Briefs (Spotlight Weekly)

Their Majesties the King and Queen solemnizing the Kanyandan ritual during Princess Prerana's wedding with Kumar Raj Bahadur Singh

KING GYANENDRA AND QUEEN KOMAL performed the Kanyadan rites (giving away of the bride) at the auspicious hour of 7:31 pm on Wednesday in connection with the auspicious wedding of Princess Prerana and Kumar Raj Bahadur Singh. While performing Kanyadan, the King wore the crown. On the occasion, the Queen poured water from a Karuwa jar. As part of the rites, the King and the Queen performed the Goddhuwa of the bride and the groom. The crown prince, the crown princess, the queen mother and other members of the royal family also performed the Goddhuwa of the bride and groom.

THE GOVERNMENT HAS formulated new Passport Regulations 2059 authorizing Foreign Ministry and Nepalese diplomatic missions abroad to issue diplomatic and special passports. The provision of allowing foreign ministry, overseas missions and district administration offices to issue ordinary passports has been retained in the new regulation. The new regulations state that beginning Chaitra (mid-March), passports with validity of ten years would be issued upon receiving the fee of Rs 5,000.

THE RASTRIYA PRAJATANTRA PARTY (RPP) has formed a three-member high level committee to better coordinate between the party and the government. The committee was formed by the meeting of the party's central committee on January 23, after most central members of the party criticized the government, being headed by senior RPP leader Lokendra Bahadur Chand, for failing to do anything for the party. The three members of the committee include Padma Sundar Lawati, Khem Raj Pundit and Deepak Bohara. The party leaders fiercely criticized the government after the latter did not include a single person from the party on recently formed inspection teams authorized to monitor public services around the country and recommend appropriate actions. Due to RPP's relations with the Prime Minister Chand, the bigger political parties have decided not to include RPP in their proposed joint struggle.

DR. DIRGHA SINGH BAM, noted tuberculosis specialist and director of SAARC TB Center, Kathmandu has been decorated with prestigious "Bharat Jyoti" award of India. He was given the award for his outstanding contribution towards prevention and control of tuberculosis in not only Nepal but the whole South Asia. The award was in recognition of him being one of the greatest doctors.

THE JAPANESE GOVERNMENT has agreed to provide grant assistance worth Rs 540.72 million to the Nepalese Government. Zenji Kaminaga, Japanese ambassador to Nepal and Bhanu Prasad Acharya, Finance Secretary, signed notes to this effect on behalf of their respective governments. The grant assistance is in lieu of repayment of the principal and the accrued interest of the outstanding loans extended by Japan to Nepal. Japan has been providing grant to Nepal under its debt relief measures since 1978.

THE GOVERNMENT IS PREPARING an action plan to develop and promote the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). Prime Minister Lokendra Bahadur Chand said that the government is preparing the action plan in order to upgrade the potential of poor communities. He said that while inaugurating the ninth CAN InfoTech 2003 — an extravaganza of IT sector — in January 23 in Kathmandu. The action plan, according to the PM, will concentrate on establishing "rural community information" as there is an urgent need to harness IT for a pro-poor and all-inclusive social development strategy. The plan will work towards providing support to IT applications in government offices, human resource development, completion of IT park and strengthen National Information Technology Center (NITC), which is in charge of executing ICT development in Nepal. Meanwhile, the ninth CAN InfoTech 2003 show kicked-off in the capital. The show will continue till January 28. According to organizers, the show has nearly 100 stalls, where locals as well as international IT professionals are displaying their products and services.

IN LINE WITH THE GOVERNMENT'S announcement of observing the year 2003 as the "export year", the Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) has decided to develop strategies to boost exports. It was decided at the meeting, on Thursday, of the federation chaired by Binod Bahadur Shrestha, acting president of FNCCI. According to a press statement by the FNCCI, Export Year 2003 should deliver something concrete in terms of achievements for the overall business and economic development of the country. It has stated that reforms are needed in export-related policies to give necessary fillip to the industry. The business sector has alleged that the reform program 2002 announced by the government in early December has not helped export promotion as it had no special export promotion program. It has asked that all export-related works should be executed through a single ministry.

IN A TRAGIC INCIDENT, 16 people including five children died after a passenger bus coming from Deupur to Banepa fell 200 meters off the road into a ditch in the morning of January 26. Twelve people died on the spot while two each succumbed to their injuries at Dhulikhel hospital and Sheer Memorial hospital in Banepa. Five dozen others were injured in the accident. Reports say that the accident occurred after the bus veered off the road and fell into the ditch, as the driver was unable to negotiate with sharp bends thanks to heavy fog in the area.