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The Special Committee formed by the Parliament to investigate errors in the Report on the Federal Civil Service Bill has submitted its report to the Speaker Devraj Ghimire today. 

Committee coordinator Jeevan Pariyar submitted the report to the Speaker at the Federal Parliament Building, New Baneshwor.

The committee finalized its report last night and had decided to submit it in today’s meeting of the House of Representatives. The committee held 37 meetings over 29 days to finalize the report.

The House of Representatives had formed a high-level special probe committee on July 6, after provisions related to the cooling-off period in the Bill came against that decision by the parliamentary committee that finalized the bill. 

The committee comprised Jeevan Pariyar (coordinator) and Sushila Thing from the Nepali Congress, Narayan Prasad Acharya and Ishwori Gharti from the CPN-UML, Madhav Sapkota from the CPN (Maoist Center), Ganesh Parajuli from the Rastriya Swatantra Party, and Roshan Karki from the Rastriya Prajatantra Party.

The Third United Nations Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs) began in Turkmenistan today. 

Hojamyrat Geldimyradov, Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan, and Antonio Guterres, the United Nations Secretary-General welcomed the heads of the nations and the heads of the governments to the Conference venue at the Awaza-based Sports Complex. 

In his address to an inaugural session, the UN Secretary General stressed the need for collective efforts with essential support and coordination to increase the LLDCs' access to international competitive markets and to address challenges they are facing. 

The President of the host nation, Serdar Berdimuhamedow, stressed the need for South-South cooperation to address economic and social challenges being faced by landlocked developing countries. He also pressed the need for active engagement of parliamentary forums, youth, and civil society networks to address these challenges.

Similarly, the President of the 79th United Nations General Assembly, Dennis Francis, also addressed the opening session.

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli is scheduled to address the Conference as the Chair of the Global Coordination Bureau of the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and in national capacity today, itself. 

The Prime Minister will also co-chair a high-level roundtable of the Conference and address other events.

Besides, the Prime Minister will meet heads of delegations from various countries and other high-level dignitaries of the UN and other international organizations on the margins of the Conference.   

Prime Minister Oli arrived here on August 4, leading a Nepali delegation.

.The Prime Minister is accompanied by his spouse  Radhika Shakya, Chief Advisor to the Prime Minister  Bishnu Prasad Rimal, Member of the Federal Parliament, Surya Bahadur Thapa Kshetree, Prime Minister's private doctor Prof Dr Dibya Singh Shah, Foreign Secretary Amrit Bahadur Rai  and other high-ranking government officials. 

The Prime Minister is scheduled to return home on August 8.

Over the past few months, Nepal and India have stepped up engagement on multiple fronts, including long-overdue meetings of bilateral mechanisms. While the exact date of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s visit to New Delhi is yet to be finalized, Indian officials confirm that preparations are underway, and the visit is likely to take place before Dashain. India has also been engaging with a wide cross-section of Nepali society in the lead-up.

Nepal-India relations faced significant turbulence, especially after 2015, which strained bilateral ties. However, in recent months, both sides appear to be moving toward a reset. Kathmandu and New Delhi have now prioritized economic and development partnerships over longstanding contentious issues.

Two key unresolved matters, the map row and the report prepared by the Eminent Persons’ Group (EPG), remain sensitive. While political parties such as the Nepali Congress, CPN (Maoist Centre), and various Madhes-based parties have largely shelved the EPG issue, some CPN-UML leaders continue to raise it, albeit with less intensity.

India’s renewed outreach to Kathmandu comes amid a shifting regional context: Donald Trump’s inauguration and subsequent US aid cuts to Nepal, political developments in Bangladesh, and a brief but deadly India-Pakistan conflict. In late July, New Delhi hosted an all-party delegation of Nepali members of parliament. According to the Indian readout, the discussions centered on expanding the multifaceted bilateral partnership.

On July 28 and 29, the seventh meeting of the India-Nepal Boundary Working Group (BWG) was held in New Delhi. The BWG had been inactive since 2019 due to the map dispute. Although this meeting did not address contentious territorial issues, both sides adopted updated modalities for inspecting, repairing, and maintaining boundary pillars, and agreed to expedite work in these areas. They also finalized a three-year work plan and committed to using advanced technologies for boundary-related tasks.

In the third week of July, the home secretary-level meeting between the two countries covered the full spectrum of bilateral security cooperation and border management. The two sides finalized the text of an agreement on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters. They also agreed to work toward the early conclusion of a revised extradition treaty, another longstanding and sensitive issue.

India also launched a collaborative initiative in partnership with the UN World Food Programme to support rice fortification and supply chain management in Nepal. The project aims to address gaps in Nepal’s fortified rice supply chain, particularly in procurement, data collection, and human resource capacity, through knowledge exchange with India’s successful public distribution system. It offers Nepali stakeholders the chance to learn from India’s experience in applying digital technologies to food logistics.

Speaking at a public event this week, foreign affairs expert Mohan Lohani, as quoted by the Press Trust of India, said that India is advancing rapidly in economic growth, development, and technological innovation. “Nepal should try to benefit from the progress made by our southern neighbor,” he said.

Another foreign policy expert, Nischal Nath Pandey, advised Prime Minister Oli to travel overland for his New Delhi visit, arguing that it would allow him to observe India’s significant progress in infrastructure, especially road transport.” During the tenure of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India has made remarkable progress in development and road connectivity, and Nepal should learn from the experiences gained by India,” Pandey said.

As preparations for Prime Minister Oli’s India visit continue, both sides are working to finalize a major project or agreement to be announced during his meeting with Prime Minister Modi. Government officials suggest that resolving issues related to the long-pending Pancheshwar Multipurpose Project could be one such announcement. According to sources, the Indian side has conveyed that when the two prime ministers meet, a substantial breakthrough should be unveiled.

The CPN-Maoist Center has decided to merge with the Communist Party of Nepal led by Netra Bikram Chand 'Biplab’.

A Standing Committee meeting of the Maoist Center held at the party office in Parisdanda on Monday decided to unite with the Chand-led party.