12,000 plus citizenship certificates issued in Sunsari
The District Administration Office, Sunsari, has issued a total of 12,177 new citizenship certificates in the first nine months of the current fiscal year, Chief District Officer Humkala Pandey confirmed. Likewise, altogether 11,339 duplicate copies of the citizenship certificates were also issued during the same period in the current fiscal year. Similarly, the administration has provided 11,309 passport copies during the review period. CDO Pandey said that a total of Rs 2 million plus has been distributed in relief from the District Administration Office during the period. According to CDO Pandey, the administration carried out monitoring of market, public entities and security bodies as well. However, monitoring of the development projects could not take place so far in the current fiscal year. In the district, 112 new organizations have been registered while 426 other organizations obtained their renewal certificate, according to CDO Pandey.
Central bank auctioning Rs 29.1 billion worth of treasury bills
The Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) is auctioning treasury bills worth Rs 29.1 billion on May 28. The maturity period of the bills is between 28 to 364 days. The purpose of auctioning treasury bills is to collect internal loans, it has been said. Short-term interest rate for the bills is 7.91 percent, according to the central bank. Similarly, the 364-day treasury bills charge 8.80 percent interest rate, and interbank interest rate is 7 percent. Earlier on May 22, the NRB auctioned treasury bills worth Rs 34.2 billion.
Light rain likely today
The country at present has the impacts of local and westerly winds with low pressure system, causing partly to generally cloudy in the hilly region in the country, according to the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology. The Department said that light to moderate rain with thunder and lightning is expected to take place at some places of Madhes, Gandaki and Lumbini provinces and hilly and mountainous regions of rest of the provinces. The Department said that chances of storms are also likely in some places of Tarai belt.
Home Minister Shrestha assures of impartial investigation into fake Bhutanese refugee scam
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs Narayan Kaji Shrestha has said all those accused and suspected in the fake Bhutanese refugee scam will be investigated. Receiving a memorandum from a delegation of the CPN-UML-aligned Youth Association Nepal today, the Deputy Prime Minister said that Nepali people are ashamed of the scam. "The scam has posed a challenge to a journey towards good governance, the precondition for prosperity," he said, adding that he has directed the Nepal Police to carry out and conclude investigations into the scam, unaffected by possible political pressure and unwanted influence. Thirty people, including the former Home Minister, now face charges of crime against the state over their alleged roles in the scam. The case was registered by the Nepal Police on Wednesday. "A journey towards prosperity will remain obstructed until a nexus of corruption and commission is dismantled," the Deputy Prime Minister said. According to him, the government and police mechanism is clear about its stance against the scam and they are dealing with the matter with the determination to conclude it impartially and in a substantive way. "We want each guilty in the case to be prosecuted and no innocent be blamed for it." The Deputy Prime Minister ruled out the possibility of the protection of probable offenders on the basis of any political connection or nepotism and said that the police would bring those suspected in the case into investigation once it found evidence to suggest their involvements. Association Acting Chair Amit Lama demanded a fair investigation into the scam, urging the government not to divert the issue under any circumstances.
Priority will be given to provinces lagging behind in HDI: PM Dahal
Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has said the budget for the upcoming fiscal year would be allocated by keeping Karnali, Sudurpaschim and Madhes, the provinces which are backward in the Human Development Index (HDI), at the center. PM Dahal said this during a meeting with a delegation including Chief Minister of Sudurpaschim Province Kamal Bahadur Shah at the Prime Minister's residence in Baluwatar today. The Prime Minister asserted that the development of all these three provinces would be kept in priority in the budget for the upcoming fiscal year. On the occasion, the delegation briefed the Prime Minister about the overall economic situation of the province and the ongoing development and construction activities there, urging him to give special priority to the province in the appropriation of the budget. Prime Minister Dahal said some special provisions centering on Sudurpaschim Province have been made in the government's policies and programs and it would be kept in priority in the budget as well, according to Govinda Acharya, the PM's press advisor. The delegation also called attention of the Prime Minister on the reduction of the equalization grants to the province in the current fiscal year. The delegation also separately met with National Planning Commission (NPC) Vice-Chairman Min Bahadur Shrestha and Finance Minister Dr Prakash Saran Mahat on Tuesday.
1,700 complaints lodged against loan sharks in Mahottari
Complaints are being lodged against loan sharks in Mahottari district with the government introducing a new law to take action against the fraud. According to Assistant Chief District Officer of Mahottari, Upendra Neuapne, so far 1,734 complaints have been registered against loan sharks in the district. Number of complainants has increased when the government provided time for the victims to register complaints against loan sharks. The government had announced to take action against those involved in loan sharking by introducing an ordinance to that end. The victims had started registering complaints in the district since May 1.
Over 5,000 cases of banking fraud, financial crime registered in Kathmandu Valley
A total of 5,312 cases related to banking fraud and financial crime have been registered in Kathmandu Valley. According to the District Police Range, Kathmandu, the highest cases have been registered in banking fraud and financial crime in Kathmandu Valley in the current fiscal year. Spokesperson of the Range and Superintendent of Police Sitaram Rijal said that out of 9,256 cases registered in Kathmandu Valley in the current fiscal year, more than half are of banking fraud and financial crime. He said that most of the cases under banking fraud and financial crimes are related to cheque bounce, dollar exchange, and lottery in recent period. Range Chief Senior Superintendent of Police Dan Bahadur Karki said that around 35-40 cases related to banking fraud and financial crime are registered in the Range every day, adding cases of banking fraud and organized and financial crimes have increased in Kathmandu Valley in recent days.
Policies and programs exclude plan to address economic crisis: RPP Chair Lingden
Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) Chairman and House of Representatives (HoR) member Rajendra Lingden has said the government’s policies and programs failed to come with a policy to deal with the existing political crisis in the nation. Airing his views over the government policies and programs for the fiscal year 2023/24 in a meeting of the lower house today, the leader said the policies and programs were expected to reflect the country’s roadmap ahead, but this part was missing in the documents. He said that the policies and programs have failed to identify the problems and some issues are presented contradictorily. "Industrial promotion is possible when employment-based industries are opened, there is a subsidy in electricity, and unnecessary hurdles from trade unions are discouraged," he said. Describing Nepal as the place of origin of orientalism, he was of the view of not leaving the concept of religious tourism behind while promoting the tourism industry. Similarly, Rastriya Swatantra Party's Ganesh Parajuli said it should be greatly analyzed whether the government policies and programs tend to seek ways for resolving economic issues as claimed by the government. "Remittance-based economy is not a sustainable pillar of economy" he said, adding the people aspired for prosperity and development. He urged all political parties to unite against corruption, advising any government employee to resign first before joining the politics.