BUSINESS & ECONOMY

Water resources policy should be people oriented

By A Staff Reporter

When the Ministry of Water Resources has been trying its best to present the new Water Resources Act in the upcoming Winter Session of the Parliament, it is sad that it is still unable to finalise the draft on Hydropower Policy 2056. In an interaction programme organized on Monday, hydropower experts expressed dissatisfaction over the fundamental basis of the proposed Hydropower Policy 2056.

Though the new Hydropower Policy 2056 has been prepared to fit into the changing scenario of the world market, rapid development of technology, export of electricity, foreign investment opportunity in energy sector and environment conservation, the experts suggested further improvement in the policy.

Among others, their major conern was over the price of the electricity so that it should be reached to the 85 perent of the national population which is still deprived of the electricity facility.

Participating at the interaction programme on the proposed policy organized jointly by the Ministry of Water Resources and Water and Energy Commission Secretariat (WECS), critics charged the policy of being export oriented and not people-oriented. Energy should be looked at as a medium for industrial development and not as an exportable commodity, they said.

Speaking on the occasion, Surya Nath Upadhyay, former secretary at the Ministry of Water Resources, said that as the new policy does not ensure reduction of electricity price, the fundamental basis of the policy should be changed to the one which is more people-oreinted.

Dr. Mohan Man Sainju, former vice-chairman of National Planning Commission (NPC), addressing the gathering, expressed the view that there should not be a difference between the policy for the water resources and hydropower for the integrated development of water resources in Nepal. He also highlighted on the need of a long-term vision while preparing such a policy.

Similarly, noted economist Badri Prasad Shrstha said that the proposed policy was not clear regarding its objectives. Beside that, he also pointed out that as the role of Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) was not mentioned, the proposed policy remained contradictory at many places.

Likewise, Managing Diretor of NEA Bhola Chalise pointed out that the basis for licencing to the private sector for the development of hydropower should also be mentioned in the policy. Economist Dr. Yubaraj Khatiwada said that the policy should target at promoting investment from the private sector financial institutes

Dairy farmers boil over

By A Staff Reporter

Dairy farmers have decided to initiate the second phase of their protest programmes to press for their long-standing ten-point demands. The members of Central Milk Producers Cooperative Union (CMPCU) announced to initiate the second phase of protest programmes starting from March 8, 2000 and unveil the detail of their programme in a press conference on Monday.

The second phase of their movement includes a sit-in at the Dairy Development Board Secretariat at Pulchowk on March 8, a protest gathering of farmers in Pokhara against the decision to privatize Pokhara Milk Distribution Project and submission of protest letter to Ministry of Agriculture on March 20, 2000. Similarly, the Union has also threatened to go on a relay hunger strike at Bhadrakali starting from March 28. 2000.

CMPCU’s ten-point demand includes rise in the purchase price of milk, end of “milk holiday”, formation of Dairy Development Corporation as a cooperative institution, representation of milk producers associations to the Dairy Development Board, immediate establishment of Kohalpur Milk Processing Centre for which Rs. 20 million had already been allocated and reduction in loan interests to the dairy farmers, among others.

The union has been demanding to end milk holiday for the last many years. Each year during the peak milk season, milk collection centres stop the purchase of milk due to lack of adequate infrastructure to process  milk, giving way to milk holiday. The CMPCU had submitted the ten-point demand and started their first phase of protest programme almost five months back.

“As the government showed no interest to our demands, we are compelled to resort to stronger protest programmes,” said Dhaka Ram Aryal, Chairman of CMPCU while addressing the press conference. The CMPCU represents more than 1070 dairy farmers from 36 districts.

Buyer's behavior in Vyas municipality

By Jagat Timilsina

Consumer is the major power of the modern business world. The succcess or failure of any business depends upon consumer’s reaction towards it. The market of a company is also determined by consumers. Marketing is a process that satisfies consumers’ needs and desires on a competitive basis.

A firm should know the buyers’ behaviour to set-up efficient and effective marketing strategies. To know how buyers behave, is thus, a prominent and comprehensive task of today’s marketeers. With the rapid development of communication the consumers have become very sensitive and rational while buying. It is their right whether to spend or not in goods and services available in the market. There is no similarity in buying behaviour of consumers. It may differ from one person to another.

Usually, the buying process consists of five stages: problem recognition, information, evaluation of alternatives, purchase and post purchase evaluation. These steps are frequent with the consumers when they make expensive purchases or spend on durable consumer goods such as motorbike, TV, refrigerator, car etc. While making purchase of low-price-frequently-purchased goods, like groceries, the consumers may terminate the above-mentioned process at any stage.

In recent years, the international business environment has become more complicated because of the process of globalisation. There is a tough competition in the market. To survive in such a competitive business environment, all activities of business must take the consumers into consideration. The consumer is the sovereign, decides whether to accept or reject a project based on whether it meets the perceived needs and desires. Consumers’ behaviour is dynamic in nature. Consumer behaviour is interdiciplinary. Consumers’ behaviour is a changing phenomenon that undergoes massive changes depending upon various factors like the needs, desires, situation, time, priority and psyche of the consumers.

Realising this fact, business enterprises of advanced countries have carried out a series of research on consumers’ behaviour, but in Nepal such practice of studying consumers’ buying behaviour is very limited.

Indian-Gorkhas are those Nepalese people who have served for a certain time in India army. In other words, they spend a few years of their life in different socio-economic and business environment, which partially determine the consumers’ buying behaviour. The purchasing behaviour of these people after they return from India is different from its local people.

Various factors like product choice, brand choice, shop choice and attitude towards bargaining determine the buying behaviour of Indian-Gorkhas. Some the finding regarding the buying bahaviour of Indian-Gorkhas, especially in Vyas Municipality, Damouli indicated that the buyers were neither conscious of the modern buying techniques nor were they found to be brand loyal. Only 3.53% of Indian-Gorkhas and 5.88% of local people were found to be conscious of brand loyalty.

Both the local and the Indian-Gorkhas placed equal importance and have similar attitude towards bargaining, quality preference, brand loyalty, shop loyalty, familiarity with the shopkeeper, credit availability and first purchase.

Price, quality, durability, fashion and widely prevalent material/design of the products are indeed the factors that affect the respondents’ attitude for the selection of the products. Moreover in Nepal where a majority of people are poor, the most important factor is the price. The locals also give top priority to credit availability.

The frequency and the number of shop visits to know the price, quality, or specific design highly depend upon the personal attitude of the buyers. The Indian-Gorkhas often send their wives to buy clothes and other goods, according to the study.