplication of the clients in the microfinance companies are also the underlying problems during the merging process.
Need a drink delivered? Cheers.com.np obliges.
Imagine sitting at home, thirsty. You’ve got some friends and family coming over, but you’re too busy cooking up a storm to go out and shop for an assortment of beer, wine and liquor. Before 2016, you’d have no choice but to trawl the city’s stores, stocking up on everything you need. But now, there’s a solution—cheers.com.np.
Established in July 2016, the five co-founders of Cheers Enterprise saw a gap in Nepal’s ecommerce market and swooped in. Since there was no ecommerce site that exclusively sold alcohol, cheers.com.np became Nepal’s first online liquor store, says Minesh Rajbhandari, General Manager and one of the five co-founders.