REPUBLICA
India agreed in 2009 to support the establishment of ICPs in Biratnagar, Birgunj, Bhairahawa and Nepalgunj customs points on the Nepali side with designs similar to those in the Indian side of the respective customs points. Both neighbors had agreed to develop ICPs to facilitate bi-lateral trade through the Biratnagar-Jogbani, Birgunj-Raxaul, Bhairahawa-Sunauli and Nepalgunj- Rupaidiha entry points. “The construction of ICPs has already begun in Birgunj and land acquisition for the other proposed ICPs has been completed,” Nabaraj Dhakal, the under-secretary at the Ministry of Commerce and Supplies (MoCS), said on Thursday. Indian officials have estimated the construction in both sides of Biratnagar-Jogbani customs to cost IRs 1.20 billion, in Birguni-Raxaul customs to cost IRs 340 million, Bhairahawa-Sunauli customs to cost IRs 340 million and Nepalgunj-Rupaidiha customs to cost IRs 290 million. The 11th five-year plan of India has envisioned constructing 13 ICPs along the borders with Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Pakistan in a bid to facilitate bi-lateral trade. The planned ICPs would house all regulatory agencies like immigration, customs and border security along with support facilities like parking, warehousing, banking and hotels under a single complex equipped with all modern facilities. The ICPs are envisaged to provide all facilities required to enable smooth cross-border movement of individuals, vehicles and goods under an integrated complex. These would facilitate the processes of immigration, customs, security, and quarantine, among others. Passenger terminal buildings, currency exchanges, internet, cargo process buildings, cargo inspection sheds, quarantine laboratories, clearing agents, scanners and surveillance through security cameras are also among the facilities to be available at the ICPs. India has already constructed ICPs in Jogbani, Raxaul, Sunauli and Rupaidiha on its side. India has also completed an ICP at the Attari customs of Amritsar, opposite Pakistan’s Waga customs in 2012. Nepali commerce and customs officials had recently conducted a visit to Attari to study the ICP’s impact on trade. “We found an impressive rise in trade along the Attari-Waga border due to the enhanced facilities,” Dhakal said. |
||
Saturday, February 8, 2014
ICPs construction process speeds up
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
Bio-data-Prabhakar-updated-February 12, 2014
PRABHAKAR GHIMIRE
Special
Correspondent
Republica English Daily
Nepal Republic Media Pvt.Ltd
JDA Complex, Bag Durbar, Sundhara, Kathmandu, NEPAL
Cell
: 977-9841-564442, 977-1-4265100, Fax:
977-1-4255257
E-mail
: prabhakarji@gmail.com
EDUCATION
.
·
2010 Masters of Mass
Communication and Journalism
(Batch Topper and Gold Medalist with Distinction Marks)
Kantipur City Collage, Kathmandu,
Purbanchal University– NEPAL
·
2008 Post Graduate Diploma in Education
Community Education
Campus, Kathmandu,
Tribhuwan University-Nepal
·
2005 Diploma in Development Journalism
Indian Institute of Mass
Communication (IIMC),
New Delhi (Under Indian
Government’s full scholarship)
·
1997 Masters of Business
Administration (MBA)
Saraswoti Multiple
Campus, Kathmandu,
Tribhuwan University, Nepal
·
1992 Bachelor of Commerce (B.Com)
Balkumari Collage,
Narayangirh, Chitwan
Tribhuwan University-
Nepal
·
1990 Intermediate of Commerce (I.Com)
Shree Commerce Campus
(Shahid Smriti Multiple
Campus), Ratnanagar,
Chitwan
Tribhuwan
University-Nepal
·
1987 School Leaving Certificate (SLC)
Amar Secondary School, Patihani,
Chitwan, SLC Board -Nepal
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
.
2009
April- 12 Feb 2014 ---Nepal Republic Media Pvt Ltd
Kathmandu, Nepal
§ Business News Bureau
Chief ( Business News Editor / Special Correspondent (Republica English Daily) --From
2014 January 15
§ Business News Bureau
Chief ( Business News Editor / Senior correspondent (2013 January-2014 January)
§ Deputy chief of
Business News Bureau / Senior Correspondent (2011 March- 2013 January)
§ Senior Correspondent
(Republica English Daily) (2009 April –March 2011 )
n Editing
news, translating news, coordinating colleagues of Business News Bureau
n Planning
for business news pages and news stories every day
n Daily
Reporting on special beats: Foreign Trade, Foreign Employment, Labor Issues,
Public Enterprises, Capital Markets, Agriculture , Public Finance, Food
Security
n Giving
News story ideas for junior colleagues
n Briefing
to editor about the news stories developed by Business News Bureau
n Participating
policy making process of editorial department
2000-2008: Kantipur Publications Pvt Ltd
§ Senior Assistant Sub-Editor, The Kathmandu Post English Daily
§ Daily news reporting
(Special Beats: Foreign Employment, Labor Issues, Public Enterprises, Capital
Market, Derivative Market, Agriculture, Infrastructure, Commodities and
Supplies)
- § Regular Analysis of Stock Market trend
§ Interview various
people of corporate sector
Ø Chief of
Regional News Bureau of Kantipur Publications
in Bharatpur
, Chitwan
§ Coordinate with 10 correspondents of six districts for news everyday
§ Inform about major issues of regional news to central office
§ Edit news came from different correspondents of the region and sent to
the news to central office after editing
§ News reporting specially on environment, tourism, wildlife, agriculture
§ Call regular meeting with regional correspondents to share news ideas
§ Evaluate performance of regional reporters and recommend for incentives
for deserving reporters
Ø
News Desk sub-editor
§ Editing news stories sent
by district correspondents
§
Making
pages allocated for district level news
§
Recommending
the news which deserves placing on front pages
§
Occasionally
reporting on environment related news
1999-2000 : Kamana Publications Pvt Ltd, Kathmandu, Nepal
Senior Reporter/ Chief of Business News Bureau
(Nepal Samacharpattra Daily)
§ Daily Reporting
(Special Beats: Banking, agriculture, tourism, civil aviation, public enterprises)
§ Daily coordination of
business news
ACHIEVEMENT & AWARDS
.
·
2012--Journalism
Excellence Award by Nepal Cultural Association
·
2006
–Best Working Journalist Award (esented by Nepal Press Union, Chitwan Chapter
·
2004 -- Environmental Journalism Award (Presented by Nepal Forum of Environmental Journalists (NEFEJ)
·
2004--Letter
of Appreciation by Narayangirh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NCCI)
·
2003--Letter
of Appreciation by Jyoti Library, Bharatpur, Chitwan
·
1994--Winner
of Radio Nepal Quiz Contest
INTERNATIONAL FELLOWSHIPS, TRAININGS & PARTICIPATIONS .
§ 2012 -- Research Fellow at Nanyang Technological
University, Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information, Singapore ( Three
months)
§ 2011 --Training program
for Economic Journalists of Nepal provided by Indian
Government at Indian
Institute of Public Administration (IIPA) , New Delhi
§ 2010 --Business and Financial Reporting Training
in London, given by
Thomson Reuters Foundation London,
UK
§ 2007 --Presentation of
Working Paper on “Role of Media on Rhino
Conservation in Nepal”at an
international seminar in Kaziranga,
Asam, India
§ 2007 --Communicating
Labor Rights Training for Media Persons organized
by International Labor Organization
(ILO) in Turin, Italy
NATIONAL LEVEL TRAINING & PARTICIPATION
§ 2011
--Investigative Journalism Training jointly organized by British Embassy, Thomson Foundation and Center for
Investigative Journalism-Nepal
§ 2011
--Training on foreign trade issues jointly organized by Society of
Economic
Journalists-Nepal (SEJON)
and Ministry of Commerce and Supplies
§ 2010
--Introductory Training on Economic and Financial Reporting for
Journalists given by
Securities Board of Nepal (Sebon)
§ 2004
--Proactive News Reporting Training given by Nepal Press Institute (NPI)
§ 2001--Basic
Course on Radio Program provided by Communication and
Cultural Academy
of Nepal
§ 2000
--Economic Reporting Workshop for Economic Journalists, organized by
Ministry of Information and
Communication, Nepal
§ 1999
--Workshop on Renewable Energy Technologies for Journalists, organized by Institute of Engineering and UNDP
TEACHING & TUTORING
.
§ 2010-Till
date Guest Lecture for Mass
Communication and Journalism at Vishwo Niketan College, Kathmandu Nepal
§ 2003-2006---
Guest Lecture for Mass Communication and Journalism at Maiya Devi Girls
College, Bharatpur, Chitwan, Nepal
MEMBERSHIP
§ Member
of the Society of Economic Journalists-Nepal (SEJON)
§ Vice-Chairman
of the Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ), Chitwan
LANGUAGE
§ Fluent in English,
Nepali , Hindi
GENERAL
Sex : Male
Date
of Birth : 27-05-1971
Place
of Birth: Jagatpur-3, Chitwan, NEPAL
Marital
Status : Married
Nationality : Nepalese
Father’s
Name: Shovakar Ghimire
REFERENCE
Monday, February 3, 2014
Low capital spending limits disbursement at 35 percent
REPUBLICA
Donors disburse the amount committed to the government in proportion to the progress in capital expenditure in the projects supported by them. “Only US$ 64 million has been disbursed in WB-supported projects against the target of $182 million during the review period ending mid-January,” Madhu Kumar Marasini, chief of International Economic Cooperation Coordination Division at the Ministry of Finance (MoF), told Republica on Monday. “Out of total commitment worth $1.5 billion made so far for various ongoing projects, only $750 million has been disbursed.” A total of 20 WB-funded projects are under different phase of implementation across the country. Meanwhile, a trimester-review meeting over implementation and future action plan of projects supported by the WB was held on Monday. At the meeting, seven projects being run under WB support was designated as problematic and potentially problematic projects on the basis of weak implementation during the first four months of current fiscal year. The review meeting was organized jointly by the Ministry of Finance (MoF) and the WB Nepal office. The meeting named Emerging Towns Project of Urban Development Sector, Road Sector Development Project and Bridge Improvement and Maintenance Project of physical infrastructure sector, Kabeli Transmission Project of energy sector and Enhanced Vocational Education and Training Project under education sector as problematic. Similarly, Nepal Health Sector Program and ´Sunaula Hazar Din´ project have been named potentially problematic projects. “Some problematic projects, which are running in their final years under designated completion period, have reported less than 17 percent progress in term of disbursement volume,” Marasini added. At the meeting, officials from both government and the WB extensively reviewed the current status of the projects and discussed on pertinent problems and measures to be taken to resolve them. At the meeting, WB officials voiced concerned over low disbursement, delay in submitting implementation action plan, delay in producing audit reports, transfer of key staff of the projects, low capital expenditure, lengthy documentation process set by the government for project implementation, and lack of coordination among line agencies, among other issues. Johannes Zutt, WB Country Director for Nepal, urged the government to give special attention for speeding up implementation of projects, lowering transfer of staff members, enhancing spending capacity in projects, and promoting good governance. Terming the meeting a ´milestone´ for the success of the WB-funded projects, Zutt stressed the need to seriously address arising in project implementation. Speaking on the occasion, Finance Secretary Shanta Raj Subedi expressed commitment to seriously monitor the implementation of donor-funded projects. |
||
Sunday, February 2, 2014
Nepal, India amend transit treaty
REPUBLICA
A Letter of Exchange (LoE) for formalizing the decision has been finalized by both sides. The amendment was necessitated as, according to the earlier procedure, only goods of Nepalese origin were allowed to be exported through India to third countries. “This restriction has now been removed and now goods of non-Nepali origin would be allowed transit through India for export to third countries. This provision would facilitate Nepal´s genuine third country export which may be required for re-export of goods imported in to Nepal for display in fairs and exhibitions,” the Indian embassy in Kathmandu said in a statement on Friday. The amendment would also facilitate re-export of third country origin capital goods from Nepal to third countries for repair and return and also re-export of rejected goods from Nepal. “The new provision has been enforced,” a source at the Ministry of Commerce and Supplies (MoCS) said on Friday. At the Nepal-India Inter-governmental Committee (IGC) meeting held in Kathmandu in December last year, India had agreed to allow shipment of overseas goods from Nepal using Indian ports to their respective countries of origin. Existing Nepal-India Treaty of Transit restricts repatriation of third-country goods from Nepal through the Indian territory. Because of the provision, Nepal had been facing difficulty in repatriation of goods imported from third countries for temporary use like different fairs, expos and diplomatic use. However, Indian customs officials had been allowing export of such goods on practical ground ignoring treaty provision. The issue resurfaced after Indian official stopped allowing export of such goods through their customs points. The source also said MoCS had already prepared a draft proposal of LoE on transport of vehicles ´on their own power´. As per the existing transit treaty, vehicles imported from third countries have to be transported to Nepal only in containers or rail wagons. Similarly, MoCS has drafted a LoE on bringing into operation two additional routes -- Kolkata/Haldia-Jogbani-Biratnagar and Kolkata/Haldia-Nautanawa-Bhairahawa -- for Nepal´s overseas trade. In the Inter-government Committee (IGC), Indian officials had agreed to allow Nepal to transport vehicles imported from third countries to the Nepali border on their own power. “We have sent the both drafts to line ministries, including law ministry, for their consent. The drafts will then be submitted to the cabinet for endorsement before they are forwarded to India for approval from its side,” the source added. The Indian embassy also said the two proposals for making these amendments in the Treaty of Transit had been finalized by India and shared through the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu with the Nepal government. |
||
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)