Tenth Plan
Bumpy Road Ahead

By Uttam Maharjan

THE Tenth Plan was adopted on December 17, 2002 by the National Planning Commission (NPC). The plan should have been kicked off from Shrawan of this year, but for various reasons it could not commence on time. Taking the delay in commencement of the plan, it was also proposed that this year be observed as a plan holiday. But at the eleventh hour, it was decided to kickstart the plan. The mid-term evaluation of the Ninth Plan was made in its last year. This caused a delay in preparing the concept paper of the Tenth Plan. So, this is one of the reasons for procrastination in launching the plan.

Thrust

The broad thrust of the Tenth Plan is, no doubt, poverty alleviation. As a matter of fact, poverty alleviation, the main mantra of development planners in Nepal, has been accentuated particularly since the Eighth Plan. The Ninth Plan failed in its goal of poverty alleviation. The plan set a goal of reducing poverty from 42 per cent to 32 per cent by the end of the plan period. But it succeeded in reducing poverty to 38 per cent only. And, it registered an economic growth rate of 3.6 per cent vis-à-vis the target of 6 per cent.

A high economic growth rate is necessary to meet the target of poverty alleviation. To reduce the present state of poverty, an economic growth rate of over 6 per cent is indispensable. The Tenth Plan has set a target of economic growth ranging from 4.3 per cent to 6.2 per cent depencing upon the normalisation of the security situation.

It may be noted, rather ruefully, that the Ninth Plan managed to attain an economic growth rate of 3.6 per cent only against the target of six per cent. The faltering law and order situation was largely to blame for the dismal economic performance. Moreover, the last fiscal year recorded a nagative economic growth of 0.63 per cent, which was the lowest in two decades. Previously, it was estimated at 0.8 per cent. Before this, the economic growth was negative in the fiscal year 2039/40.

The odds are now heavily stacked against the economic condition of the country. The existing economic indicators also do not show a positive posture. The major culprit responsible for the dreary economic indicators is, no doubt, the disturbance of the peace. Now, the service sector is in the dumps, exports are dropping, tourism business is in the doldrums and home industries are becoming sick. The service sector has hit a snag for the last two years.

Economic growth is a measure of prosperity. A UN study shows that a one per cent reduction in income leads to a 0.3 per cent rise in poverty. If we are to believe this, poverty must have increased by 2 per cent to reach 40 per cent during the last fiscal year, although the level of poverty was put at 38 per cent at the end of the Ninth Plan. On the other hand, unofficial sources claim that poverty hovers over 50 per cent.

The Tenth Plan aims at achieving an agricultural growth of 4.1 per cent on the normal side and 2.8 per cent on the lower side. The Ninth Plan could achieve 3.3 per cent agricultural growth against the target of four per cent. On the non-agricultural front, the plan could achieve only 3.9 per cent growth. The Tenth Plan aims at achieving 7.5 per cent on the normal side and 5.2 per cent on the lower side.
The Tenth Plan, which was given finishing touches by the previous Deuba government, has been modified in view of the adverse economic conditions. An additional clause entitled the poor state of economic growth, development and peace has been added to the plan, along with slight modifications in other sectors. The clause has stressed sound coordination between security and development with an eye to the prevailing security situation. It has also accentuated a pro-poor plan, result-oriented economic management and mainstreaming of underprivileged, downtrodden and Dalit communities into national development by enhancing their social access. Besides, the clause has provided for ensuring income-generating programmes economically and promptly, rehabilitating violence-stricken people and reconstructing damaged physical infrastructures.

The Ninth Plan seemed to be ambitious and so most of the targets remained unfulfilled. With this in mind, the Tenth Plan has been made more realistic. As a result, such features as popular participation, prioritisation of development projects, the midterm expenditure framework, performance indicators, credible and regular monitoring and flexibility in strategies have been included in the plan.
As a matter of fact, the previous plans lacked strong monitoring mechanisms. So, the Tenth Plan has provided for monitoring the performance of development projects so that correctives can be taken on time to preclude the plan from going haywire.

The Tenth Plan has also set some social goals. Prominent among them are to reduce the infant mortality rate to 45 per thousand, to reduce the maternal mortality rate to there per thousand, to raise the female literacy rate to 65 per cent, to increase the enrolment rate to 90 per cent, to raise the life expectancy to 62 years of age, to provide drinking water for 85 per cent of the people and to decrease the reproduction rate to 3.5.

Imperative

In view of the present economic odds, the road ahead is really bumpy. We are now living amid economic woes. In such a situation, it is imperative to implement the Tenth Plan in earnest so that the desired goals can be met and economic prosperity can be ensured. For this, cooperation from all sectors is a must.

Everything Goes Global

By Shirish B. Pradhan

NEPAL is fast moving ahead in the fields of communication and information technology especially after the restoration of democracy in 1990. With the introduction of satellite television, computers, Internet and other latest communication facilities Nepal has gone global. Now world's latest communication and information technology is accessible to the Nepalese people though the facilities are limited to some urban areas.

Progress

Nepal has made remarkable progress in software technology in its three and a half decades journey in the computer field. The first mainframe computer was brought to Nepal in 1971 and the first Personal Computer (PC) came here exactly a decade later in 1981. However, e-mail and Internet services were introduced in Nepal in 1993 and 1994 respectively. Now the country has over 10 lakh personal computers and 23,000 Internet users. There are at present 19 Internet Service Providers (ISPs) catering the needs of the Internet users.

Kathmandu city has made tremendous progress in the areas of computer and Internet services. According to a latest estimate, nearly 80 per cent population in Kathmandu are computer literate and there are computers in 4 out of each 5 houses in Kathmandu. Cyber cafes have been opened in every nook and corner of the city numbering over one thousand.

After Kathmandu, Butwal and Pokhara come second and third in computers and Internet services. Butwal has second largest number of computers in the country. There are about 800 PCs currently in operation in the city. The famous tourist spot Pokhara has got a new name "Cyber City" with over 500 cyber cafes operating in the valley. Itahari and Dharan come next in line in IT services. Computer training institutes have grown like mushroom within and outside the Kathmandu valley.

There are 36 full-fledged IT colleges in the country and over 1,000 computer training institutes are operating at present. There are some 5 to 10 computer training institutes in every municipality in the country. There are over 1,000 highly skilled manpower in software sector. The country's computer institutes have so far produced 5,000 skilled manpower and 15,000 semi-skilled manpower. Minimum 2,000 computers, mostly assembled, are sold monthly in Nepal. This figure sometimes reaches 4,000, according to an estimate made by Computer Association of Nepal (CAN).

The software industry generates at least Rs. 1 billion business annually and the country is currently generating foreign currency equivalent to US $20,000 every month through the export of software products, according to latest estimates. Due to the lack of clear cut software policy this sector is yet to make a desirable progress. We have not been able to attract foreign investment in this sector. Some computer experts claim that Nepal is the first South Asian country to export computer software. The country first exported its software product to the foreign country way back in early 1980s. But in a substantial way Nepal started exporting its software products in 1995. However, due to lack of organised efforts and lack of proper software policy the country's development in the computer and IT sector could not make much progress. But for the past few years the sector is moving fast forward.

The scenario of the urban areas in the country has gone through tremendous change as a result of the expanding information and communication technology. Each and every section of the society is touched by computer and information technology these days. Be it travel or tourism, trade or industry, government offices or private sector establishments computer and Internet services have become essential. Computer is the world's fastest growing industry, which has produced many young millionaires and billionaires. The industry has become one of the biggest sources of employment.
Girls and boys chatting and dating through Internet, making long distance calls at cheaper rates via Internet phone and ordering goods from departmental stores through the use of e-commerce have become common practices these days. Now-a-days everything has gone cyber. Students desirous to join colleges and universities abroad search the best institutions through Internet and those who want to find out suitable jobs send their applications via Internet. Distance learning, medical transcription, interactive television are no longer new phenomena for the Nepalese. Sending voice-mails, e-greetings, using web-cam have become normal activities for the new generation people. Even school students do their home assignments and project works in their own pc these days. This way computer has become an essential part of life like telephone and electricity. It has become necessity, not luxury.

Nepal has formulated the Information Technology Policy in 2000. The main objectives of the IT policy are to make information technology accessible to the general public, to build knowledge based society and to establish knowledge-based industries. Providing Internet facilities to all Village Development Committees across the country, to computerise all the government records, promoting e-commerce, to pursue single-door system for IT development, establishment of IT parks and including computer education in the school level curriculum are some of the important ingredients of the country's IT policy 2000. However, the IT Policy is yet to be fully implemented to get maximum benefits from it.

Promising Future

Nepal is a poor and backward country in many aspects but not in information and computer technology. We are land-locked but not really mind-locked. We have left behind many developing countries in this field and Information and Communication technology has a promising future for Nepal. What we need is proper policy, strategy and well chalked out action plan in this sector. Nepal can be a leading software producing country in the 21st century.

Changing Culture And Rising Prostitution

By Rishi Ram Paudyal

AS they say 'there is time for everything' now it seems the time of prostitution has come in the capital.

Gone are the days when the Nepalese brought out their tongues out in great surprise when they heard about any sexual relationship between opposite sexes other than between husbands and wives. Sex, actually, meant the beginning of a new life - the conjugal life of a newly wed couple. Only after getting married one was supposed to get involved in sexual act and have the same partner for life long. So in this sense, sex meant a very strong bond of relationship between a husband and a wife. In the past women used to wear saris and one wouldn't see any women's naked knees in public and you wouldn't see boys and girls holding hands and walking openly. It's like a fairy story today. How fast the world changes!

But today? You wouldn't bring your tongue out in surprise if you saw a lady's knees. What is secret today? Nothing You walk down the street and see a young girl in mini skirt. You go to a swimming pool and see girls in bikinis and boys in underpants. You go to the park and you see boys and girls hugging and kissing. You go to a newspaper shops and you see the semi-nude/nude photos on the magazines and newspapers. You watch movies and visit different sites in Internet and you see more than just that! There is no secret out there. At least there is no secret of nakedness anymore. Those people there don't feel shy to expose their nakedness. They live by it because in today's world nakedness sells like hot cakes. They make the best out of it to earn money easily and at the same time to give and have sexual pleasure, though some of them might have their own compulsions to sell their flesh. That's the way of life out there and you can't simply avoid seeing it although you hate it and condemn such acts. It's on television; it's in print and electronic media; it's in the hoarding boards, it's in the market. It may just as well be just around you where you live.

The world today is gradually losing faith in religions and what is moral and immoral is questioned and argued. Family values are changing and the so called science and technology is sweeping away the social norms and values. And it's all a mess. The world has become very complex and individualistic. Every individual makes decision as to what he/she should do and what shouldn't be.

They simply don't care about the consequences of their acts to the society or their families. This is what actually is happening in today's, what they call, modern world. So don't be surprised to see the mushrooming dance and cabin restaurants, discos and massage parlours in the capital. It is estimated that there are over thirty thousand women rendering services of prostitution here and more than one hundred thousand men are directly benefited from them.

Many hotels are shutting down, and several business firms and enterprises have already been closed, economy is going down, the unemployment rate is on the rise, people from all over have flooded into the capital and now what's the other option for survival? This is probably why so many people have opted for prostitution to begin with. More is yet to come. But don't know how many of us will be able to see it.