Govt to bring full budget if parties agree: Finance Minister

KATHMANDU, MAR 23 -

Minister for Finance Shankar Prasad Koirala has said that full budget would be brought in the fiscal year 2070-71 BS if the political parties were agreed on the same.

Speaking in a programme organised by the Bhojpure Service Society in his honour in the Capital on Saturday, Minister Koirala pledged to make maximum efforts on his behalf to ensure the full budget for the next fiscal year on time.

The government's failure to bring the full-size budget in the fiscal year 2069-70 BS caused a negative impact on nation's economy, he said.

Saying the government was planning to bring the supplementary budget within the next few days, Minister Koirala, who is also the Minister for Industry and Commerce, and Supplies, said preparations were on to announce the supplementary budget without changes in the prevailing policies.

The government could do nothing without support and cooperation from the political parties, he said, adding that problems in the country are being solved by giving a political outlet to the nation.

He promised his best for the development of his hometown, Bhojpur.

Society Chairman Pasang Dorchee Sherpa and Bhojpure Service Society Council Chairman Daya Krishna Neupane stressed the need of increasing budget allocation for the development of   Bhojpur. RSS

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Govt gears up for ‘adjusted budget’

KATHMANDU, MAR 21 -
The government has started preparations to introduce an “adjusted budget ” for the current fiscal year within mid-April.

Finance Minister Shankar Koirala has directed ministry officials to prepare for such a budget . However, the officials said the nature of the upcoming budget will be that of a full budget , no matter whatever name is given.

Minister Koirala, talking to the media after assuming the office on Tuesday, had said the ministry would come up with a full budget for the current fiscal year. He had said a full budget was necessary for macro-economic stability and higher economic growth.

The Finance Ministry has lately been lobbying for a full budget for this year, arguing the country needs a full budget to manage necessary resources to meet increased demand from development projects and administrative expenditures, including salary to staff.

Based on the present budget ary arrangement, the ministry says it faces a deficit of more than Rs 6 billion to pay salary to the government staff. Total additional demand stands over Rs 40 billion.

“Preparations have begun to introduce the budget within mid-April,” said a senior ministry official of them ministry. “This budget will have additional arrangements as per the need for resources to fund development activities and recurrent expenditure.”

Finance Ministry spokesperson Krishna Prasad Devkota said preparations are underway to introduce the budget at the earliest. “It would be better to introduce the budget three months before the end of the fiscal year to ensure better implementation,” he said. Devkota said the upcoming budget would not cross the Rs 429-billion ceiling fixed by the National Planning Commission for the current fiscal year.

Failing to introduce a full budget , the Baburam Bhattarai-led government had brought a budget of Rs 351 billion under the budget ary arrangement that the government can spend resources equal to those spent in the last fiscal year. The size of the budget last fiscal year was Rs 386 billion. “As there is limited time to spend the budget , there is no need to increase the size beyond the government’s capacity,” said Devkota.

The ministry is preparing a red book containing the list of budget allocations under each heading for each ministry. The ministry has not prepared the book for this year, and allowed other ministries to fix the amounts under different headings on their own.

The Finance Ministry has asked all the ministries to provide the details of how they have allocated the budget under each heading as well as justification for doing so.

The size of the budget will then be fixed based on the reports submitted by the ministries, according to the ministry officials.

With the introduction of an adjusted budget , the government will have the authority to raise internal loans to meet the deficit which is lacking under the current mechanism.

However, a ministry official said the new budget is less likely to change the target for revenue mobilisation as far as talks have undergone so far. The government aims to raise revenues worth Rs 289 billion.

Although the government has struggled to expedite capital expenditure, revenue collection has remained impressive, particularly due to surge in imports. As of the first eight months of this fiscal year, revenue collection reached Rs 177 billion, against the target of 172 billion, according to the ministry.

Besides introducing a full budget , there has also been an understanding that preparations for the next fiscal year’s budget would be carried out by devising a working schedule in close coordination with the National Planning Commission, said the ministry official.

Cap expenditure at 26 percent

POST REPORT

The government has been able to spend just 26.49 percent of the capital expenditure budget with four months to go before the fiscal year ends. According to the Finance Ministry, capital expenditure stood at Rs 13.6 billion as of February-end, slightly more than the Rs 13.42 billion recorded during the same period last year.

The government has set aside Rs 51.34 billion for capital expenditure. The Finance Ministry said slow expenditure in the first trimester resulted in poor expenditure in this fiscal year.

The failure of the ministries to issue authorization to their implementing agencies to spend the allocated money is another reason that has impended capital expenditure. A half-yearly review of the budget published by the ministry has stated that ministries and agencies failed to authorise the implementing agencies under them to spend 55.66 percent of the allocated budget .

Likewise, the ministries, particularly Education, Urban Development and Irrigation, have not been able to get a majority of their projects approved by the National Planning Commission during the first six months of this fiscal.

However, ministry officials said that expenditure has picked up of late, and there are ample chances that capital expenditure will exceed the allocated budget . “We have received reports that work at major projects is progressing at a very good pace, and we hope that all of the earmarked funds will be spent,” said Krishna Prasad Devkota.

“As the adjusted budget is also set to be introduced this year, we will be giving priority to the existing projects and complete them first.” He added that the ministry would be talking to the secretaries of ministries to speed up projects with a budget of more than Rs 150 million.

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Kaligandaki 'A' shutdown will not increase power cuts: NEA

KATHMANDU, March 2: Though the Kaligandaki ´A´ Hydropower Project in Syngja has been shut down late Friday for maintenance, the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has assured that there would be no additional hours of load-shedding as the deficit would be fulfilled by running Kulekhani storage project in full capacity.

“We will fulfill the deficit caused by “Kaliandaki ´A´ shutdown by running Kulekhani project in full capacity,” Bhuvan Kumar Chhetri, chief of systems operation department of NEA told Republica.

According to Chhetri, NEA will supply 45 megawatts of electricity to the national grid through Kulekhani to limit load-shedding to 12 hours a day. “We have around 1,525 cubic meters of water in Kulekhani reservoir. This water level is five meters higher than the level the previous year,” Chhetri said.

The 144 megawatts Kaligandaki ´A´, which is operating at 60 percent of its capacity, was shut down as all the three intake valves that carried water from tunnel to the turbine have been damaged. “This has caused water leakage,” said project Chief Abdhesh Kumar Singh.

According to Singh, the valves have not been repaired for the last eight years. “All the three intake valves will go for maintenance,” Singh said. “The maintenance work will be completed within 10 days.”

Singh further said more than 200 workers would be at the project site for maintenance of the valves. “We are trying to complete repair works as soon as possible,” Singh said. “We have brought maintenance equipment from Japan.”

The run-of-the-river hydropower project had commenced generating power from 2002.

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My k-k-killer Budget (SRK Budget Cartoons)

The great online magazine of India (IndiaToday) Has make very humorous cartoon for the India budget of the year 2013. The great star of Bollywood i.e. Saha-Rukh Khan is the hero of this cartoon and many political leaders also talked about the budget in the cartoon. Friends I liked this cartoon too much and so this is shared here. If you like those cartoons please don't forget to share with your friends and circle. This post is just for enjoy and no responsibility of this cartoon is taken by the site. Please "SRK" contact to the indiatoday if you don't like this cartoon . Because of the copyright of this cartoon is the site itself. The budget scam is so interesting and the pictures of the SRK are too viable as they are collected from the very movies that have been played by SRK.

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If Aamir Khan presented the Budget

The great online magazine of India (IndiaToday) Has make very humorous cartoon for the India budget of the year 2013. The great star of Bollywood i.e. Amir Khan is the hero of this cartoon and many political leaders also talked about the budget in the cartoon. Friends I liked this cartoon too much and so this is shared here. If you like those cartoons please don't forget to share with your friends and circle. This post is just for enjoy and no responsibility of this cartoon is taken by the site. Please "Amir" contact to the indiatoday if you don't like this cartoon . Because of the copyright of this cartoon is the site itself. The budget scam is so interesting and the pictures of the amir are too viable as they are collected from the very movies that have been played by amir. 

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Banks rush to NRB for cash due to tight liquidity

KATHMANDU, FEB 25 -

A tight liquidity situation in the bank ing sector has prompted a number of bank s to obtain standing liquidity facility (SLF) from the central bank for the first time in a year. The SLF is a short-term cash injection by Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) into bank s and financial institutions (BFIs) facing a short-term liquidity problem or mismatch.

NRB charges 8 percent interest on the SLF which is higher than the interest rate on the inter- bank lending and treasury bills. According to the central bank , the interest rate on inter- bank loans is more than 6 percent while the interest rate on treasury bills is above 4 percent.

“The first to obtain SLF was H&B Development Bank which has been hit hard by fraud committed by its employees,” said an NRB official. “Last week, Nabil Bank and the Bank of Asia also obtained the facility.”

H&B took Rs 1.59 billion under the SLF after it was nearly sunk by staff misconduct. “H&B is still continuing rollover of the SLF but on a smaller scale of Rs 247.9 million after repaying most of the amount,” said the NRB official.

Nabil took a total of Rs 5 billion on two occasions while the Bank of Asia received Rs 3 billion from the central bank , according to the NRB official. Meanwhile, Nabil’s chief executive officer Anil Gyawali said that Nabil didn’t take the SLF from the central bank because it was facing a liquidity tightness. “The money was taken in order to address the temporary mismatch in liquidity after major companies paid their income taxes to the government in mid-December,” he added. “We knocked on NRB’s door after liquidity was unavailable in the inter- bank market on the particular day we received the SLF.”

Although all the bank s are not facing a tightness in liquidity, a few of them are hard up due to sluggish deposit growth and a huge amount of money stuck in the government treasury as it has not been able to spend it, said the central bank .

The government has said that about Rs 45 billion remains unspent in its coffers. The central bank has asked a few bank s with a credit to deposit ratio (core capital plus credit to deposit) of more than 80 percent to submit a plan on how they are going to bring it down.

According to NRB, the credit to deposit ratio as per its directive remains at 75 percent in the bank ing system while the pure credit to deposit ratio stands at 80 percent. The central bank has barred BFIs from crossing the CD ratio of 80 percent.

However, a central bank official said that excess liquidity in the system had improved as of last Friday.

“There was excess liquidity of Rs 8 billion initially which went up to around Rs 12 billion on Friday,” said the central bank official. It is expected that a certain amount of excess liquidity is expected to remain in the bank ing system in order to address any shortfall.

After liquidity was found to be tight in the system, the government had provided Rs 5 billion to Rastriya Banijya Bank from the pension fund in order to ease the shortage.

“Although the government should not give the money meant for pension distribution immediately, we released the amount now to address the recent tightness in the liquidity situation,” said finance secretary Shanta Raj Subedi.

Meanwhile, the Nepal Bankers’ Association (NBA) had asked NRB to issue repo (injection of liquidity by purchasing treasury bills held by BFIs) after liquidity tightened. The central bank , however, does not want to issue repo immediately saying that it would first allow the market to solve the problem on its own.

However, NBA president Rajan Singh Bhandari said that the central bank ’s refusal to entertain the request would result in a rise in the interest rate on both deposit and credit. “Hiking the interest rate on loans is not a pleasant choice, but we will be forced to do so if NRB refuses to issue repo,” he added.

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Upper Tamakoshi Hydropower Project:Half of tunnel work completed

DOLAKHA, FEB 24 -
In an encouraging progress, 50 percent of the tunnel construction work on the Upper Tamakoshi Hydropower Project has (UTHP) has been completed on time.

Normally, tunnel construction is considered as the most difficult work on hydropower projects.

Of the 16km tunnel to be built, construction of the 8km section was completed on Friday, indicating that the 456MW project developed under domestic investment is on track for timely completion.

“If the momentum continues and things go as planned, we see the project complete by mid-April 2016,” said Bigyan Prasad Sharma, acting project chief.

In a bid to speed-up construction work, the workforce deployed at site offices, including in Charikot, were transferred to the main site in Lamabagar VDC, Dolkha, 10 months ago. Adoption of provisions like the “digital daily entry system” and punishment and reward to workers also contributed to the timely completion of the tunnel work, the project said.

Project officials said the project work, which was earlier estimated to get delayed by around one and half years, made a significant progress due to “effective management practice”. After the project implemented the allowance and electronic attendance systems, around 75 percent of the workers and almost all of the staff members of the Chinese contractor Sino Hydro started to report to work in time.

“Before the implementation of the systems, it was difficult to know who is working where,” said a project employee. “There were chances of cheating from dishonest employees.”

Site Engineer Bimal Gurung said efficiency of 80 percent of the workers has increased. “We have been able to complete construction of 8,002m section of the 15,960m tunnel,” he said.

Tamakoshi hydropower project is the country’s biggest under-construction project and its capacity is two-third of the total energy presently being generated in the country. The run-of-the-river type project will run daily for four hours in full capacity even during the dry season. “It will play a big role in solving the power shortage problem,” said Gurung.

According to the project, 48 percent of the civil construction work and 41 percent of the total construction work has so far been completed. Sino Hydro holds the contract for civil construction and employs 400 Chinese and 1,200 Nepali workers. Project chief Shrestha said they aim to complete 50 percent of the total work by end of this fiscal year. To achieve the target, the project is mulling continuing the work even during public holidays, including Dashain and Tihar holidays.

Progress on tunnel work

Section    Total length    Progrss

Main tunnel     7,846m    2,569m

Tailrace tunnel    2,986m    1,349m

Audit tunnels    1,475m    1,475m

Tunnels inside powerhouse    3,003m    2,609m

Other small tunnels     650m    not started

Total    15,960m    8,002m

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Nepali rupee gains over Rs 2 against dollar

KATHMANDU, FEB 07 -

The US dollar has become cheaper against the Nepali currency, consistently over the last one month.  The value of US dollar has come down by Rs 2.62 in the last 25 days, coming down from Rs 87.90 on January 14, to Rs 85.28 on Thursday as fixed by the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB).

Pegged with the Indian currency (IC), the value of the Nepali currency against the US dollar fluctuates in line with the movement of IC. On Wednesday, the US dollar was at its weakest against IC in the last three and half months as the greenback dipping to IRs 53.15.

The fluctuation in the value of US dollar has affected gold price heavily in the domestic market. The price of gold has been cheaper by Rs 300 per 10gm. On Wednesday, gold traders fixed the price of gold at Rs 48,100 per 10 gram, coming down by Rs 300 compared to the price on Tuesday.

With the wedding season on fullswing, the downfall in gold price has provided relief to the general public. The gold price had surged until a few days ago following the hike in customs duty on gold by Rs 700 per 10gam.

As the decline in the value of US dollar also reduces price of crude oil in the international market, it will help Nepal Oil Corporation to reduce its loss. With the dollar losing its strength, it will also reduce the price of imported goods, particularly those goods imported from third countries other than India. It also augurs well for foreign loan payment as the country should pay less whenever the domestic currency becomes stronger against the dollar.

Weakening of the dollar, however, may affect the remittance inflow as beneficiaries here get little in Nepali currency terms.

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Panel to submit report on petro pipeline next week

KATHMANDU, FEB 03 -

A technical team entrusted with the task of holding study on the appropriate modality for the Nepal-India cross-border petroleum pipeline is scheduled to submit its report to the National Planning Commission (NPC) next week.

The team led by the Ministry of Commerce and Supplies (MoCS) Secretary Lalmani Joshi comprises experts from the Finance and Home Ministries and Public Procurement Office, among others. “We will hold a meeting soon and forward the project report to the NPC appropriate suggestion,” Joshi said.

The build, operate, own, and transfer (BOOT) committee of the NPC will evaluate the report before giving the final nod to develop the much-delayed 41-km petroleum pipeline . The BOOT committee is led by NPC Vice Chairman Dipendra Bahadur Kshetry.

The project, which was first proposed by the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) in 1995, has been the subject of much discussion. “The study will help fast-track the project as it has been put on ice for several years,” Joshi said, adding there are some positive indications that the project will be executed this time.

On Jan 3, the Cabinet had agreed in principle to develop the project. Subsequently, the NPC formed a committee to look after a number of legal and technical complexities.

MoCS officials said the IOC was keen to develop the project with its own resources. However, the committee will decide whether Nepal can utilise its own resources, go for a 50-50 percent ownership or ask India for grant to build the project.

The project has been estimated to cost Rs 1.6 billion, besides the costs for the land acquisition. A pre-feasibility study in 2004 and a technical study in 2006 had termed the project economically viable on condition the pipeline is operated unhindered for 20 years.

The pipeline , if developed, is expected to save Rs 300-350 million annually in transportation costs alone for Nepal Oil Corporation, which currently spends around Rs 500 million annually to transport petroleum products from Raxaul of India, to Amalekhgunj.

The annual operation cost of the proposed pipeline is estimated at Rs 120 million.

The project is envisaged to reduce leakage and ensure the supply of cleaner and cheaper fuel. It could also bring relief to Nepali consumers from frequent shortages caused by strikes.

A report of the High-Level Petroleum Reform Committee had also suggested immediate construction of the pipeline .

A joint-venture model with equity participation of the NOC and IOC was planned when the government approved the project in February 2010. But in March 2011, Nepal and India dropped the JV model and agreed to a new modality, whereby the two countries would construct the pipeline separately on their respective territories, and it would then be linked after signing a bilateral pipeline treaty.

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Subisu has led Nepal into the Internet Age

Sudhir Parajuli, CEO of Subisu Cablenet, was born into a family of bureaucrats. So when he aborted a nascent but promising career in the civil service to become a businessman, he ran into immediate resistance from his relatives.


Today, Subisu is one of Nepal's leading information and communications technology firms. Parajuli has no doubts about his career trajectory. "It gives me immense pleasure to have grown from a person who used to work for others to a person who is leading an organisation," he says.

Subisu provides state of the art cable TV and internet and data connectivity services across 33 districts, and employs 300 people in the Kathmandu Valley alone. The company is an out-and-out industry leader, having pioneered the use of several key technologies in Nepal, and even counts a few competitors among its clients.
The path to its current perch at the top, however, hasn't been smooth. On the eve of the new millennium, Nepalis were still using dial-up modems to connect to the internet. Parajuli and his peers reckoned that cable connections, which had already proven their worth in the west, would serve internet users better. Together, they started Subisu Cablenet in 2000 with the intention of introducing and marketing this technology in Nepal.

National regulatory bodies thought differently and didn't allow Subisu to operate cable internet in the country. Unfazed, and convinced of the technology's virtues, Parajuli and his team decided to set up a cable TV service instead, hoping to build the infrastructure for a cable internet service some time in the future.

The plan worked. In 2004, Subisu received a license to operate cable internet and in 2006, data connectivity services as well.

Subisu has done so well partly because it has been very quick to identify and resolve service problems. It has a record-setting Mean Time to Restore (MTR), a measure of the time taken to respond to service disruptions, within the industry.

"We study service problems our customers face very closely to ensure they don't happen again. Fast service delivery and response to problems really sets us apart," Parajuli says.

Underwriting Subisu's commercial success is a commitment to help ordinary people take advantage of the latest in information and communications technologies. Parajuli laments the backwardness of the Nepali countryside, where many don't have access to electricity, but believes that technology firms are well-positioned to help.

"Sixty per cent of Nepal doesn't have electricity, forget about internet. However, being in the field of ICT services,
we have tried our level best to change this."

Subisu has worked with NGOs to connect remote villages to cable TV and internet, and distributed laptops to needy educational institutions free of cost. It has also helped doctors and teachers deliver diagnoses and lectures remotely, through internet and telephones.

These inroads into the countryside aren't just humanitarian gestures, but part and parcel of Subisu's commercial strategy. Subisu plans to reach at least all district headquarters in the future, and is fully prepared to invest in the necessary technological innovations to negotiate Nepal's rugged and varied landscape. Subisu will also introduce digital television services in the near future.

A fully connected Nepal, of course, remains a distant prospect. But with bright stars like Subisu and Parajuli leading the way, we're getting there.

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ICAN seeks new model

KATHMANDU: The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nepal (ICAN) has said that ‘one person, one profession’ is the best model for the auditing profession.

Speaking at the third Kathmandu district convention of Auditors’ Association of Nepal (AUDAN), president of ICAN Madhu Bir Pande opined that the government should form a separate mechanism if it wants to amend the provision of ‘one person, one profession’.

The regulation will come into effect from mid-July, he said, adding that auditors will be responsible for following the regulation once it comes into effect.

The concept of ‘one person, one profession’ has already been implemented globally by chartered accountants, said Pande. One profession is an international practice in the auditing profession, he informed.

Director general at Inland Revenue Department Tanka Mani Sharma asked auditors to adhere to professional standards. A new opportunity has been created in the profession due to increased economic activities, he said.

Currently, there are 625 chartered accountants and around 7,000 registered auditors in the country, according to ICAN.

Meanwhile, Auditors’ Association of Nepal has elected a new executive committee in Kathmandu district. Bahadur Singh Bista has been elected as president in 15-member committee.

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Himalayan Bank‚ OMA join hands

KATHMANDU: UAE's financial service provider company OMA and Himalayan Bank are to launch financial transactions jointly.

At a press meet organised on Sunday in the Capital to inform about the co-work, UAE Non-Resident Ambassador Mohamed Sultan Abdalla Al Wais expressed the confidence to give relevance to the entry of OMA in Nepal, and he was committed to helping Nepal in her economic development.

He said there was nominal trade between the two countries but it will increase if proper environment is created for investment.

The two institutions will start transaction from today through electronic medium of debit and credit cards as per the integrated banking system.

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NEA recovers dues in Birgunj

BIRGUNJ: After the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) Distribution Center, Birgunj started leakage control campaign, it could recover remarkable amount of dues.

It raised Rs. 25.6 million after cutting the power lines of 533 customers in the first six months of the current fiscal year 2012/13.

The Centre said that last year, the NEA had recovered some 96.46 percent of the dues which was 15.86 percent more than the previous year.

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Govt mulls sector-wise minimum wage rates

KATHMANDU, JAN 08 -

With the time to review workers’ basic salary inching closer, the government is mulling sector-wise minimum wage rate.

The Ministry of Labour and Employment (MoLE) is planning to hold discussions with employers’ organisations and trade unions to this effect. As of now, minimum salary scale is same across all sectors.

As per the labour laws, workers’ minimum salary is reviewed every two years. The pay scale was last revised in March 2011 and was hiked to Rs 6,200 per month.

“This time, we are planning to set different pay scales for different sectors,” said Som Lal Subedi, secretary at the Labour Ministry. “As some sectors are providing more than the government -fixed salary, we are exploring possibilities for setting minimum wage rate based on what workers are getting in a particular sector and the sector’s performance.”

However, employers said implementing different minimum wage rates ‘is not an easy task’ as it requires extensive study and flexibility from both worker unions and employers. Employers’ organisations said a flat rate pay increase is the best way to avoid any possible dispute between employees and employers.

The private sector and trade unions affiliated to different political parties have started pressuring the government to start work on salary revision in time.

Pashupati Murarka, vice-president of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), said they have requested the Labour Ministry to call a meeting of the Central Labour Advisory Committee (CLAC) to discuss the salary issue. “We are ready to sit for talks and increase the minimum salary as per the situation of the private sector and consumer price index,” he added. The CLAC under the coordination of the Labour Minister has been authorised to fix minimum salary of workers’. The CLAC has representations from employers’ organisations and worker unions.

According to the All Nepal Trade Union Federation (ANTUF), it has formally requested the FNCCI and the Labour Ministry to hold a tri-party discussion before workers are forced to launch protests. “It will be better if we reach an agreement by mid-February. Both the Labour Ministry and the FNCCI are positive to hold consultations on the issue soon,” said Salik Ram Jammarkattel, president of ANTUF. He added based on the inflation rate, the government must increase the minimum salary to Rs 10,000 per month.

Another trade union, General Federation of Nepalese Trade Unions (GEFONT) has also showed urgency for a new salary structure. “We are working with the FNCCI to sign an agreement for the Industrial Relation Forum. And immediately after the signing of that agreement, we will concentrate on the salary issue,” said Bishnu Rimal, president of GEFONT.

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Govt suspends issuance of radio license

KATHMANDU, Jan 10: In a bid to regularize the operations and licensing of radio stations, Ministry of Information and Communications has suspended issuance of radio license effective from Wednesday. The ministry has said it will resume the licensing process after the formulation of new parameters that will differentiate the license of the radio categorically into commercial or community. Currently most of the radio operators whether community or commercial run on similar format with similar nature of contents. Likewise, the licensing conditions are also similar irrespective of the category. MoIC has formed a committee to recommend new parameters and standards to differentiate the categories of radio stations so that distribution of new license can be done on the basis of new standards differentiating the category. The ministry is also preparing to limit the number of license on the basis of advertisement market, geographical location and availability of frequency, among others once the new standard is enacted. Anup Nepal, under secretary of MoIC who is also the member of the newly formed committee for categorization of radio, said once the committee submits the report the ministry will issue the license only if the radio fits to be in the particularly category in terms of infrastructure, investment, program content and other factors. Nepal said once the standard is set, existing radio stations will also have to comply with the regulation. “Existing radio stations will also have to change their contents and other features and will have to take one particular category,” he said, adding that the categorization will ease the monitoring process. MoIC has so far issued license to more than 475 stations out of which only 375 are in operation. However, the suspension will not impact 100 radio stations that have already applied for the license. “We will not entertain new applications, but the applications that are already under processing will move ahead,” added Nepal. The committee is expected to submit its report after a month.

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