Nepal-India Railways talks begin

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KATHMANDU, May 1: Two-day of talks between the visiting Indian delegation and Nepali officials over the protracted Railways Agreement, which once signed would pave the way for the operation of Birgunj-Kolkata railways, began here today.

Both the Indian as well as Nepali officials have expressed optimism that some sort of understanding would be reached at the end of the talks on Thursday.

"The talks are progressing very smoothly and we are optimistic that the much-awaited agreement would be reached this time," said Purushottam Ojha, Director General of Department of Commerce, one of the Nepali participants in the talks.

Likewise, leader of the Indian delegation, Alok Rawat, Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, said that various unresolved issues are being discussed in the talks.

Sources close to The Kathmandu Post revealed that the two sides today discussed over the security of the railways cargo, the customs checks, and the frequency of railways operation between Birgunj and Kolkatta.

Once the Birgunj-Kolkata railways becomes operational, transit costs for Nepal while carrying out third country trade would go down by as high as thirty per cent. The construction of the Birgunj Inland Container Depot was completed in February 2001 but is yet to become operational due to the delay in signing the Railways Agreement.

The Indian delegation had come to discuss over the long-overdue Regulation on Trans-border Movement of Motor Vehicles and the Railways Agreement. The delegation already carried out talks on Monday and Tuesday with the Nepali counterparts to facilitate the cross-border operations of passenger and cargo vehicles.

Though the two sides failed to come to conclusive terms during the two-day talks, Indian officials said that many critical issues have been sorted out and that another round of talks would be held very soon to give the regulation a shape.

NBL mgmt hand-over deal to be signed soon

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KATHMANDU, May 1: The final agreement between Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) and Irish ICC Bank on the management hand-over of Nepal Bank Limited (NLB), the oldest and largest semi-government bank and one of the two financially insolvent banks, is most likely to be singed in the second week of May, ending the long-running controversy.

A government source informed that the two sides have agreed to review the terms and conditions of the final agreement after six months of management take-over of NBL by the ICC bank. "Both sides have reached an understanding that the whole agreement would be reviewed in six months of operation of the NBL by ICC bank," added the source.

The source said that after a half year of experiences and acquiring in-depth first hand information, both side would again sit down to discuss the expectations of the government and the actual situation, and realistic goals would be re-sketched to make the whole project result-oriented.

The bank recently reiterated its earlier commitment that it would takeover the management of the NBL by June 1 as per the understanding reached during the crucial negotiation between the NRB and ICC Bank on third week of April.

During the negotiation, which finalised the draft for the final agreement, had ended with the understanding that ICC will take over the whole management on June 1. As per the understanding, the exiting Non Performing Assets (NPA) of the bank, which is currently at around 26 per cent, should be reduced to 10 per cent within the contract period of two years.

The ICC bank has reiterated its confidence that it would be able to reduce NPA of the NBL, but has hinted that the contract period of two years would not be sufficient to reduce the NPA to 10 per cent of the total assets.

Similarly, as per the agreement, the ICC Bank will also be responsible for the default of any loan investment extended after it takes over the management of the NBL.

The government had decided to handover the management of the two largest banks, NLB and Rastriya Banijya Bank (RBB) after KPMG Barnet, an international auditing firm, declared the banks as technically insolvent.

During the global tender call for the management transfer of the NBL, three international consultative firms had competed, which includes PriceWater-HouseCoopers, ICC Bank and Ernst and Young International. PriceWaterHouse-Coopers had quoted the lowest price demanding US $ 4.95 million while the ICC Bank and Ernst and Young International had quoted US $ 4.98 million and US $ 8.69 million respectively. However, due to some serious technical problems in the tender of the lowest bidder, the government invited Irish ICC Bank for the final negotiation of NBL management hand-over.

Meanwhile, the lingering row between the NRB and Deloitt Touche Tomatsu (DTT) on relaxing some of the terms and conditions of the final agreement related with the takeover of the management of RBB has not yet been solved.

The source informed that both the parties have stopped consultations in recent days and the dispute is unlikely to be solved unless there is a high-level intervention to break the deadlock.

DTT, an American consultative firm, had urged the central bank to relax some of the binding performance indicators of the final agreement, but the central bank is firm on its previous stand that it is ready to consider some condition, but it should start its operation as per the agreement.

RNAC launches Fly-n-Win scheme to woo travellers

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KATHMANDU, May 1: Royal Nepal Airlines Corporation (RNAC) in co-ordination with Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) and other private travel-trade entrepreneurs launched the "Fly-n-Win" Scratch Card Scheme in a bid to attract Indian travellers to Nepal.

The programme was formally launched today with the arrival of the first RNA flight from India. During the announcement ceremony, Pradeep Raj Pandey, Chief Executive Officer of the NTB expressed hope that the new programme would attract a significant number of Indian tourists.

The scheme has been announced at a time when arrivals of the Indian tourists, that used to comprise over 33 per cent of total tourist inflow, has slipped to around 21 per cent falling continuously since last two years.

According to organisers, the scheme is valid up to July 2002 and is applicable only to the passengers flying on the national flag carrier. "Fly and Win" scheme prizes includes a car, three television sets, 20 two-night-three day stay in Nepal among others.

The new scheme is a continuation of the last year’s campaign "Festival of Life" targeted at the Indian tourists. The NTB is focussing on nearby markets, especially India as it is the largest tourism market for Nepal, said Tek Bahadur Dangi, Director at the NTB.

The passenger of today’s first Indian flight from Bangalore, Dr S Appa Rao stated that it was a wonderful experience to travel to Nepal. "Nepal is the only Hindu Kingdom, and every Hindu would love to travel to Nepal and visit Pashupatinath, one of the holiest Hindu temples."

Ramagya Chaturvedi, the Executive Chairman of the RNAC said that the RNAC is also aiming to increase passengers from the Indian cities. "With the announcement of the scheme, the RNAC has already received positive responses," he said. Today’s Bangalore flight of RNAC carried 167 passengers out of its capacity of 190 passengers.

According to a press release issued on the occasion, "Festival of Life" campaign is being incorporated with the Destination Nepal Campaign 2002/03 announced by the government recently. The DNC had twofold objective of creating massive awareness inside the country and effective international promotion of Nepal by repositioning the country’s image as a reliable, safe and attractive destination.

Ashish Kothare, 40, a man from Bangalore received today’s prize of two-night-three day stay at Hotel Yak and Yeti while others were given a hand bag each sponsored by the RNAC and the NTB. According to the release, the prizes are partly sponsored by Sipradi Trading Company, Him Electronics, Hotel Yak and Yeti and others.

‘Restore industrial security unitedly’

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KATHMANDU, May 1 : At a time when the national economy is badly hit by the terrorist activities, both workers and employers should join hands for attaining industrial security and better industrial output, stressed representatives from trade unions and employers association.

"This is the requirement of the time, as both employers and employees currently face the sole challenge of maintaining industrial stability and ensuring survival of industrial and commercial activities," they said.

They were speaking at a programme organised by Nepal Trade Union Congress (NTUC) to mark the 113th International Labour Day today.

"Both employers and employees should rise above their respective interests and become the development partners for economic advancement and generating employment opportunities," said Rabi Bhakta Shrestha, President of Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI).

He also emphasised restoration of peace and security to retain foreign and domestic investment, which have been divesting in recent times owing to the Maoist attacks on industrial establishments. "This trend should be reversed for maintaining economic stability," he said. He also urged for reforms in labour legislation to enhance productivity and industrial activities.

Girija Prasad Koirala, former Prime Minister and the President of the ruling Nepali Congress, viewed that people from all sectors should unite to fight against the Maoist terrorism, especially as its activities have crippled the country’s economy. "This is where the trade unions have an important role to play," he underlined.

Reiterating his stance that the dialogue is the only way out of the ongoing terrorism, he asked the government to open doors for talks. "The government should ensure Maoists’ access to table for talks. The Maoists problem should be solved by Nepali themselves and no other country should intervene into the matter", he added.

Meanwhile, Leyla Tegmo-Reddy, Director of International Labour Organisation (ILO) Kathmandu Office, underscored for social dialogue to resolve conflicts, secure decent and productive work, social security and better working conditions.

She further said that the ILO’s concept paper on "Decent Work for Poverty Reduction", providing inputs for poverty reduction in the 10th Five Year Plan under labour perspectives would be submitted to the National Planning Commission (NPC) in near future.

While Achyut Raj Pandey of Hotel-Tourism Labour Union viewed that the agenda of hire and fire does not suit Nepal as the country is beset with unemployment, Tirtha Ram Dangol of Nepali Congress said that the industry couldn’t flourish by ignoring labourers.

Kyungjin Song, Chief of Women Department of Asia Pacific Region of International Confederation of Free Trade Union (ICFTU) and Laxman Basnet, President of NTUC also spoke.