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The Election Commission has published the names of 74 candidates contesting last year's November 20 parliamentary election but not submitting the details of the election expenses within the stipulated time. Among them, 37 were contesting for the House of Representatives seat while remaining 37 for the Province Assembly, according to the Commission. They are subjected to clarification, said the Commission according to which, they ought to make public the details within seven days with an explanation of justification and inform the election offices in concerned districts and provinces. According to the House of Representatives Member Election Act, and the Province Assembly Member Election Act-2074 BS, political parties or candidates must submit their expenses statement to the office designated by the Commission along with the bill of expenses incurred in the election within the 35 days from the date of announcement of the final results of the election.  

The fourth meeting of Nepal-Japan Bilateral Consultation Mechanism was held in Tokyo, the capital of Japan on Tuesday. During the meeting, the two sides took stock of all aspects of bilateral relations and exchanged views on further promoting cooperation between the two countries, the Embassy of Nepal in Tokyo stated in a press release. While expressing satisfaction over the existing excellent state of bilateral relations between the two countries, both sides placed high importance on exchange of high-level visits in order to further update and strengthen the bilateral relations. The two sides discussed various ways and means of enhancing cooperation in the areas of trade, tourism, investment, agriculture, waste and disaster management, foreign employment as well as culture and people-to-people ties. The Nepali side shared about the country's graduation from the LDC status in 2026 and requested for the continuation of support of the Government of Japan in terms of grant assistance and concessional loans. The Japanese side assured of the continued cooperation of the Government of Japan to Nepal for its graduation from the LDC status and thereafter within the framework of its cooperation policy. Joint-Secretary and the Head of North East Asia Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Lok Bahadur Thapa and Director-General of Southeast and Southwest Asian Affairs Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, Mr Arima Yutaka led their respective delegations to the meeting. Delegation of the Nepali side consisted of the officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Nepal and the Embassy of Nepal in Tokyo and the Japanese delegation included the officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. Prior to the meeting, Joint-Secretary Thapa paid a courtesy call on the state minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, Takei Shunsuke at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan.  

The nationwide Vitamin 'A' campaign for children begins today. The campaign to administer Vitamin A supplements to children is taking place across the country today and tomorrow, said Director of the Family Welfare Division under the Ministry of Health and Population, Dr Bivek Kumar Lal. The children will also be administered deworming tablets along with vitamin A supplements. The Vitamin A supplements will be administered to children between six months to 59 months and deworming tablets to children aged one to five years. The target is to reach out to around 2.7 million children for Vitamin A supplements and around 2.4 million children for deworming tablets. The government has been carrying out the national Vitamin 'A' campaign since 2050 BS and is held twice in the months of Baisakh and Kartik of the Lunar calendar.

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has drawn the government's attention towards the use of force against victims of loan-sharking demonstrating for few days at Shanti Batika, demanding justice. The government has been urged to respect the citizens' right to the freedom of expression and freedom to assemble peacefully. Issuing a press statement today, the national rights body expressed its concern over the 'use of force' against demonstrators, asking the government for respecting the Citizens right to freedom of opinion and expression and freedom to assemble peacefully guaranteed by the Constitution. The NHRC through the statement issued by its Spokesperson Dr Tikaram Pokhrel demanded proper medical care for those injured in course of the police intervention into the peaceful demonstration at Shanti Batika on Monday. He has asked the government for resolving the issue through meaningful talks. The NHRC said that it also carried out a field monitoring over the incident. During the inspection, it came to know that police forcibly intervened demonstrators as they were preparing to head towards Baluwatar to meet with the Prime Minister from Shanti Batika in Ratnapark. Police restored to the force against the group, seized a cooking gas cylinder being used by them and foodstuffs from the site, apprehending them including aged people before taking them to the Mahendra Police Club and restoring to physical assaults targeting them, according to the NHRC It is said those injured in the incident are being treated at the Trauma Centre, Kathmandu. The NRHC met with the injured and those put at the hospital administration and the Metropolis Police Circle, Durbarmarg to take updates surrounding the incident. Among the injured, most suffered head injury with three cases of severe injuries. "This is the severe violation of the Article 19 of Universal Declaration of Human Rights-1948, the Article 17 of the Constitution, the Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights-1966 which guarantee the citizen's right to the freedom of the expression and the assembly peacefully," the NHRC said.

The meeting of the National Assembly scheduled for today has been postponed. The Federal Parliament Secretariat through a notice today stated that the meeting of the upper house of parliament scheduled for 2.31 pm today has been put off for a special reason. The date and time of the next meeting would be determined by the National Assembly Chair and the information of this would be given through another notice, Parliament Secretary General Dr Bharat Raj Gautam said in the notice.

At a tourism promotion program organized by the Nepal Association of Tour and Travel Agents, Gandaki Province with the assistance of Pokhara metropolis, discussion was held with Indian tourism entrepreneurs on the agendas such as tourism potentials of Pokhara and its hospitality services. On the occasion, tourism entrepreneurs of Pokhara said Pokhara was a must-visit destination naturally and culturally. Likewise, tourism entrepreneurs of Patana had reflected their experience and feeling in Pokhara. On the occasion, Pokhara Tourism Council Chairperson Pom Narayan Shrestha said Pokhara was one of the beautiful destinations of the world, adding their notion of welcoming guests as God has added value to the tourism culture of the area. “Pokhara is a potential tourism destination where the general public of neighboring India can easily visit and take joy of its scenic beauty”, he said, adding, “Nepal has a geographical proximity with India. Besides, both the nations have enjoyed mutual fraternity since time immemorial”. Highlighting tourism activities, including sight-seeing of majestic Himalayan range and tourism adventures in Pokhara, he expressed readiness to ever welcome Indian tourists. NATTA Gandaki province chairperson Hariram Adhikari said India was the important tourism source market for Pokhara and Nepal. Pokhara was worth visiting and exploring in any season, he said, adding the objective of the promotional programme was to know problems experienced by Indian tourists during their visit to Pokhara if any and design solutions in coming days. Also speaking on the occasion, Secretary of Tourism Association of Bihar, Prakash Chandra termed Pokhara as one of their preferred destinations. Most of the Indian tourists generally spend a good amount of money during their visits, he suggested the entrepreneurs to make online payment easy and smooth in Pokhara. Senior tourism consultant of Patana, Sanjaya Sharma stressed the need to enhance Pokhara-Patana connectivity through direct flights. He highlighted the importance of efforts from both sides for direct air connectivity. He also suggested making road connectivity between Pokhara and Patana easier and convenient to promote tourism. Vice-chairperson of Pokhara Metropolis Tourism Development Committee, Rabindra Raj Poudel urged Indian tourists to come to Pokhara to take joy in diverse tourism activities including religious visits and adventurous tourism engagement. On the occasion, the entrepreneurs also discussed business to business (B2B) partnership and collaboration for tourism promotion. As informed, the Nepali delegation would reach Banaras today and discuss with the local tourism entrepreneurs and media persons. The delegation would return to Pokhara on April 21 after completing promotional programs in Ayodhya and Gorakhpur after Banaras.  

Finance Minister Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat has stressed the need for the government and the private sector to work hand in hand to resolve problems surfaced in the country's economy. The government was ready to cooperate with the private sector for economic improvements, he said at an event organized to congratulate and extend best wishes to the newly elected office bearers of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) here today. "Traders and industrialists are currently facing difficult times and pressure. But we have reached the situation wherein anything cannot be done to deal with the condition. There are some difficulties and hurdles. The government and the private sector should come together to resolve them," he said. He stressed the need for those well aware about the country's economic condition to take initiatives to solve the matter. He was stating that the new FNCCI leadership has got bankers as its office bearers. "We must help each other to cut through the current difficulties." Minister Mahat was of the opinion that the government has not been able to work in a way it should have. "We need to bring about reforms in all aspects. There is a challenge ahead to increase the country's efficiency," he said, adding, "We have said many things through the policies, but have not been able to put them into practice." According to the finance minister, the problem was because of the lack of synchrony between politics and economic accountability. "We should take the liability invited by the growing general expenditure in synchrony with the identification of economic resources and their mobilization from the political sphere," he suggested. He also said he has held formal and informal discussions with the Nepal Rastra Bank's leadership regarding economic revival and measures to be taken to that end. Finance Minister Mahat called on the private sector to also share about its reality and that the government was ready to address the problems through the monetary policy. Saying that problems have been seen in the economy due to the increase in the interest rate, he opined that the adjustment made by the Bankers Association in the interest rates has to some extent helped in the economic reforms. FNCCI president Chandra Prasad Dhakal shared on the problems facing the country's economy and the industrialists and business community.  

This year's media headlines in regard with the availability of school textbooks for a new academic year are something heartening compared to the past. This time students from almost all community schools across the country have already got textbooks and in case of some districts, they are likely to get it before the completion of the enrollment campaign. According to the Janak Education Material Centre (JEMC), textbooks are likely to be dispatched to all schools by April 23. As the JEMC said, community schools’ students in 59 districts have received almost all textbooks and in the remaining 18 districts, it will be made available by the next one week. This time students will not be forced to sit for exams without seeing textbooks, it is said. The government took the help of the private sector to print the school textbooks from grade one to five and the JEMC, the government entity, was authorized to publish the books from class six to ten for the academic year 2080 BS. The private sector is sending books to schools as per its responsibilities and the JEMC has already finished the printing and distribution of 10.5 million textbooks. It may be noted that earlier Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal had pledged to ensure the timely distribution of school textbooks for the new academic session and it was his special concern that students should get textbooks on time unlike the past culture. JEMC Managing Director Anil Kumar Jha said the Prime Minister's constant concern over the timely supplies of textbooks also played a role for making it possible. This is the time that students could get textbooks on time after the 1990's multiparty movement. Mountainous districts such as Jumla, Humla and Dolpa were the priorities of the Centre for the dispatch of textbooks.