SAD out, exporters happy

By Bhaskar Sharma

KATHMANDU, Oct 1 - Indian Finance Ministry finally issued an official notification scrapping Special Additional Duty (SAD) on Nepalese exports to India Friday, almost two months after it principally agreed to do so, ending a six-month long row over the additional duty.

India had agreed to lift SAD during Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala's India visit last August. However, Indian customs continued to impose SAD citing lack of official directive from Delhi. It even slapped SAD on vegetable ghee exports to India, which was initially exempted from such duty.

Though the much awaited directive has finally come, the Indian Embassy is yet to relay the notification to Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) officially. Moreover, it is likely that the actual invalidation of SAD will take a day or two. Badri Prasad Ojha, General Secretary of FNCCI, said that the Embassy is yet to officially inform the Federation of the latest development.

"The notification was issued by the Indian Finance Ministry on Sept 29 and a copy sent to the Indian Embassy the same day. However, it does not include the other details and it is possible that the actual implementation upon the directives would be made as soon as officials at the customs points are informed through the proper channels," said Dev Mukherjee, Indian Ambassador to Nepal, talking to The Kathmandu Post.

India had announced to impose SAD on all its imports, including from Nepal, at its last budget on February 29, contradicting the Trade Treaty signed between the two countries. Nepal India Trade Treaty signed on December 3, 1996, provides a duty free access to Nepalese goods into Indian market.

Till 1996, Nepalese products with at least 50 percent local value addition were only granted a duty free access to India. The 1996 Treaty, which marks a leap-jump in the annals of Nepal-India trade relations, annuled the provision of local value addition at one-go. Until 1996, it had exhausted tedious 46 years of the 1950  Peace and Friendship Treaty to pull down the local value addition content from 90 per cent to 50 per cent.  

Though the Treaty signed in December 1996 had brought a face-lift in Nepal's exports to India as well as Indian joint venture investment in Nepal, the imposition of SAD posed serious impediments to Nepalese exports. While exports to India peaked up from around 4 billion rupees in 1996 to over 14 billion in 1999, SAD was feared to pull down the export substantially.  

The additional duty imposed by India had weakened the competitive edge of Nepalese products thereby resulting in decline in exports. Businessmen had claimed over 30 per cent decline in exports to India since the imposition  of SAD.

"SAD had caused a nose-dive in exports to India. Its removal is a welcomed step," said Rabi Bhakta Shrestha, first vice-president of FNCCI.

The abolition of SAD, however, did not come for free. India used SAD to ease the entry of Indian automobiles into the Nepalese market. It pressurized Nepal to accept Indian vehicles upon self-certification by the manufacturers themselves. This is against Nepal Vehicular Mass Emission Standard-1999, which clearly states that vehicle imports must be accompanied by certificates of Conformity of Production (CoP), along with other procedures.

Laxmanpur tops Nepal-India water meet

Post Report

KATHMANDU, Oct 1 - The first Secretary-Level  meeting of the Joint Nepal-India Water Resources Committee started here today with the Nepali side raising the issue of India-built Laxmanpur barrage on Rapti river in western Nepal.

"Nepal raised the issues of Laxmanpur barrage, Koshi barrage and Mahakali river on the first day today," said Bishwanath Sapkota, Secretary at the Ministry of Water Resources. "We will leave no stone unturned; we will talk about Pancheshwor Multipurpose Project, Koshi and Gandak barrage and so on."   

The Committee was formed to look into the issues related to water resources development as agreed upon during Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala's India visit in August.

Talking to The Kathmandu Post Sunday evening, Secretary Sapkota added that the meet will help boost bilateral cooperation in the field of water resources development.

"This (meeting) will also help create an environment of trust for cooperation in water resource development," he said, adding that Nepal will also discuss on the ways to attract Indian assistance in the water resources sector.

According to Sapkota, the Nepali side will ask Indian officials to continue to carry out the maintenance and operation of the Koshi and Gandak barrages as per the past Nepal-India agreements.

Nepali officials say that the maintenance and operation of the two barrages are not carried out properly.

Major parties hold closed-door meeting on army mobilization

Post Report

KATHMANDU, Oct 1 - Leaders of the main political parties met today at the Parliament premises in a closed-door meeting to discuss the controversial issue of mobilizing the Royal Nepal Army against the Maoist rebels.

But true to expectations, national leaders of almost all major parties could not reach a consensus on the sensitive issue, and the meeting was postponed again for Tuesday.

"We have decided to meet again on Tuesday afternoon...that is all I can say," Nepali Congress senior leader Krishna Prasad Bhattarai told reporters after the meeting.

The meeting initiated by Speaker of the House of Representatives Taranath Ranabhat was attended by Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, ex-premier Bhattarai, Deputy PM Ram Chandra Poudel, Leader of the opposition and CPN-UML General Secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal and Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) President Surya Bahadur Thapa.

Also present were Deputy Speaker Chitra Lekha Yadav, CPN-UML Politburo member Jhal Nath Khanal, RPP's Rabindra Nath Sharma, NC Spokesman Narhari Acharya, National Assembly Chairman Mohammed Mohsin and Nepal Sadbhavana Party Gajendra Narayan Singh.

All the leaders refused to talk to reporters following Speaker Ranabhat's strict instructions not to leak any information to the press about the meeting that is yet to be concluded.

Sources later said that Madhav Kumar Nepal and Mohsin were against the idea of immediately deploying army against the rebels. Nepal asked that the government first make clear as to who the army was under.

Bhattarai replied by saying there should be no doubt about who the army is under but at the same time it needs to be cleared out under which situations can the army be used.

RPP's Thapa suggested a practical study before implementing the idea in reality. Prime Minister Koirala remained silent and said he would give out his view on Tuesday's meet only.

The meeting was called by the government to seek a consensus among the national political parties that are represented in the Lower House of Parliament.

Today's meeting was cut short after PM Koirala had to rush to attend a funeral and a diplomatic reception. However, the remaining members did stay for a few minutes more than the Prime Minister did.

The army has been in the middle of a controversy after former Home Minister Govind Raj Joshi resigned last Friday accusing the soldiers of not cooperating with the police in the wake of the Maoist raid in Dunai, Dolpa district, last week. Fourteen policemen were killed and 11 abducted by the rebels in that attack.

 Joshi specifically said that the army had failed to provide modern weapons to the police even after taking millions of rupees from the state coffer.

Two days after the Dunai raid, rebels also attacked a police post in Bhorletar, Lamjung, killing eight policemen.

Since the Maoist rebels began their campaign, they have killed at least 231 policemen and lost 979 of their own fighters and supporters, according to government figures. During the insurgency, 249 civilians have been either killed by the rebels or caught in the clash between the guerrillas and the police.

RNAC to lease Lauda Air widebody Boeing 767

KATHMANDU, Oct 1 (PR) - Royal Nepal Airlines Corporation (RNAC) has signed an agreement with Lauda Air of Austria to lease a widebody Boeing B-767-300 ER aircraft which is expected to begin service with the national carrier on December 1, 2000.

The agreement was signed in Europe on September 27 by Executive Chairman of RNAC Hari Bhakta Shrestha, who had flown there more than a week ago with other RNAC board members, officials and a local businessman who is serving as the representative of Lauda Air.

Though Lauda Air is actually an Austrian carrier RNAC has signed the agreement with Lauda Air's office at Malpensa airport, Italy. The lease agreement should be endorsed by the respective airline boards and governments within 27 days from the day it signed, according to the agreement.

Highly placed sources inside RNAC say, the B-767 is being leased at a rate of 3350 US dollars per flight hour. It has been guaranteed a minimum of 300 flight hours a month. If the aircraft is operated beyond that threshold, the lease rate comes down to 2,200 US dollars per flight hour. Sources say, the term of the lease is for 18 months and begins on December 1, 2000.

With this agreement, RNAC's long search for a widebody aircraft comes to an end, for the time being. The airline has been searching for a suitable jet for months, if not years, to press on its international routes which spans from Osaka in East Asia to London in Europe via several regional routes in between.

RNAC officials who are familiar with the new agreement say, this is a "wet lease" and Lauda Air will supply the aircraft, its insurance and maintenance packages. However, in the initial phase of the lease, the Austrians will also supply five sets of flight crew to operate the aircraft.

Two of the captains will be instructors who will oversee the transition of Nepali pilots from the narrowbody B-757 to the widebody B-767, after which Lauda Air will reduce its cockpit crew. The two jets have cockpit commonality and RNAC pilots who fly the smaller jet can readily fly the larger aircraft with just a few hours of orientation training. However, the cost of the five sets of flight crew to be supplied by Lauda Air is to be borne by RNAC, which will have to pay an additional 21,000 US dollars a month for each set of flight crew.

If the Lauda Air agreement is carried through, RNAC will be operating four jets for the first time since 1994, when it sold two of its old B-727s. At the moment though, one of the airline's own B-757 is grounded with a damaged engine after a bird strike last week.

Too busy to study? Open University is on the way...

By Pramod Poudel

KATHMANDU, Oct 1 - Used to be a time when busy people who wished to pursue higher studies had no other recourse than to enroll in morning or night colleges.

That could soon change if the government carries through a plan to establish an Open University in Nepal. While the concept is not new, and has been tried and tested the world over, long-distance learning is only now beginning to appear as an attractive option. A rapidly changing society, and its growing and varied needs, necessiate such an institution, say experts.

The Ministry for Education and Sports has already prepared a draft of a bill that calls for the establishment of just such an university.

The Spokesman of Ministry of Education Chuman Singh Basnet says, if all goes according to plans, then the bill could soon be introduced and passed into law. "The bill will be presented in the coming session of the Parliament," says Basnet.

The move towards such an institution of learning was first begun when the Ninth Plan was being formulated. The plan envisages establishment of an Open University by the fifth year of the plan.

Many educationists here agree that establishment of Open University will bring about a revolution in Nepal's rigid educational structure.

"The Open University is a challenge to our conventional mode of learning," says Laba Dev Awasthi, an educationist who is studying for his doctorate through long-distance learning with an university based in Denmark. "Therefore, the government should do a lot of exercise."

Open University will have no age bar, no need for previous qualifications and no pressure to perform beyond one's own capabilities. It will have both short-term and degree courses.

The other beneficiaries will be job-holders, house-wives and even some politicians who have had no time to acquire formal education.

However, for its desired success, the new concept must be backed by clear vision and a lot of homework.

"It should be started with two pronged strategy: one to meet the need of the rural based people and the other for those to meet the emerging global challenges," says Awasthi.

How to go about setting this much-needed institution?

Tirtha Khaniya, an educationist says, "At a time when the whole world is going for collaboration, we should also opt for the same to operate an Open University."

"We can have partnership with university like Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) of India, and even with those of Canada, Britain, Japan and Australia," says Khaniya.

Khaniya suggests that government can go for partnership with private organisations to establish such an Open University.

Concept paper developed by the High Level Task Force to form the Open University seeks government financial support for five years, after which it has plans to sustain itself.

For this sort of institution, the teachers need specialised training and orientation. Awasthi points out: "There should be constant interaction between students and teachers through various modes like conventional mail and e-mail," says Awasthi. "Effective mechanism should be developed for the two-way timely correspondence."

Initially, it intends to develop the present 'Distance Education Centre' as a stepping stone to the University. The concept paper also envisages operating radio and television educational channels from which Open University's program will be broadcast. Eventually it plans to have its own radio and television channels.