Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Links for July 19, 2011
Police personnel in jail for the Sudan scam post their bails---Nepalnews
I do not know how much a Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) gets paid. But, apparently, a bank trusts him enough to give a bank guarantee worth Rs 7 million to post bail. The Inspector General of Police (IGP)is still in jail for not being able to post a Rs 50 million in bail. The Assistant-IGP, though, is out of jail after posting a Rs 10 million in bail. Here's a trick question: who is the richest among the three?
Unions already against Finance Minister's "deceptive" pay hike proposal---Nepalnews
The Finance Minister (FM) announced in the budget speech a few days ago that senior level employees would receive a pay raise of 31% and junior level employees will receive a pay raise of 42%. But, employee unions smell a rat in those numbers. They accuse the FM of trying to do away with "dearness allowance" (essentially an inflation allowance). They claim that once the dearness allowance is done away with, the pay raise for junior employees will only be 25%, thus much lower than what the FM is lying to the public with (the 42% figure).
National Planning Commission urges the government to promote biodiesel---Kantipur
NPC suggests that farmers should be given subsidy to plant Jatropha plants whose seeds can produce oil that can be used as a substitute for diesel. I don't agree with the NPC because they are looking at the very short term impact. The United States did the same thing to promote bio-diesel years ago. They gave subsidies to farmers to generate biodiesel from corn (maize). The result was that, yes, the bio-diesel met some demand but it hurt the overall food supply. The same thing will happen in Nepal. In hopes of high return, farmers will stop planting essential crops and start planting Jatropha. This will hurt the already food-deficit country of ours. So, NPC is being short-sighted in this suggestion of theirs. We are a very small country. Trying to solve the petroleum supply problem is not our advantage.
195 toilets for girls built in Baglung schools---Republica
I have read reports that suggested that one of the main reasons girls did not attend schools in poor and developing countries is the lack of toilets for girls in the schools. And, that is understandable. So, it is a good thing that the Ministry of Education and District Education Office of Baglung are doing. They are building toilets for girls in the public schools of Baglung. Good for them, and good for the girls.
Nepal's 2011 Census records "third gender" but with some problems---The New Republic
The article is written by a Fulbright scholar pursuing his research in the LGBTI communities of Nepal. It has anecdotes and highlights some of the problems regarding recording the "third gender" in the census forms. Apparently, the census has two forms, and third genders are recorded only in the first, and not in the second form. This makes the data collection almost useless, almost.
Finally, the pie chart below shows the DFID assistance to Nepal for the 2009/10 period. It is clear that most of it goes to programs that support the issues of governance and growth.
I do not know how much a Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) gets paid. But, apparently, a bank trusts him enough to give a bank guarantee worth Rs 7 million to post bail. The Inspector General of Police (IGP)is still in jail for not being able to post a Rs 50 million in bail. The Assistant-IGP, though, is out of jail after posting a Rs 10 million in bail. Here's a trick question: who is the richest among the three?
Unions already against Finance Minister's "deceptive" pay hike proposal---Nepalnews
The Finance Minister (FM) announced in the budget speech a few days ago that senior level employees would receive a pay raise of 31% and junior level employees will receive a pay raise of 42%. But, employee unions smell a rat in those numbers. They accuse the FM of trying to do away with "dearness allowance" (essentially an inflation allowance). They claim that once the dearness allowance is done away with, the pay raise for junior employees will only be 25%, thus much lower than what the FM is lying to the public with (the 42% figure).
National Planning Commission urges the government to promote biodiesel---Kantipur
NPC suggests that farmers should be given subsidy to plant Jatropha plants whose seeds can produce oil that can be used as a substitute for diesel. I don't agree with the NPC because they are looking at the very short term impact. The United States did the same thing to promote bio-diesel years ago. They gave subsidies to farmers to generate biodiesel from corn (maize). The result was that, yes, the bio-diesel met some demand but it hurt the overall food supply. The same thing will happen in Nepal. In hopes of high return, farmers will stop planting essential crops and start planting Jatropha. This will hurt the already food-deficit country of ours. So, NPC is being short-sighted in this suggestion of theirs. We are a very small country. Trying to solve the petroleum supply problem is not our advantage.
195 toilets for girls built in Baglung schools---Republica
I have read reports that suggested that one of the main reasons girls did not attend schools in poor and developing countries is the lack of toilets for girls in the schools. And, that is understandable. So, it is a good thing that the Ministry of Education and District Education Office of Baglung are doing. They are building toilets for girls in the public schools of Baglung. Good for them, and good for the girls.
Nepal's 2011 Census records "third gender" but with some problems---The New Republic
The article is written by a Fulbright scholar pursuing his research in the LGBTI communities of Nepal. It has anecdotes and highlights some of the problems regarding recording the "third gender" in the census forms. Apparently, the census has two forms, and third genders are recorded only in the first, and not in the second form. This makes the data collection almost useless, almost.
Finally, the pie chart below shows the DFID assistance to Nepal for the 2009/10 period. It is clear that most of it goes to programs that support the issues of governance and growth.
Monday, July 18, 2011
Links for July 18, 2011
Private sector not happy with importance given to cooperatives in the budget---Nepalnews
Economists in Nepal seem to be unanimous in their criticism against the budget. They feel that private sector is the backbone of the economy. The budget puts too much emphasis in the cooperatives. I am not an expert on this, but aren't cooperatives one of the reasons for Nepal's current financial mess?
A very good report on the Khan Academy---Wired Magazine
Khan has not pioneered the distance learning, but in his own way, he has phenomenally changed it. His video instructions on various subjects have been viewed by 50 million people all over the world. And, that number is rising as teachers have started to include his materials and website in their classrooms to let students learn concepts and ideas by themselves at their own pace. Khan's idea is aimed at changing the way students learn. And, it seems to be impressing the big guys like Bill Gates and Google. Gates Foundation gave him $1.5 million grant, and Google has given him $2 million grant.
One landslide means 25,000 people going hungry in Rasuwa---Nepalnews
This just goes to show how Nepal desperately needs to invest in improving its current transportation infrastructure, and construct new ones.
What is the Khetan group up to?---Nepalnews
Something is fishy about the way Khetan group has been selling its stocks and shares. Recently, it sold Rs 3 billion of shares it had in Gorkha Brewery. But, the brewery was doing excellent business and giving great returns. Why did Khetan group sell its shares then? And, now, the group has sold all its shares it had in Bottlers Nepal. Bottlers Nepal makes the world famous Coca-Cola in Nepal, and has been giving great returns. Khetan group claims that it is selling the shares to raise capital to buy another bank (they already are part-owner of the Laxmi Bank). But, that doesn't sound right. Do they really need to sell a golden-egg laying hen to buy a normal duck?
China is warming up to Buddhism and its development in Nepal---China Daily
Supposedly, all religions are banned in China. But, given many different demonstrations that have occurred in China over religious freedom, I am guessing China has officially decided to embrace Buddhism. Some of the recent news have reported about China holding Buddhism seminars and trainings. So, this news of China's interest in developing and improving the Lumbini area is a welcome news for Nepal in two ways. First, Lumbini will see some decent investments in infrastructure. Second, China's involvement in Buddhism growth in Nepal will act as a counter-foil to India's attempts at creating a "false" Buddha birthplace in Uttar Pradesh. Ultimately, Chinese officials involved in this project claim that they aim to establish Lumbini for Buddhism the same way Mecca has established itself for Islam and Vatican has established itself for Christianity. Both Mecca and Vatican get 5 million visitors each year. Lumbini only gets 0.5 million.
Some Nepalese abortion statistics from a news report---Republica
The article's title is actually "teenage abortions on the rise", but it's moot to focus on that topic. The numbers should be interesting.
*Sunaulo Parivar Nepal, which runs 55 Marie Stopes Clinic in 42 districts in Nepal, conducts 80% of abortions in Nepal
*51,415 abortions carried out in Nepal in 2007/08
*83,978 abortions carried out in Nepal in 2008/09
*88,938 abortions carried out in Nepal in 2009/10
*More than 18,000 teenagers had abortions in 2010 through Marie Stopes.
*23% of the total in 2010 were between 15 and 19 years of age. 37% were between 20 and 24 years of age.
*22% of those women had completed Bachelor's degree education.42% had completed +2 level education. 30% had completed SLC. The remaining 6%, I am guessing, were those teenagers below the SLC level and those women with no education.
*20% who aborted were aborting their first child.
*18% already had a child and were aborting because they did not need a second child.
*33% already had two children and were aborting because they did not need a third child.
*15% already had three children and were aborting because they did not need a fourth child.
Conclusion: Marie Stopes Clinics are providing a very invaluable service to the Nepalese women.
Economists in Nepal seem to be unanimous in their criticism against the budget. They feel that private sector is the backbone of the economy. The budget puts too much emphasis in the cooperatives. I am not an expert on this, but aren't cooperatives one of the reasons for Nepal's current financial mess?
A very good report on the Khan Academy---Wired Magazine
Khan has not pioneered the distance learning, but in his own way, he has phenomenally changed it. His video instructions on various subjects have been viewed by 50 million people all over the world. And, that number is rising as teachers have started to include his materials and website in their classrooms to let students learn concepts and ideas by themselves at their own pace. Khan's idea is aimed at changing the way students learn. And, it seems to be impressing the big guys like Bill Gates and Google. Gates Foundation gave him $1.5 million grant, and Google has given him $2 million grant.
One landslide means 25,000 people going hungry in Rasuwa---Nepalnews
This just goes to show how Nepal desperately needs to invest in improving its current transportation infrastructure, and construct new ones.
What is the Khetan group up to?---Nepalnews
Something is fishy about the way Khetan group has been selling its stocks and shares. Recently, it sold Rs 3 billion of shares it had in Gorkha Brewery. But, the brewery was doing excellent business and giving great returns. Why did Khetan group sell its shares then? And, now, the group has sold all its shares it had in Bottlers Nepal. Bottlers Nepal makes the world famous Coca-Cola in Nepal, and has been giving great returns. Khetan group claims that it is selling the shares to raise capital to buy another bank (they already are part-owner of the Laxmi Bank). But, that doesn't sound right. Do they really need to sell a golden-egg laying hen to buy a normal duck?
China is warming up to Buddhism and its development in Nepal---China Daily
Supposedly, all religions are banned in China. But, given many different demonstrations that have occurred in China over religious freedom, I am guessing China has officially decided to embrace Buddhism. Some of the recent news have reported about China holding Buddhism seminars and trainings. So, this news of China's interest in developing and improving the Lumbini area is a welcome news for Nepal in two ways. First, Lumbini will see some decent investments in infrastructure. Second, China's involvement in Buddhism growth in Nepal will act as a counter-foil to India's attempts at creating a "false" Buddha birthplace in Uttar Pradesh. Ultimately, Chinese officials involved in this project claim that they aim to establish Lumbini for Buddhism the same way Mecca has established itself for Islam and Vatican has established itself for Christianity. Both Mecca and Vatican get 5 million visitors each year. Lumbini only gets 0.5 million.
Some Nepalese abortion statistics from a news report---Republica
The article's title is actually "teenage abortions on the rise", but it's moot to focus on that topic. The numbers should be interesting.
*Sunaulo Parivar Nepal, which runs 55 Marie Stopes Clinic in 42 districts in Nepal, conducts 80% of abortions in Nepal
*51,415 abortions carried out in Nepal in 2007/08
*83,978 abortions carried out in Nepal in 2008/09
*88,938 abortions carried out in Nepal in 2009/10
*More than 18,000 teenagers had abortions in 2010 through Marie Stopes.
*23% of the total in 2010 were between 15 and 19 years of age. 37% were between 20 and 24 years of age.
*22% of those women had completed Bachelor's degree education.42% had completed +2 level education. 30% had completed SLC. The remaining 6%, I am guessing, were those teenagers below the SLC level and those women with no education.
*20% who aborted were aborting their first child.
*18% already had a child and were aborting because they did not need a second child.
*33% already had two children and were aborting because they did not need a third child.
*15% already had three children and were aborting because they did not need a fourth child.
Conclusion: Marie Stopes Clinics are providing a very invaluable service to the Nepalese women.
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