Khatiwada said this at the ‘Nepal-India Franchise Investment Expo and Conclave’ held in Kathmandu on May 15, 2019.

Commending Nepal as a suitable investment destination, the Minister told Indian industrialists that the Oli Government has created a conducive and secure environment for higher profitability through necessary policy reforms.

“Nepal is at present on the course toward economic prosperity by welcoming foreign technology and investment. We have made sweeping reforms in the legal framework. The one-stop service center has also been brought into operation. The law related to foreign investment and technology transfer too has been implemented,” Finance Minister said in a statement.

He said the government is also welcoming foreign investment and technology to drive the Nepali economy further.

Khatiwada added that the country’s ‘Visit Nepal Year 2020’ campaign, to drive 2 million tourists, provides a better opportunity for expanding investment in service industries.

Stating that Nepal tourism already has good private sector investment, he urged private investors to invest more into the sector considering the rise in tourist arrivals, every year.

The Minister also informed that the Nepal Government is currently preparing to introduce a new Intellectual Property Rights law, which is expected to be registered in Parliament by the end of the current session.

“The government is serious regarding the protection of the intellectual property and the patent rights as well,” read Khatiwada’s statement.

Meanwhile, the Federation of Nepal Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) President Bhawani Rana said the investment expo will help the business community of both the nations to pursue investment opportunities in potential sectors.

She highlighted tourism, hospital, hotel, industry and allied sectors as the potential sectors for investment.

“The only slogan of the government is economic prosperity and the Prime Minister has been emphasizing on this. The government has also expressed its commitment to take the private sector along with it in every sector,” said the FNCCI President.

Indian Ambassador to Nepal Manjeev Singh Puri highlighted on the need to focus on franchise investment that attracts youth and stressed on the need for enhanced trade cooperation.

Mr. Manjeev Singh Puri – Ambassador of India to Nepal

A total of 47 special stalls have been organized at this event, being held from May 15-17, 2019.

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Because of this reason, the country has high regard for art and linguistics, and has been striving for preservation of the same.

In one such a move, Nepal is hosting a 3-day International Sanskrit Conference that began on March 19, 2019.

Titled ‘Sanskrit, a common treasure of Nepal and India, the conference endorses Sanskrit as the common treasure of both the countries.

The Indian Embassy in Kathmandu, India’s Ministry of Culture and the Balmiki campus of Nepal Sanskrit University are jointly organizing the conference.

“Sanskrit is not an ordinary language, rather it is a language meant for salvation and a language that can connect us with the God,” says Abhiraj Rajendra Mishra, an Indian scholar.

The Chancellor of Nepal Academy Ganga Prasad Upreti and Indian Ambassador to Nepal Manjeev Singh Puri were the chief guests of the conference.

Addressing the inaugural event, Puri termed Sanskrit as a common treasure of India and Nepal and also as a lifeline to the civilization.

In his address, Upreti said this conference will deepen the cultural ties between the two nations.

This conference marks the culmination of a month-long festival of India in Nepal being organized by the Embassy of India and Ministry of Culture.

The conference is witnessing eminent scholars (in literature and philosophy) from India and Nepal presenting more than 45 working papers on different aspects of Sanskrit language, literature and philosophy, Ayurveda and Yoga, among others.

The three-day conference is expected to witness more than 350 scholars from Sanskrit institutions across Nepal.

Long Live Sanskrit! #InternationalSanskritConference #WorldSanskritConference

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GPS-Aided Geo Augmented Navigation (GAGAN) developed using Satellite Based Augmentation System (SBAS) receivers is important to the Indian subcontinent for better management of air traffic.

GAGAN is a brainchild of Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and the Airports Authority of India (AAI). The system is being developed to aid SAARC countries with accurate and concrete satellite-based navigational services crucial to civilian and aviation applications in SAARC and Southeast Asian countries.

India Briefs Nepal on GAGAN
A team from AAI visited Kathmandu to give a detailed presentation including benefits for Nepal on the GAGAN system to the country’s officials.

“We are yet to reach a decision regarding India’s proposal,” informed Rajan Pokharel, Deputy Director General, Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN).

Adding further, Pokhrel said CAAN will analyze the cost and other factors before making going ahead with anything. Since the system will be used for both domestic and international airlines, it will demand extra expenditures on behalf of CAAN including the installation of SBAS receivers.

About India-developed GAGAN
The Indian Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has mandated that all GAGAN-related equipment should be installed on Indian-registered aircraft starting January 1, 2019.

According to AAI, India is one of the only four nations across the globe to create and launch this innovative technology after US, the European Union (EU) and Japan.

The smart system eliminates any signal errors from Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) and provisions accurate navigation for users. Additionally, it provisions direct light-paths and reduces minimum aircraft separation, further reducing pilots & controller burdens significantly minimizing air traffic, especially in busy airspaces.

India, Nepal Collaborate to Explore Satellite Imagery
In another update, Nepal and India have decided to explore the feasibility of using high resolution satellite images in boundary survey work, revealed officials.

In the Fifth Nepal-India Boundary Work Group’s (BWG) meeting both the nations agreed to continue mapping no-man’s land encroachment and cross-border occupation alongside maintaining the status quo on the cultivation of the aforementioned land.

The three-day meeting also reviewed the progress of the Fourth BWG meet and made sure that the guidelines issued earlier have been properly implemented.

BWG was formed by India and Nepal in 2014 to develop construction, restoration & repair of boundary pillars, including clearance of no-man’s land and others.

Well, let’s wait and watch whether Nepal will opt for the GAGAN system despite the cost aspect. It is well-known that the country is having issues with airspace and managing air traffic.

Read More:

• Nepal Joins Global Satellite Project for Enhancing Communication

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The new route launched by the Bihar Chief Minister (CM) Nitish Kumar India’s Patna & Bodh Gaya and Nepal’s Kathmandu & Janakpur cities.

According to Bihar Transport Secretary Sanjay Kumar Agarwal, a total of eight buses will run in three routes covering the two countries: Patna-Kathmandu, Patna-Janakpur and Bodh Gaya-Kathmandu.

The new bus service is the result of a public-private partnership commissioned post an agreement between India and Nepal in the past, which includes two different meetings in New Delhi and Kathmandu that led to singing of a tripartite agreement between Nepal, Indian External Affairs Ministry and the Government of Bihar.

“This bus service will further strengthen the relations between India and Nepal. It will prove very beneficial for Buddhist tourists in the two places,” reads a statement by Nitish Kumar.

Besides boosting the tourism aspect of Buddhist Circuit, the new service will also help thousands of travellers moving between India and Nepal, say the officials.

Prior to this, Nepali PM KP Sharma Oli and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi had jointly launched a direct bus transport between Janakpur and Ayodhya on May 11, 2018 under the Ramayana Circuit.

The new service will begin on September 13, 2018. Hope more such initiatives would come up strengthening Indo-Nepal ties in all aspects.

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In a dismaying turn of events, the Indian Government has refused to take back demonetized Indian currency from Nepal and Bhutan.

When the demonetization drive took place on November 8, 2016, it heavily crippled both the countries who had reserves and used Indian currency; leaving behind a dent worth USD 146 million in Nepal’s reservoir.

Similarly, Bhutan is believed to have a reserve of approximately USD 450 million.

In his address to the media, Indian Finance Ministry top official Subhash Chandra Garg said, “I think they (Nepal, Bhutan) have very little INR 500 and INR 1000 currency notes. No final decision yet on exchanging of demonetized notes in Nepal, Bhutan. There are very little chances that we will accept those Indian notes lying there.”

Garg was briefing the media on the Reserve Bank of India’s annual report that declared completion of processing demonetized notes.

On April 5^, 2018, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had tweeted saying, Addressing the Nepalese Parliament PM Oli said, “The Indian demonetization has hurt Nepali nationals. I will raise this in my meetings with Indian leaders and request them to resolve the issue.”

Another post tweeted by the Indian PM read, “India is one of the major suppliers of consumer goods to Nepal and largest trade partner. Keeping in view of the kind of business both nations indulge in, the Indian currency is widely used in Nepal & kept as savings, said Oli.”

However, the Himalayan nation has still not seen any progress and the current situation only dismisses any hope for both Nepal and Bhutan.

Conclusion:
Considering that Nepal and India have extended friendship towards each other and have decided to work collectively for their mutual benefit, we only hope that the issue of demonetized currency is resolved to continue an uninterrupted journey of development by both nations.

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The Government of India presented a Rs 2.1 billion grant to Nepal as a reimbursement to the first tranche of private housing reconstruction grant it promised to the Himalayan nation under cooperation for post-earthquake reconstruction projects.

This grant would be supporting 42,086 beneficiaries awaiting housing support in Gorkha and Nuwakot districts of Nepal.

In its release, the Indian Government also informed that it has been collaborating with UNDP and UN Office for Project Services to ensure socio-technical support to housing beneficiaries in those districts.

The latest move by Indian Government follows the MoU that the two countries had signed on February 20, 2016.

As part of the agreement, Indian Government had agreed to support Nepal in its post-earthquake reconstruction housing activity by providing USD 100 million grant towards rebuilding 50,000 private houses in the aforementioned districts.

Indian Ambassador to Nepal Manjeev Singh Puri handed over the grant to the Finance Secretary Rajan Khanal at an event in Kathmandu on July 27, 2018.

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As part of the move, Paschimanchal Hotel Association and Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) jointly organized the Chaliye Pokhara six-day campaign at North Indian cities Patna, Banaras and Lucknow.

The program witnessed a participation of Pokhara hotel entrepreneurs, media persons and NTB officials.

Pokhara a Must-Visit: Ministers
Indian ministers urged citizens from the three cities to visit the Himalayan country before visiting other destinations in the presence of Nepal tourism operators. This is what they had to say!

Speaking at the campaign in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh Tourism Minister Rita Bahuguna Joshi said that Nepal and India share a lot in common and encouraged citizens to visit Nepal before other countries.

Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh Lawmaker Rabindra Jaiswal advices Indian citizens to visit Pokhara before making a trip to Singapore, during the ‘Chaliye Pokhara’ promotion program in Banaras.

India – A Huge Market for Pokhara
Organized under the Nepal-India Regional Tourism Promotion Campaign (RTPC) banner, the campaign uses Pokhara’s proximity with North India as a tool to lure Indian tourists to the ‘Lake City’ and identifies it as an ideal destination to escape the heat during hot climate, says Bikal Tulachan, Paschimanchal Hotel Association Chairperson.

Similarly, Gandaki Province NTB Chief Surya Thapaliya said that India is an important and huge market for Pokhara  adding that Indian high-level officials’ visit would take the region’s tourism potential to greater heights in Nepal’s Tourism Capital.

The six-day campaign included a press-meet, B2B meetings between Indian and Nepal Tourism companies, audio-visual displays on tourism & distribution of promotional material.

Nepal Tourism Continues Pace
Following are some of the recent statistics that show the growth trajectory of Nepal tourism sector:

• Totally, 65,159 international tourists visited Nepal in June 2018
• Comparison between June 2017 and June 2018 shows visitor increment at 16.4 percent In Nepal
• The arrival figures during January-June 2018 period were recorded at 520,014 as compared with same period in 2017, resulting in a 13 percent increase
• The Indian tourist arrivals in Nepal increased by 18.8 percent in June 2018 as compared with the same period in 2017
• According to NTB statistics, out of the 940,000 tourists who visited Nepal in 2017, 160,832 alone were Indians
• Nepal is expected to cross the 1.2 million-mark in 2018 in terms of tourist arrivals
• The Himalayan country earned a record revenue of Rs 58.52 billion from the tourism industry in foreign exchange in FY 2016-17 according to the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB)

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Nepal Foreign Minister Pradeep Gyawali informed that a Cabinet meeting held on July 16, 2018 decided to recommend Upreti as the new Nepali envoy to India.

To further this process, Upreti’s name will be sent for approval to a Parliamentary committee.

Post the committee’s ‘approval’, it will be forwarded to Nepal Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) which will then send it to the Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) for an agreemo.

Upreti is being considered as a replacement to Deep Kumar Upadhyay, who resigned in October 2017 to contest for the Nepal Federal Parliamentary Elections 2017.

Upreti’s Political Career
Nilkantha Upreti has served as Nepal’s Election Commissioner and Chief Election Commissioner (CEC 2013). After serving as officiating CEC for over four years, Upreti became full-time Nepal CEC in 2017.

During his tenure, he interacted with several Kathmandu-based diplomatic missions and successfully conducted talks for several projects for the Nepal Election Commission.

Upreti has also worked with UN’s Afghanistan electoral operations.

We hope that the newly-appointed ambassador will take the existing Nepal-India bilateral ties to greater heights driving collaboration across all levels of cooperation.

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Nepal will to bring the Nepal-India broad gauge rail project into operation by December 2018, informed a senior official from Nepal Department of Railways.

The country’s first-ever broad gauge railway line will extend from Nepal’s south-eastern town Janakpur to India’s bordering town Jayanagar covering a total distance of 69 km.

According to the official, five other cross-border railway projects between the two countries are also under plans.

Though there was a railway service line connecting the two places in the past, that was on narrow gauge. However, the railway service across the line has been on halt since five years owing to renovation works.

Nepal does not hold operating service under the new line that is being constructed owing to lack of relevant personnel who can operate broad gauge service, says the department official.

Raxaul-Kathmandu Rail Line

In another update, officials from the both the countries have also agreed to sign MoU for preliminary engineering along with traffic survey of the Raxaul-Kathmandu railway line, very soon.

Joint Secretary for Nepali Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport (MoPIT) Keshab Kumar Sharma and India’s External Affairs Joint Secretary (DPA-III) Namgya Khampa discussed this in a recent meeting.

As part of discussions, the officials came to a consensus on completing the Jayanagar-Janakpur-Kurtha railway line and Jogbani-Biratnagar Customs Yard by October 2018.

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Making the norms strict, Nepali Cabinet said the government will move ahead with the projects only after the Indian Government signs all the related financing deals with the Nepali Finance Ministry.

The Cabinet sought paper trail and deep scrutiny of every fund that India plans to make for small projects in Nepal.

The latest move by Nepali Cabinet is coming as a result of ambiguity over flow and distribution of Indian grants controlled by the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu.

In such case, the latest Cabinet decision is being looked at as an obstacle for the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu in executing its Nepali projects at its own will.

India has been offering grants worth Rs 50 million per SDP for infrastructure development including hospitals and educational institutions across local bodies of Nepal.

However, Nepali political analysts feel that the move is driving Indian influence in Nepal.

Shift in Procedures One Way

As part of its latest decision, Nepali Cabinet urged India to route its funds only through the central government account and not in any other way for smooth flow of the projects.

 “Only after the Indian grant comes into the central government’s account, would that amount be allocated to specific projects in various districts,” Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Sher Bahadur Tamang said in a statement.

Going forward, as per the new decision, Nepali Finance Ministry will first finalize any project based on inputs by the provincial and local governments and sends the proposals to India.

Upon acceptance, India will have to sign financing agreements with the Nepali Finance Ministry to start funding the selected projects.

“This would give Nepal government greater control over where and how the funds are spent, keep track of the project and maintain financial transparency,” says a senior Nepali Finance Ministry official.

Local bodies will be responsible for the successful implementation of projects, adds the official.

According to Tamang, Indian grants will fall under the FY 2019-20 budget as Nepal Government has already announced the budget for FY 2018-19.

Earlier, Deuba-led Nepal Government had agreed to the extension of India’s SDP proposal with a condition that the process will go under the decision making of Nepal Government.

Upon the implementation of the Cabinet decision, it will be the first time that the Indian grants to SDP in Nepal will be operating under Nepal Government since the launch of SDP in 2003.

Applause, the Other Way

In another update enhancing Indo-Nepal ties, Nepal Government appreciated Indian Government’s support in the development of India-Nepal cross border rail links.

As part of the sixth Project Steering Committee (PSC) meeting on India-Nepal Cross Border Rail Link Projects held in Kathmandu on July 09, 2018, both sides also discussed to complete Jayanagar-to-Janakpur-Kurtha and Jogbani-to-Biratnagar customs yard railway lines by October 2018.

The two sides also agreed to move ahead with the other stretches such as Kurtha-Bijalpura-Bardibas and Biratnagar customs yard on priority. 

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