Views of a Nepali Economist

Nepali rupee weakened by 42 paisa against a US dollar over the week, as the greenback bounced back in India with which currency the rupee is pegged. On Friday, a dollar was valued at Rs 73.91.

According to dealers, brick, cement and steel prices have dropped significantly in a year due to low demand and rising competition.

...price of cement price has come down by Rs 100-150 per bag depending on the brand, of which there are more than 30 in the market.

...price of steel...has come down by over Rs 10 per kg in a year

Brick prices have also gone down 10-22 percent

...more than 9.5 million voters have registered their names along with their photographs...Out of them 52 per cent are women...and...some 157 belong to the third gender

...land under paddy cultivation has shrunk to 1.49 million hectares from 1.55 million hectares within two years...due to...increasing urbanization and crop diversification

Nepal has lost 59,464 hectares of paddy fields since 2008-09. The Eastern Tarai, the country’s major paddy producing region, lost 77,556 hectares of paddy fields within two years.

The five districts of Eastern Tarai contained 375,208 hectares of paddy fields in 2008-09 which have now diminished to 297,652 hectares. Dhanusha, Mahottari, Sarlahi, Rautahat, Bara, Parsa and Chitwan districts of Central Tarai have 310,679 hectares of land under paddy plantation. Paddy fields in the Western Tarai districts—Nawalparasi, Rupendehi, and Kapilvastu—expanded to 190,190 hectares from 188,950 hectares in 2008-09. In the Mid-Western Tarai districts of Dang, Banke and Bardia, the area under paddy cultivation rose to 117,550 hectares in 2011 from 112,458 hectares in 2008-09. The Far Western Tarai districts of Kailali and Kanchanpur together have 106,655 hectares under paddy cultivation.

The Numbers:(in hectares)
Tarai Belt// 2008-09// 2011-12

EASTERN

Jhapa// 96,700// 82,400
Morang// 88,200// 78,200
Sunsari// 51,158// 53,791
Saptari// 68,400// 37,691
Siraha// 70,750// 45,570
TOTAL// 375208// 297652

CENTRAL

Dhanusha// 55,000// 61,972
Mahottari// 40,250// 34,716
Sarlahi// 38,750// 39,350
Rautahat// 46,800// 42,396
Bara// 55,335// 52,725
Parsa// 46,200// 46,690
Chitwan// 32,755// 32,770
TOTAL// 315090// 310619

WESTERN

Nawalparasi// 46,490// 46,690
Rupendehi// 72,500// 71,500
Kapilvastu// 69,960// 72,000
TOTAL// 188950// 190190

MIDWEST

Dang// 37,458// 38,500
Banke// 36,500// 36,500
Bardia// 38,500// 42,550
Total// 112458// 117550

FAR WEST

Kailali// 60,000// 60,000
Kanchanpur// 46,655// 46,655
TOTAL// 106655// 106655

Labels: banks, construction, election commission, garment, housing, IRs, labor unions, NRs, nun, paddy

# posted by Mukesh Khanal @ 10:16 AM