Hanan Goden is serving his second tenure as Israel’s ambassador to Nepal, and is passionate about agriculture. Nepali Times interviewed Goder this week at <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/down-in-sherpa-s-farm">a dairy farm in Gokarna started by a returnee from Israel</a>. Excerpts: Nepali Times: What is so special about the Learn and Earn scheme? Ambassador Hanan Goder: The idea is to <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/fishing-lessons-from-the-Negev,1171">send young people to Israel for 11 months</a> during which they spend five days a week on the job training in Israeli farms and one day in college for theoretical knowledge. When they come back, they bring earnings, knowledge, but most of all the culture of work. Some 60% of Nepalis are involved in farming. Israel on the other hand has only 2% workforce in agriculture, but it produces for the rest 98% and even exports. There is no magic involved, we are proud to share our knowledge and ideas with Nepal. Agriculture is not a hobby, it's a business, a profession and a way of life. You have to invest before you can reap benefits. Traditional subsistence agriculture has no future. Farming has to be modern and more productive. What did you mean by Nepalis also learning the work culture in Israel? They learn to start their day early and end it late, in contrast to villages here in Nepal where men are hardworking but not as productive, they are often busy playing board games while womenfolk toil away. What the farmers learn in Israel is a combination of things, not just the need for investment and innovation but farming as the way of life. One of the biggest challenges here in Nepal is land fragmentation because a father divides his property among his children, he shouldn't have to do that, it is his private property. But then the younger generation, the children do not want to continue farming. Traditional farming is scenic to look at, but ineffective. Also, people do not invest enough in agriculture here, and expect returns prematurely. There are now about 3,000 Nepali farmers who have gone to Israel and are now back all over Nepal. How are they doing? I'm in constant touch with the returnees. Not all of them are doing agriculture, maybe just a third. But these 1,000 are quality farmers. They are doing vegetables, livestock, fish, poultry, fruits and everything in between. But each one of them is specialising in something. You can’t be a farmer that is doing mangoes, poultry, vegetables, and bananas at the same time, you have to specialise if you want to do it on an industrial scale. Why has farming become a priority in Nepal-Israel relations more than the other sectors? Agriculture is a priority, but it is not the only thing that we are doing here. People are not aware that there are a lot of Israeli companies located in Kathmandu working in high tech, hiring Nepali youth who get to work remotely but make salaries that Israelis do. And that is because Nepal has talented software developers, among others. Also last year we sent about 1,000 <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/caring-for-her-own-and-others-ho4nidzs">Nepali caregivers to Israel</a>. A lesser-known fact is that Israeli tourists are now starting to come in thousands and they often stay for longer periods. Our agriculture program is better known because it has become a model. Many farmers have come back and become almost ambassadors of sorts for Israel. We are in the dairy farm run by Ang Phurba Sherpa who seems to have good managerial skills and knows about doing sustainable farming. What Nepalis like Ang Phurba learn is that Israel is a young nation with farmers only in their first and second generation, still learning and trying to improve the ways to do it. Israel used to be a desert, a nation of immigrants but we cultivated the land. When Nepalis see that and how we overcome the challenges, they realise that they can too. You have had the second tenure as an ambassador, is there a chance that you'll come back a third time as an ambassador? Sure, why not. The former Israeli ambassador Benny Omar is still here and has opened a restaurant in Patan. Much like you have the highest point in the world, we have the Dead Sea, the lowest. Ten years ago we took two stones from the Dead Sea to Everest and vice versa. At the time, we also issued a stamp that is common to Israel and Nepal, with the highest and the lowest points at 8,448m and -432m. But there are thousands of beautiful places just one hour from Kathmandu. I encourage everybody to enjoy the country and preserve it.  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230723110756_6fdd2c0b233dcbc8c73f8e08bcc88296f96093da49092d6f64b4a0e4158f1dc8.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20230723110756_6fdd2c0b233dcbc8c73f8e08bcc88296f96093da49092d6f64b4a0e4158f1dc8" data-rendition-name="original" width="271" height="358" loading="lazy" alt="Nepal-Israel stamp"></figure>

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“Nepalis learn and earn from Israel”

<img width="1280" height="911" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161148/636d1e1c9c7e80680e0af3f1jpeg.jpg" alt=""/>International Migrants Day on 18 December is a fitting time to take another long hard look at the migrant labour that sustains Nepal’s economy. Remittances from overseas workers make up nearly a quarter of Nepal’s GDP, placing it seventh among countries most dependant on migrants after Tonga, Lebanon, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Honduras and El Salvador.This economic mainstay was impacted by the Covid-19 crisis. Nepalis lost their jobs and were stranded abroad, their repatriation was chaotic, others were trapped in Nepal.This year, the closed doors have partially re-opened, but migrant workers have to navigate complicated, costly and confusing requirements in Nepal and at their destinations. Despite this, overseas employment is showing signs of recovery. In October-November 55,000 Nepalis took labour approvals, the majority to go to the Gulf countries like Qatar (19,000), Saudi Arabia (17,000) and the UAE (13,500). In the whole of 2020, only 7,797 permits were issued. The Gulf dominates the overseas market because Malaysia, which has traditionally been one of the major destinations for Nepali workers, banned incoming foreign workers since March 2020. The Malaysian are taking foreign workers again, mainly in agriculture and manufacturing.The <a href="https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/fmm-msia-needs-replenish-over-600000-foreign-workers-2022-overcome-current-acute-manpower">Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers</a> has predicted a demand of 600,000 migrant workers for domestic production to rebound to pre-pandemic levels next year. Korea bound EPS workers have started flying out in small numbers after being completely closed for the past  almost two years. Despite reasons to be optimistic, uncertainties remain. The market is recovering but because of new strains of the virus, there is still a fear that things may unravel again.  In August, thousands of workers waited all night at Teku Hospital to get their vaccination cards certified. This issue has been largely sorted out, but new variant related restrictions have come up. Some 1,000 <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/booster-lack-strands-israel-bound">Israel-bound caregivers</a> are waiting impatiently because they cannot get booster shots that they need to fly to Tel Aviv.  <img width="455" height="286" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161148/636d1e1e9c7e80680e0af3f2jpeg.jpg" alt="">Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/human-rights-referees-blow-whistle-on-world-cup-fouls/">Rights referees blow whistle on World Cup fouls</a>, Kunda Dixit<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/long-wait-over-nepalis-return-to-korea/">Long wait over, Nepalis return to Korea</a>, Nepali TimesPaying lip service to migrant workers is not enough. As we said last year on International Migrants Day <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/the-year-of-migrant-workers/">in this space</a>, their contribution in keeping this country afloat is too important.  Since decades, Nepali migrant workers have left, worked and returned quietly on their own – first to India and then further afield. Covid-19 has disrupted that flow by creating administrative hurdles, uncertainty and even curtailed demand. This means they require a lot more support and facilitation to ensure minimum disruption. The main hurdle is political apathy. There have been five labour ministers in the past two years ministers in the past two years, and they have set the bar very low for any proactive initiatives. They were either AWOL when workers were stranded, or left immediately after being appointed. When workers had <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/2am-is-too-late/">to stand in line for a night and day</a> just for a piece of paper there was no one paying attention. While it is too early to judge, the newly appointed Minister for Labour, Employment and Social Security Krishna Kumar Shrestha is showing some interest. The government is set to renew the labour agreement with Qatar which <a href="http://mfasia.org/asianparliamentarians/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/nepal-and-qatar-2005.pdf">was signed in 2005</a>. But past experience has shown that we need proof of the pudding. There is a ritualistic approach to labour agreements: the signing itself is seen as an end and not the beginning for bilateral cooperation. The emphasis needs to be on enforcement of existing agreements and on signing new ones with major destination countries like Saudi Arabia. But proactive engagement must not mean unnecessary hurdles for migrants, of which there are plenty. Why the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepalis-queueing-up-all-night-for-proof-of-jab/">unnecessary delays</a> by Nepal’s embassies in the job demand attestation process without which employers cannot hire workers?  The <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/history-of-female-immobility-in-nepal/">ban on domestic workers</a> in the name of ‘protection’ has still not been lifted despite public outcry. The government was quick to recall ambassadors from key destination countries including those who were performing well, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-must-now-send-skilled-workers-to-qatar/">without sending replacements</a>. If you cannot help, at least do not harm should be the motto for Nepal’s policymakers.Every muddle and mistake affects large numbers of migrants and their families. Case in point is the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/missing-the-plot-in-nepals-job-scheme/">Qatar police recruitment fiasco</a> because of which 200 high paying jobs for Nepalis went to waste. Such cancellations not only <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/qatar-police-recruitment-row-hits-nepalis/">harm migrants and their families</a> but also future job openings.On the home front, the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/missing-the-plot-in-nepals-job-scheme/">reintegration program</a> and the Prime Minister's Employment Program back home have been disappointing. <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/where-have-we-heard-that-one-before/">Programs for returnees</a> are just announcements with little action.Qatar will be under the spotlight in 2022 because of the FIFA World Cup in November-December. This marks the end of an era for Nepali workers who were indispensable in Qatar’s construction boom. The World Cup will be personal in a bitter way given the human cost of the game that engaged hundreds of thousands of Nepalis.  Nepalis were dying in Qatar but Nepalis were also dying to work in Qatar, and therein lies the conundrum. There are both good and bad aspects of migrating to places such as the Gulf that have limited rights for foreign workers, but plenty of jobs.On the next International Migrants Day on 18 December 2022 is also the finals of the World Cup at the Lusail Stadium in Doha that Nepali workers helped construct. There is a wall at the stadium to honour the migrant workers. Both 18 December and the wall may feel like empty displays of gratitude unless accompanied by concrete action that actually make a difference to the workers they intend to honour.

The Days of International Migration

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181152/636be9aa9c7e80680e0878d2jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1350" height="1565"/><figcaption>Nischal Shrestha, a caregiver in Israel, getting vaccinated last week.</figcaption></figure>Long before Nepalis in Nepal will be vaccinated against the coronavirus, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/overseas-nepalis-on-the-covid-19-frontlines/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nepali frontline workers around the world</a> are already receiving their first jabs.The most optimistic prediction for a vaccine to arrive in Nepal is mid-2021, but with countries around the world prioritising medical workers, many Nepalis who work in the healthcare sector overseas are starting to get vaccinated.The globalisation of the Nepali workforce became even more apparent during the pandemic: a Nepali doctor in the UK could be using medical gloves <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/global-glove-makers-compensate-nepali-workers/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">made by Nepali workers in a Malaysian glove factory</a> while vaccinating a Nepali nurse.“We always knew healthcare workers would be in the priority group, but the general understanding was it would still be a few months into 2021 that the vaccines would reach us,” said Binaya Raman Dahal, a Nepali hospitalist in North Carolina who got his first injection last week, and said it was like taking any other flu shot.Dahal recalls how his colleagues would fall ill, and hospital staff had to step in even during off days. The first couple of months into the pandemic, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/protecting-those-who-protect-us-from-the-epidemic/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">personal protective equipment</a> ran out, and there was a rush of patients following the July 4 and Labour Day weekends.“There is a big sense of relief that the vaccines are here,” Dahal said over the phone, adding that he will still have to careful because of the risk to family.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181152/636be9ae9c7e80680e0878d3jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="686" height="915"><figcaption>Binaya Raman Dahal, a hospitalist in North Carolina, getting his vaccination. He says it is a “big relief” for health workers like him as the pandemic rages across the US.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181156/636be9b09c7e80680e0878d4jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="686" height="915"><figcaption>Srijana Panta Rokka has been a nurse in the UK for 15 years, and says she is fortunate as a frontline worker to be one of the first in the UK to be vaccinated against Covid-19.</figcaption></figure>Srijana Panta Rokka, has been a nurse in the UK since 2004, and considers herself fortunate for being one of the first recipients of the vaccine. “It was like taking a flu-shot. Others report sore arms, temperature and headache as side effects, but for me I just felt tired and my eyes ached that day,” she recalls.Her General Practice has largely avoided in-contact patients since March, and has moved to tele-medicine, while only taking emergency in-person patients. But from 1 January, she will be serving as a vaccinator, after being trained in administering the Pfizer vaccine.“I was one of the nine nurses in my practice who got vaccinated so we could vaccinate others,” Rokka said in a phone interview. Most patients eligible for vaccination will be above 80 years.There are fears about side-effects and long-term implications of the vaccine, and Rokka has had to counsel fellow Nepalis working in elderly homes in the UK who are eligible for the vaccine, but are reluctant to take it. She thinks information campaigns to assuage people’s fears will have to be a part of vaccination drives.Another Nepali clinician in the United States, Yagya Raj Bhattarai, says the past year has shown that Covid-19 spared no one. “I had a 20-year-old patient who suffered the worst outcomes, including heart failure and anoxic brain injury. Then, I had a 100-year-old who was positive but completely asymptomatic,” said Bhattarai, who self-isolated in a room throughout the period to keep his family safe.Bhattarai’s hospital in North Carolina participated in vaccine trials, and says the efficacy of the first dose is 52%, and it is 95% after the second shot. He experienced mild local pain in his left arm and no other side effects.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181156/636be9b39c7e80680e0878d5jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="859" height="915"><figcaption>Khagendra Dahal, a clinician in Nebraska, was overwhelmed when he got an email regarding his first vaccination dose.</figcaption></figure>Across the United States in Nebraska, cardiologist Khagendra Dahal recalls long periods of self-isolation and the difficulty explaining to his young children why he was staying separately.“Even after being vaccinated, we will still need to continue to wear our protective gear because it is not known whether we are transmitters of the virus even if we ourselves are safe,” Dahal says.Another country with a sizeable <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/nepali-caregivers-in-israel,3809" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nepali caregiver population is Israel</a>, and it has started a massive vaccine campaign for health workers, those over 60 and at high risk. Nepali caregivers are considered frontline workers.Nischal Shrestha (pictured above) has been living in Israel for the last 11 years, and takes care of a 91-year-old woman who she took to the hospital to vaccinate last week.“I was not expecting to be given the shot because we were told that the priority would be health workers and the elderly. But my employer got the hospital to also get me immunised,” says Shrestha, who says her arm and body ached for a day or two, but she is fine now.Deepika Bhusal also works as <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/demand-grows-for-nepali-caregivers-in-israel/">a live-in caregiver</a> for an elderly couple in Israel. Her employers got their first doses of the vaccine on 25 December, and there was much celebration in the house.“I trust the health system here. Even the Prime Minister went on live television to take his first shot publicly,” says Bhusal, who is getting her own shot on new year’s day.“We live in the same house so compared to elderly care institutes or live-out care workers, we were in a much safer position,” Bhusal explains. “But we had to go outdoors often for therapy or exercise, or to shop, so there was always a risk,” she adds.The UAE is another popular destination for Nepali workers, and the first country to approve the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine which is said to be 86% effective after trials around the world. The UAE is providing the vaccines free to residents and citizens.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181156/636be9b69c7e80680e0878d6jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="720" height="960"><figcaption>Notice in a UAE newspaper announcing free Covid-19 vaccinations for citizens and residents.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181156/636be9b89c7e80680e0878d7jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="720" height="960"><figcaption>And a UAE Covid-19 vaccination card.</figcaption></figure>Kisan Magar works in a car showroom whose employer got him and his European and Filipino colleagues vaccinated recently. He says he has been getting lots of congratulatory messages from family in Nepal, while compatriots in the UAE have been querying him about how to enrol for the vaccine.Navaraj Ghimire, another UAE-based Nepali who got his first jab says: “We work in security and are exposed to risk, and 33 people in my company have been infected so far." Some of his colleagues, however, refused to be vaccinated because they did not trust it.Back in Nepal, the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/when-will-nepals-covid-vaccine-turn-come/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">best-case scenario is for the first vaccinations</a> to start in mid-2021. Health experts say Nepal was late in the game to start ‘vaccine diplomacy’, and there is a fear that even when the vaccines do arrive the poor in remote areas will be the last in the queue.The vaccines that Nepal will acquire will have to be the ones that require less sophisticated cold storage systems which are currently in Phase 3 trials in India and China. Till then and even after being vaccinated, Nepalis have to keep wearing masks, avoid crowds and wash hands.According to Ministry of Health and Population, the Government plans to vaccinate 72% of the country's population, as 28% are below 15 and therefore excluded. An estimated 20% are expected to be vaccinated through the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/glimmers-of-hope-for-nepal-on-vaccine/">WHO-initiated COVAX facility</a>, while the remaining 52% will be through government-to-government mechanisms.

Nepalis overseas get first vaccinations

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109191124/636bf0914b0ad905ca02f01bjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1350" height="1565"/><figcaption>Nischal Shrestha, a caregiver in Israel, getting vaccinated last week.</figcaption></figure>Long before Nepalis in Nepal will be vaccinated against the coronavirus, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/overseas-nepalis-on-the-covid-19-frontlines/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nepali frontline workers around the world</a> are already receiving their first jabs.The most optimistic prediction for a vaccine to arrive in Nepal is mid-2021, but with countries around the world prioritising medical workers, many Nepalis who work in the healthcare sector overseas are starting to get vaccinated.The globalisation of the Nepali workforce became even more apparent during the pandemic: a Nepali doctor in the UK could be using medical gloves <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/global-glove-makers-compensate-nepali-workers/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">made by Nepali workers in a Malaysian glove factory</a> while vaccinating a Nepali nurse.“We always knew healthcare workers would be in the priority group, but the general understanding was it would still be a few months into 2021 that the vaccines would reach us,” said Binaya Raman Dahal, a Nepali hospitalist in North Carolina who got his first injection last week, and said it was like taking any other flu shot.Dahal recalls how his colleagues would fall ill, and hospital staff had to step in even during off days. The first couple of months into the pandemic, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/protecting-those-who-protect-us-from-the-epidemic/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">personal protective equipment</a> ran out, and there was a rush of patients following the July 4 and Labour Day weekends.“There is a big sense of relief that the vaccines are here,” Dahal said over the phone, adding that he will still have to careful because of the risk to family.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109191124/636bf0944b0ad905ca02f01cjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="686" height="915"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109191124/636bf0964b0ad905ca02f01djpeg.jpg" alt="" width="686" height="915"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Srijana Panta Rokka, has been a nurse in the UK since 2004, and considers herself fortunate for being one of the first recipients of the vaccine. “It was like taking a flu-shot. Others report sore arms, temperature and headache as side effects, but for me I just felt tired and my eyes ached that day,” she recalls.Her General Practice has largely avoided in-contact patients since March, and has moved to tele-medicine, while only taking emergency in-person patients. But from 1 January, she will be serving as a vaccinator, after being trained in administering the Pfizer vaccine.“I was one of the nine nurses in my practice who got vaccinated so we could vaccinate others,” Rokka said in a phone interview. Most patients eligible for vaccination will be above 80 years.There are fears about side-effects and long-term implications of the vaccine, and Rokka has had to counsel fellow Nepalis working in elderly homes in the UK who are eligible for the vaccine, but are reluctant to take it. She thinks information campaigns to assuage people’s fears will have to be a part of vaccination drives.Another Nepali clinician in the United States, Yagya Raj Bhattarai, says the past year has shown that Covid-19 spared no one. “I had a 20-year-old patient who suffered the worst outcomes, including heart failure and anoxic brain injury. Then, I had a 100-year-old who was positive but completely asymptomatic,” said Bhattarai, who self-isolated in a room throughout the period to keep his family safe.Bhattarai’s hospital in North Carolina participated in vaccine trials, and says the efficacy of the first dose is 52%, and it is 95% after the second shot. He experienced mild local pain in his left arm and no other side effects.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109191124/636bf0984b0ad905ca02f01ejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="859" height="915"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Across the United States in Nebraska, cardiologist Khagendra Dahal recalls long periods of self-isolation and the difficulty explaining to his young children why he was staying separately.“Even after being vaccinated, we will still need to continue to wear our protective gear because it is not known whether we are transmitters of the virus even if we ourselves are safe,” Dahal says.Another country with a sizeable <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/nepali-caregivers-in-israel,3809" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nepali caregiver population is Israel</a>, and it has started a massive vaccine campaign for health workers, those over 60 and at high risk. Nepali caregivers are considered frontline workers.Nischal Shrestha (pictured above) has been living in Israel for the last 11 years, and takes care of a 91-year-old woman who she took to the hospital to vaccinate last week.“I was not expecting to be given the shot because we were told that the priority would be health workers and the elderly. But my employer got the hospital to also get me immunised,” says Shrestha, who says her arm and body ached for a day or two, but she is fine now.Deepika Bhusal also works as <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/demand-grows-for-nepali-caregivers-in-israel/">a live-in caregiver</a> for an elderly couple in Israel. Her employers got their first doses of the vaccine on 25 December, and there was much celebration in the house.“I trust the health system here. Even the Prime Minister went on live television to take his first shot publicly,” says Bhusal, who is getting her own shot on new year’s day.“We live in the same house so compared to elderly care institutes or live-out care workers, we were in a much safer position,” Bhusal explains. “But we had to go outdoors often for therapy or exercise, or to shop, so there was always a risk,” she adds.The UAE is another popular destination for Nepali workers, and the first country to approve the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine which is said to be 86% effective after trials around the world. The UAE is providing the vaccines free to residents and citizens.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109191124/636bf09b4b0ad905ca02f01fjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="720" height="960"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109191124/636bf09e4b0ad905ca02f020jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="720" height="960"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Kisan Magar works in a car showroom whose employer got him and his European and Filipino colleagues vaccinated recently. He says he has been getting lots of congratulatory messages from family in Nepal, while compatriots in the UAE have been querying him about how to enrol for the vaccine.Navaraj Ghimire, another UAE-based Nepali who got his first jab says: “We work in security and are exposed to risk, and 33 people in my company have been infected so far." Some of his colleagues, however, refused to be vaccinated because they did not trust it.Back in Nepal, the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/when-will-nepals-covid-vaccine-turn-come/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">best-case scenario is for the first vaccinations</a> to start in mid-2021. Health experts say Nepal was late in the game to start ‘vaccine diplomacy’, and there is a fear that even when the vaccines do arrive the poor in remote areas will be the last in the queue.The vaccines that Nepal will acquire will have to be the ones that require less sophisticated cold storage systems which are currently in Phase 3 trials in India and China. Till then and even after being vaccinated, Nepalis have to keep wearing masks, avoid crowds and wash hands.According to Ministry of Health and Population, the Government plans to vaccinate 72% of the country's population, as 28% are below 15 and therefore excluded. An estimated 20% are expected to be vaccinated through the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/glimmers-of-hope-for-nepal-on-vaccine/">WHO-initiated COVAX facility</a>, while the remaining 52% will be through government-to-government mechanisms.

Upasana Khadka

<figure><img width="640" height="427" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109151116/636bb64d9c7e80680e07bc52jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Deepika and Malka Cohen in 2017. Photo: TSERING DOLKER GURUNG/NEPALI TIMES ARCHIVE</figcaption></figure><figure><img width="540" height="748" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109151116/636bb64f9c7e80680e07bc53jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Deepika and Malka Cohen in the hospital in 2019 before she passed away.</figcaption></figure>Prakriti Kharel spent 12 years in Israel as a care-giver and is now back home in Jhapa. She says she was lucky to have good employers, her salary was good, and she got bonuses, insurance and gratuity. She says Israeli law protect workers, but the job itself can be demanding and Nepalis seeking work in Israel need to be physically and emotionally strong. This advice is especially relevant as Nepal prepares to send hundreds more caregivers to Israel.Israel tightened its second lockdown this week after the country recorded 8,000 new Covid-19 infections in a single day on Friday. Israel now has the highest per capita rate of infection in the world, with mostly elderly people affected by the coronavirus.Nepal and Israel are set to sign a bilateral government-to-government agreement to send 500 additional auxiliary workers in the nursing sector including hospitals, nursing homes and day care centers. On 22 September the cabinet authorised Nepal’s ambassador to Israel Anjan Shakya to sign the agreement which will likely take place this week. As a government-to-government agreement, intermediaries will not be allowed to play a role. Sourcing workers from Nepal was banned in 2009 after malpractices in the recruitment of Nepali caregivers, including exorbitantly high recruitment costs. The <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/blogs/thebrief/2015/08/07/israel-calling/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://archive.nepalitimes.com/blogs/thebrief/2015/08/07/israel-calling/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1601260317521000&amp;usg=AFQjCNE7IZyzUlLj3ZJu9Ye5kHw__9us4w">previous pilot program in 2015</a> had also tried to cut out recruiters, but failed to mobilise any workers. “It is important to understand what exactly this work entails,” Ambassador Shakya said on the phone from Tel Aviv. “Geriatric care is not easy work. It is physically demanding and requires a lot of empathy and emotional strength as well. Workers need to clearly understand this, or else they will be disappointed when they arrive here with false expectations.”  <img width="640" height="359" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109151116/636bb6519c7e80680e07bc54jpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="640" height="359" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109151116/636bb6549c7e80680e07bc55jpeg.jpg" alt="">A Zoom Meeting between officials from Nepal and Israel on the recruitment of 500 Nepali caregivers through a government-to-government mechanism. Nepal's Ambassador to Israel Anjan Shakya is at right.         Photo: EMBASSY OF NEPAL, ISRAEL. She added that patients usually do not get better over time, and caregivers have to be empathetic towards individuals who are entirely dependent on them for even the smallest daily activity. Prakriti Kharel knows that first hand, and says the level of difficulty depends on the situation of the patient and how cooperative the family is. She said, “I had it easy as all three patients I took care of were physically mobile and could clean up after themselves. Others are not as lucky.” A male Nepali caregiver went to Israel in February 2009 after paying Rs800,000 to Blue Sky Overseas, just before Israel stopped the intake of Nepali caregivers. The man, who did not want his name used, described the work: “I weighed 60kg but then had to take care of a patient who was over 110kg, having to lift him several times a day. It left me with back pain, and other Nepalis also report such ailments from the physically demanding work.”After spending so much time with the elderly, caregivers also develop an emotional attachment to them. They are often lonely, and need someone to talk to. Taking care of Alzheimer’s patients is most difficult because it requires patience and compassion as they forget things, and their families blame the caregiver. Taking photographs, or installing a CCTV camera helps. Said the Nepali caregiver: “It is not just what we do or how we take care of them but whether their children and grandchildren pay attention to them. Feelings of being neglected takes a toll on their health, and it helps to act as a bridge with the patient’s family so they can communicate their needs.”Nepali caregivers interviewed for this report said the death of patients they have looked after for many years affects them deeply. Prakriti Kharel has lost three of her patients, and said: “It is like losing family, but that is the nature of the job, to ensure that they are as comfortable as possible right till the end. The death of my last employer after I returned to Nepal really shook me because she treated me like her daughter.”Deepika Bhusal arrived in Israel when she was just 20, and took care of an Israeli woman named Malka Cohen for 12 years until she died at age 79 last year. She had told <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/nepali-caregivers-in-israel,3809" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/nepali-caregivers-in-israel,3809&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1601260317522000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGESseIqHFTPkapHgsWGl5w5yU9QA">Nepali Times in a profile</a> in 2017 that the two had grown close, as Cohen depended on her for everything, including feeding, medicines and daily walks.  <figure><img width="510" height="693" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109151116/636bb6569c7e80680e07bc56jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Prakriti Kharel and her employer before she left Israel to return to Nepal. she says Nepali caregivers going abroad have to be physically and psychologically strong.</figcaption></figure>“She had become like a mother to me,” recalled Bhusal, who remembers feeling like she had lost a family member when she got a call from the hospital at 4am. “Some caregivers try to maintain a sense of detachment, but many of us develop a bond with our patients. My advice to new caregivers is to be emotionally, physically and mentally strong,” Bhusal said.Ambassador Shakya recognised that the new <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepali-overseas-workers-who-remain-behind/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepali-overseas-workers-who-remain-behind/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1601260317522000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFlj9w8hZByuxDfNKQmZvrOa5SroQ">bilateral agreement for 500 caregivers</a> is relatively small, but added that diplomatic negotiations took a lot of effort because of the <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/nepali-caregivers-in-israel,3809" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/nepali-caregivers-in-israel,3809&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1601260317522000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEPinIZMP311oaXKIolm3oo8PHJHA">abuse of the recruitment system</a> that had led to the ban on Nepali workers to Israel. The current quota of 500 can be expanded because there are a lot of opportunities in the care sector in Israel, and Nepalis are a preferred nationality.“Whether we can turn the 500 to 20,000 depends on the performance of the 500 new recruits,” said Shakya, who plans post-arrival orientations once the Nepali get to Israel. She is also exploring similar opportunities in agriculture, construction and the hospitality sector.“For Nepali women who want to work abroad, Israel is one of most secure and financially rewarding destination country,” explained Shakya. “There is equality of treatment between locals and foreigners, and strong labour laws. As this is temporary migration, workers will return to Nepal financially better off, and with skills that can be used back home for <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/need-to-prepare-for-ageing-society,3624" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/need-to-prepare-for-ageing-society,3624&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1601260317522000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGVJHZfk6Bp90UFKexM6Fk75NWd_w">Nepal’s own rapidly ageing population</a>.”

Demand grows for Nepali caregivers in Israel

It was 30 years ago this month that investment into ‘Baby Arun’, the 201MW first phase of the run-of-river Arun III project, was brought to a screeching halt when the World Bank officially withdrew its support. This brought about profound and fundamental changes in the way Nepal’s power sector subsequently developed. Nepalis suffered debilitating power outages between 2008-2016 due to shortages attributable to the cancellation. At the same time, the gap left by Baby Arun was filled by private sector investment in ways that were not obvious in 1995. It took 30 years, but in many ways Nepal’s power sector is more healthy today than it has ever been, and likely better than if the project was built as planned. At a projected budget of $1.08 billion, Baby Arun would have cost the equivalent of Nepal’s entire annual government expenditure in 1995. It was to be funded by concessional grants and loans from multilateral and bilateral funders, including the World Bank, Asian Development Bank (ADB), KfW, and investment by the government itself. At the time, Nepal’s total electricity generation capacity was only 230MW, and the trajectory of the power sector changed dramatically following the cancellation. In the past 30 years, $5.4 billion has been invested in the power sector led by private investors, and much of it from domestic banks and pension funds (table, right).  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250829150840_c13d6f9f34d7163832b3089eabdad6f20d2d5cef3a53039e0432add2be6c32f0.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20250829150840_c13d6f9f34d7163832b3089eabdad6f20d2d5cef3a53039e0432add2be6c32f0" data-rendition-name="original" width="984" height="521" loading="lazy" alt="30 years after Baby Arun"> </figure>  Nearly 70% of the new megawatts generated were by private independent power producers (IPP) in the past 30 years, while the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) and its subsidiary companies added 30% of new capacity. Almost 80% of total debt financing came from domestic banks and employee retirement funds. International assistance for power generation dropped dramatically over this time, accounting for only about 15% of investment. Before 1995 new power projects used to be entirely dependent on foreign aid. Since 1995, 63% of new generation came from 171 small hydropower projects with an average capacity of 12MW, while 4% was from 21 solar photovoltaic and biomass projects developed by local IPPs.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250829150844_5bc299fc78be90b95ce4727b0b3bdaa4542e17e126718cc8725d136630ffc097.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20250829150844_5bc299fc78be90b95ce4727b0b3bdaa4542e17e126718cc8725d136630ffc097" data-rendition-name="original" width="988" height="503" loading="lazy" alt="30 years after Baby Arun"> </figure>  Over three decades, investment in Nepal’s power supply came primarily from new actors that had never before been involved in this sector. The rate of electrification rose from 10% to close to 100% -- sufficient to meet domestic needs during most of the year, and in 2024 made Nepal a net exporter of power to India for the first time in its history. As practically all the new investment in this period went into run-of-river hydro and solar projects, rather than into hydropower reservoirs with seasonal storage, Nepal continues to rely on imports from India during the dry winter months. Surplus electricity generation for export during the monsoon is slated to grow rapidly as another 200 solar and hydro projects are nearing completion of construction, with over 5,000MW of power capacity. Private Power The cancellation of Baby Arun inadvertently accelerated the entry of the private sector into Nepal’s power generation. The government enacted the Electricity Act in 1992 to attract private IPPs and diversify away from total dependence from international aid, but had been struggling for several years to conclude the first agreement with the 60MW Khimti Project. There remained a large gap between the tariff that the government thought was reasonable versus what was demanded by the Norwegian investor Statkraft, and the private sector arms of the World Bank and ADB that were financing the project. The shock of World Bank withdrawal from Baby Arun put tremendous pressure on the government, then led by the UML as it is now. The Bank’s decision to terminate its involvement was ostensibly, at least partially, taken in response to a letter critiquing the project sent by the UML while it was in the opposition.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250829150848_7fb3641d776fe86a09ad60a758f7e16660a409fdb15e541644f13646b0894347.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20250829150848_7fb3641d776fe86a09ad60a758f7e16660a409fdb15e541644f13646b0894347" data-rendition-name="original" width="949" height="446" loading="lazy" alt="30 years after Baby Arun"> <figcaption>BAD NEWS: Newspaper clippings from the early 90s on tender announcement ahead of loan approval (left) and secrecy surrounding environmental assessment (centre) of Arun III before its eventual cancellation in August 1995.</figcaption> </figure>  The government was forced to soften its position and agree to the investors’ terms following the cancellation of Baby Arun. It directed NEA to sign a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Khimti. It was concluded in January 1996, and this was followed by a second PPA in July 1996 with Panda Energy, the American developer of the 45MW Upper Bhotekosi project. The expensive USD-denominated agreements to buy power from two international private producers, with price escalation clauses tied to the New York Consumer Price Index, sent alarm bells ringing. There was worry that the country was heading towards unaffordable tariff rates for the consumer and potential bankruptcy for NEA as a result of inevitable future weakening of the Nepali Rupee. The government had strong-armed NEA into signing these agreements, and realised that concessionary financing terms that Nepal was used to receiving for public sector projects such as Baby Arun and Kali Gandaki A, that included below-market interest rates and 40 years repayment period with a 10 year grace period before starting repayment, were not the norm for private sector investors. Nepal’s status as a less than attractive destination for foreign investment meant that the country had few options but to accept expensive dollar PPAs from international developers with the high commercial interest rates and short repayment periods imposed by their banks because of high investment risks. In the end, the government ended up having to additionally provide a sovereign guarantee in order to close the deal at the insistence of the lenders – committing it to repayment in case NEA defaulted on paying the IPPs. It is reasonable to assume that the extraordinarily high political cost of agreeing to the PPA terms would have meant that no government would have willingly agreed to them in 1995 had it not suffered the trauma of the loss of concessionary-financed public sector projects as large as the Baby Arun. It has taken NEA 25 years to consider offering dollar-denominated PPAs again: to cover the foreign exchange portion of the investment in the 216MW Upper Trisuli-1 and 120MW Rasuwa-Bhotekosi Hydropower projects. It seemed unlikely at the time, but it turned out that the dire situation Nepal found itself in 1995 planted the seed to mobilise investment for affordable power from within the country. Double Whammy After the dual shock of first losing investment in Baby Arun and having to sign expensive power purchase agreements with international IPPs, the first proposal for an alternative strategy to mitigate the risk of foreign currency investment into hydropower projects came from a group of engineers within the Arun III team at NEA. Led by <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=4900">Deputy Director Damber Bahadur Nepali,</a> engineers convinced the leadership that NEA needed to invest in a subsidiary company to build a series of locally-designed and domestically-financed projects that would have lower cost with rupee-denominated PPAs. They registered the Chilime Hydropower Company Limited (CHCL) in October 1995 with 51% shares from NEA, 25% from its employees, and 24% available for the general public, 10% of which was prioritised for local residents at the project site. The 22.1MW project is in Rasuwa on a tributary of the Trisuli, and mobilised debt financing from the Employee Provident Fund, which manages retirement savings for employees of the government, public enterprises, and private sector institutions. CHCL’s experience showed that NEA employees themselves believed that individual hydropower projects with operational independence from NEA could be developed profitably in Nepal by its own engineers -- and they were willing to put their own money on the line. Chilime also demonstrated that there was money in the country, particularly with retirement funds, looking for opportunities for long-term investments. Following completion of Chilime in 2003, CHCL led the formation of three other NEA subsidiary companies that completed construction in 2023 and 2024, producing 168.3MW using fully rupee-tied investment. NEA’s largest subsidiary, the Upper Tamakosi Hydropower Limited, completed construction of its 456MW plant in 2021.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250829160812_ce9ab8b49c598970db3f5bf0a079061ef52f153b28d9f4ead2bb1b26bfd7c2f3.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20250829160812_ce9ab8b49c598970db3f5bf0a079061ef52f153b28d9f4ead2bb1b26bfd7c2f3" data-rendition-name="original" width="3000" height="1571" loading="lazy" alt="30 Years after Baby Arun"> <figcaption>DAMNED: The $700 million 456MW Upper Tamakosi built entirely with domestic funds before it was destroyed by the September floods last year. </figcaption> </figure>  There were some delays and cost overruns on this run-of-river project, the largest in the country with a final cost of over $700 million -- all of it sourced domestically. The five subsidiary companies launched by NEA have produced almost two times as much new power as NEA has over the past 30 years. Seven other NEA subsidiaries are currently constructing projects to add another 474MW to the national grid. But even more important than NEA subsidiaries have been local IPPs: Nepali companies which have over the past three decades enthusiastically entered the hydropower sector. From a regulatory perspective, the credit for mobilising domestic private investment to engage in power generation goes to Minister of Water Resources Shailaja Acharya, who in 1998 offered a flat feed-in-tariff of Rs4/kWh for hydropower projects under 10MW. This upfront offer removed a major barrier that early developers had faced of having to spend money to carry out a detailed feasibility study before they could even start tariff negotiations with NEA. She had laid the foundation stone of the Chilime project, and proved to be the champion of opening up the sector for domestic IPPs. The guarantee of a PPA with a fixed tariff, irrespective of project specifications, gave small power developers the confidence to apply for survey licenses and invest in feasibility studies so they could directly approach commercial banks and make a case for their project producing required revenue to repay loans. Domestic IPPs started adding power to the national grid in 2002. Their contribution was initially modest, and first projects were small and commercial lenders who took time to be confident about providing debt financing to a sector which had previously not been considered suitable for private sector investment. While the first 10 years were slow, with less than 10MW being added to the grid each year, this increased twenty fold over the following ten years, resulting in the equivalent of a Baby Arun being added by Nepali IPPs to the grid each year. A total of 84 IPPs added 232MW, 328 MW, 454MW, and 400MW of new generation to the grid in 2021-2024 (graph). There was explosive, exponential growth as domestic developers have surged ahead to account for 76% of the new megawatts added to the grid since 2020, compared to 24% by NEA and its subsidiary companies. The megawatts that IPPs are adding have followed the classic ‘hockey stick curve’ with the ‘breakout point’, signaling the rapid growth phase in 2020. Private producers are expected to accelerate new generation in the coming years with 300 solar and hydropower projects adding 11,000MW. Another 166 hydropower and 96 solar projects are currently in the survey stage, and are in line to add another 11,000MW to the construction pipeline. One major challenge is finding financing required for the projects. Domestic investment will no longer be sufficient to finance this ambitious pipeline of renewable energy projects. Project developers as well as NEA and the Electricity Regulatory Commission will have to leverage their substantial experience accumulated through the construction of over 200 projects to attract regional and international investment and hedge the risks of dollar-denominated PPAs. Following the cancellation of Baby Arun, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/people-power/decentralising-power-in-nepal">Nepal developed a highly distributed power sector</a>. The national electricity grid is currently supplied with power from a remarkably decentralised array of hundreds of hydropower and solar photovoltaic projects spread across 43 districts and all seven provinces.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250829150848_0c3aa66b34bfb08380a624f397bf3ebb4126f4d6b41a26115848b496876f501b.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20250829150848_0c3aa66b34bfb08380a624f397bf3ebb4126f4d6b41a26115848b496876f501b" data-rendition-name="original" width="1228" height="867" loading="lazy" alt="30 years after Baby Arun"> </figure>  This presents a sharp contrast to the pathway of a few large public sector hydropower projects with a sprinkling of private sector projects that was envisioned as part of NEA’s investment planning when Baby Arun was being considered the front runner for investment. The strategy then was to allow public sector investment in a few large hydropower projects with thermal plants to fill the gap. Knowing what we know now about acceleration of climate change impacts and increased extreme weather events, following this path would have made Nepal’s power sector highly vulnerable. Decentralised generation greatly improves the resilience of Nepal’s power supply as damage to power plants in one part of the country need not affect other areas that have their own generation. Following the investment plan where over two thirds of the country’s power supply would have come from power plants on the Arun River, would have greatly imperiled Nepal’s energy security. All rivers in Nepal are susceptible to flooding from cloudbursts made more frequent by climate change. The Arun River which is fed by glaciers in Tibet is also at risk to glacial lake outburst floods. Bikash Pandey is Director of Clean Energy and Circular Economy at Winrock International. People Power is his regular column in Nepali Times on global energy issues relevant to Nepal. <h2>Decentralised and Diversified</h2> In the 30 years since the cancellation of ‘Baby Arun’: Hydropower projects constructed cover capacities ranging from less than 1MW to 456MW and developed by IPPs from across the country with strong local involvement in purchasing equity shares. Renewable energy sources contributed to the generation mix through solar IPPs that further contribute to climate resilience, and cover shortfalls during low rainfall. The government is committed to solar contributing 10% of the power on the grid. Increasing solar beyond this target and providing incentives to project developers to invest in utility-scale battery storage would further improve resilience. BIG ARUN: The 900MW Arun III project under construction since 2018 at Num in Sankhuwasabha (pictured, below) is a separate initiative by a different project developer using a different financing modality. The ‘Baby Arun’ version of Arun III was cancelled in 1995.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250829150852_df534df5166eb5a9bb4cbe101627bdec7ac1df2a405a9d3988d1c86fcc8ecdeb.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="20250829150852_df534df5166eb5a9bb4cbe101627bdec7ac1df2a405a9d3988d1c86fcc8ecdeb" data-rendition-name="original" width="1750" height="1312" loading="lazy" alt="30 Years after Baby Arun"> </figure>

30 years after Baby Arun

It cannot be a coincidence that after pushing bills to constrict freedom of expression and allow greater <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/security-or-espionage">surveillance of citizens</a>, Nepal’s government is now tightening controls on civil society.
In a <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/guest-editorial/command-and-control">series of recent moves</a> journalists have been sued for contempt of court, imprisoned for YouTube videos, or ordered by courts to desist from investigating corrupt officials.
An amendment to the Print and Publications Act that would hand the power to shut online media to the Chief District Officer (CDO). Another draft Bill would allow a political appointee to head a new Media Council with the power to revoke a journalist’s license. The draft counter-intelligence Bill would let random officials to arbitrarily tap phones, read emails and trail citizens.
Now comes yet another draft Bill that would replace the <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=10675">Social Welfare Council (SWC)</a> with direct government control over registration, regulation, and management of non-governmental organisations, nonprofits and charities. There are more than 54,000 NGOs, 200 international NGOs registered with the SWC.
The draft makes civil society organisations needlessly jump through hoops to carry out work that complements the government in the social sector. Critics say the Bill was drafted without any consultation with <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/nepal-s-rights-groups-must-step-up-4r4z6ck4">civic groups</a>.
“This Bill’s content is questionable whether it intends to allow for civil society organisations in Nepal a free space to operate,” concludes Dr SP Kalaunee, Country Representative of BlinkNow Foundation and Chair of the Association of International NGOs in Nepal (AIN). “The draft seems oriented towards controling rather than facilitating the work of civil society organisations.”
The Bill will be open for feedback from the public, and integrates the National Directives Act (1961), Association Registration Act (1977), and the Social Welfare Act (1992) and proposes dissolving the SWC and replacing it with a new Social Welfare Department under the Ministry of Women, Children and Senior Citizens.
Non-government groups will now be required to get approval from the Registrar Office, the CDO or the provincial government depending on their area of operation. Those working across provinces will have to get permission from the federal government. &nbsp;
The government says the Bill is intended to vet organisations to see if they are engaged in espionage, violate national security, assist a foreign state, commit treason, cause strife between federal units, or incite communal violence.&nbsp;
CSOs working in Nepal have long called for legislation to better facilitate their work, minimise administrative and bureaucratic red tape which have posed operational challenges. But they are opposed to such drastic control.&nbsp;
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/the-crow-and-the-scarecrow">The crow and the scarecrow</a>, Om Astha Rai
The NGO Federation of Nepal also issued a statement this week calling the Bill ‘retrograde and cumbersome’. It added: ‘Most of its provisions are intended to further constrain and control civil society organisations rather than facilitate and strengthen them, and reduce the role of citizen participation … it is an attack on our civil liberties, inclusivity, and transparency, and curtails our <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=5156">democratic values and constitutional rights</a>.’ &nbsp;
<a href="about:blank">Nepal’s graduation</a> from least-developed country status next year may mean less aid for Nepal, and higher interest rates on loans from multilateral creditors. The <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/how-usaid-cut-affects-nepal">closure of USAID </a>and reduction in bilateral grants means the work of INGOs will be even more vital – especially to meet its <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/target-2030-for-maternal-and-newborn-health">SDG targets by 2030</a>.&nbsp;
“We are competing with other countries at a time when the global aid environment is shrinking, so the support we receive is directly dependent on a conducive environment for INGOs to operate and function,” says Kalaunee. “INGOs follow regulations of the nations they operate in, they will not protest or wait around for governments to change their minds or policies.”
Social safety net
Since 1977, the work of non-governmental actors in Nepal has been regulated by the Social Service National Coordination Council (SSNCC) chaired by Queen Aishwarya.
After the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/one-moment-30-years-ago-today">1990 People’s Movement</a>, King Birendra set up the Social Welfare Council (SWC) as an autonomous body in 1992 through the Social Welfare Act. But since then the SWC has been dogged by controversy and allegations of corruption and extortion.
In 2018, the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) filed a Rs315 million corruption case against 14 individuals, including the Minister of Women, Children and Social Welfare and SWC chair Badri Prasad Neupane and other officials for violating public procurement laws to rent out three hectares of its property around Bhrikuti Mandap.
Civil society groups have for years called for reforms in the SWC, and a report was drawn up to restructure it before this Bill proposed its dissolution. INGOs in particular will now have to go through the Social Welfare Department and multiple ministries for permissions.
A particularly objectionable provision in the draft stipulates that NGOs must have a Board of Director made up almost entirely of secretaries of various ministries. The NGO Federation has urged the government to take a civil society-friendly approach and not tangle its work in red tape and control. It says the government has no option but to revise the bill in its current form.
“Civil society organisations need an open space to operate, and an autonomous body to oversee them,” says Kalaunee. “Non-government organisations support in the areas prioritised by the government but by definition they cannot be a part of government.”

Big, beautiful Bills

An average Nepali could live 3.3 years longer if air pollution is reduced to meet the World Health Organization (WHO) guideline, according the annual <a href="https://aqli.epic.uchicago.edu/">Air Quality Life Index</a> 2025 published this week. The annual average concentration of tiny suspended particles in the air (PM2.5) in Nepal in 2023 was 38.3 μg/m3, nearly eight times the WHO standard, and 10% higher than 2022. Thirty years ago, air pollution in Nepal was half the current levels. WHO says particulate concentration above 5μg/m3 &nbsp;is<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/what-is-invisible-is-more-dangerous"> hazardous to health</a>.&nbsp; The most <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/why-is-the-air-in-bhaktapur-so-bad">polluted parts of Nepal</a> are along the Indian border in Rutahat, Mahottari, Dhanusha, Parsa and Bara districts in Madhes Povince where average life expectancy is reduced by as much as 5.3 years.&nbsp; People in Sarlahi, Siraha, Saptari, Morang, Sunsari, Rupandehi and Jhapa are also dying at least 4 years earlier. The Air Quality Index 2025 report which is published annually by the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago, says the figure is relatively lower for Kathmandu and Lalitpur at 2.6 and 2.4 years. After the Madhes, Kosi and Lumbini Provinces are the most polluted — especially in towns along industrial corridors and near the border. Karnali Province was by far the cleanest, followed by Sudurpaschim. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/epicentre-of-pollution">Epicentre of pollution</a>, Sonia Awale  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250828060856_136770cc84e114e8993af82e6a682c45d9458060e4ecf45f18e9f210673e1279.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20250828060856_136770cc84e114e8993af82e6a682c45d9458060e4ecf45f18e9f210673e1279" data-rendition-name="original" width="753" height="584" loading="lazy" alt="AQLI map"> <figcaption>Potential gain in life expectancy from permanently reducing PM2.5 from 2023 concentration to the WHO guideline.</figcaption> </figure>  Air pollution is now the leading external<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/cleaner-air-longer-lives-0z0okfeu"> threat to life expectancy in Nepal</a>, exceeding both tobacco and diet-related risks, which reduced average lifespans of Nepalis by 1.9 years and 1.3 years respectively. The Air Quality Management Action Plan for Kathmandu Valley introduced in 2017 had identified vehicular emissions, brick kilns, and construction as the most polluting. It adopted measures to strengthen air quality monitoring, develop emissions inventory, and conduct impact assessments. Other major sources of emissions in Nepal include <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/no-smoke-without-fire-p7vb9dcj">forest fires</a>, crop residue and garbage burning as well as transboundary pollution from India and Pakistan. The report says India is the world’s most polluted country with the particulate concentration in 2023 at 41 μg/m3, an average resident in India could live 3.5 years longer if pollution levels were brought down to meet the WHO guideline. Residents of New Delhi on average would live 8.2 years longer if they breathed clean air. South Asia has some of the world’s most polluted cities. On some winter days, Kathmandu records the worst air quality in the world. In 2023, PM2.5 concentrations in South Asia declined by 9.6% between 2021 and 2022 due to lockdowns during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic. ‘After a dip in 2022, particulate pollution in South Asia increased by 2.8% in 2023 — though it remained 7% lower than in 2021,’ <a href="https://aqli.epic.uchicago.edu/report/annual-update-2025">states the report</a>. ‘In the region’s most polluted countries, particulate pollution’s impact on life expectancy is nearly twice that of childhood, and maternal malnutrition and more than five times that of unsafe water, sanitation and handwashing.’ Elsewhere, unprecedented wildfires caused particulate concentrations to rise to levels not seen since 2011 in the United States and since 1998 in Canada. China also registered a decline in air quality, an increase of 2.8% in particulate pollution in 2023 relative to 2022, the first in a decade since the start of its ‘War on Pollution’ in 2014.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250828060856_94860b929d0fb161220ad72ecb76fcd29ba8e306bd6b844485a4171dadb6bb47.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="20250828060856_94860b929d0fb161220ad72ecb76fcd29ba8e306bd6b844485a4171dadb6bb47" data-rendition-name="original" width="754" height="501" loading="lazy" alt="AQLI line graph"> <figcaption>Annual average PM2.5 concentration in Nepal from 1998-2023.</figcaption> </figure>  Globally, the PM2.5 concentration in 2023 was 1.5% higher than in 2022, and nearly 5 times the WHO guideline. If global particulate pollution were permanently reduced to meet this guideline, an average person around the world would gain 1.9 years of life, adding 15.1 billion total life years to the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/the-future-is-older">global population</a>, the report adds. ‘Particulate pollution remained the greatest external threat to human life expectancy in 2023, with <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/air-pollution-is-more-dangerous-than-smoking">its impact comparable to smoking</a> and surpassing other major health risks,’ the report says. ‘Its toll on life expectancy is more than 4 times that of alcohol use, 5 times that of transport injuries or unsafe water, sanitation, and handwashing, and more than 6 times that of HIV/AIDS.’ The report also highlights the need for open data, and says that accessible air quality information has translated into reduced particulate concentrations and gains in life expectancy in the United States, China, and Poland. Besides data, the report says, investment in monitoring and other air quality management infrastructure must be matched by political will, ambitious policies, capacity building, and sustained enforcement.

Warning: breathing is hazardous to health

A cosy art space in Thamel comes alive this month with soft light filtering through glass windows and settling gently on ceramic works that radiate both silence and strength. Much like specks of dust shimmering in a sunbeam, fragments of uneven mirrors scattered at the centre of the exhibition catch fleeting reflections of passersby that force visitors to reflect on <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/the-fabric-of-society">life and society</a>. From a distance, the mirrors resemble playful, anime-style sunny side ups in bright shades. It may look random, but on closer inspection the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/hari-the-potter">meticulous craftsmanship</a> reveals itself in every curve, giving more permanent shape and form to the artist’s fingers on the original clay. Alongside are cups, vases, and plates adorned with <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/facades-and-flowers-from-nepal-to-italy">delicate sketches</a> of animals, houses, and trees. Some have inscriptions drifting across surfaces like floating letters. The vases rise in varying heights, dressed in muted greens, while some are blended with soft browns and yellows.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025082711084_3ccb0e0e002bee9521867cbca82d56a1dc1e3ed799c5159fc07adc6f674325ab.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="2025082711084_3ccb0e0e002bee9521867cbca82d56a1dc1e3ed799c5159fc07adc6f674325ab" data-rendition-name="original" width="1080" height="810" loading="lazy" alt="Firing her imagination"> <figcaption>Photo: DALAI-LA ART SPACE</figcaption> </figure>  “Ceramics have taught me patience in unpredictability,” says ceramic artist Aishworya Shakya, 26, whose work is currently on display at Dalai-la gallery in Thamel. Shakya began with simple drawings, but as she delved deeper into her studies of fine arts, she began exploring new concepts and methods of idea formation. She found herself increasingly drawn to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/take-to-pottery-during-the-pandemic">the expressive potential of ceramics</a>. “Clay is flexible and transformative, and the process of turning it into a hardened form is cathartic,” she explains. “For me, it’s about free forms, feelings, and the intangible, which often take shape in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/kiran-manandhar-in-the-abstract">abstract ways </a>through ceramics.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250827100812_4e2efcf1284d6589d5eafb34b276b8d4c69ebba9453efe4af9a70c51b2e31d6f.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20250827100812_4e2efcf1284d6589d5eafb34b276b8d4c69ebba9453efe4af9a70c51b2e31d6f" data-rendition-name="original" width="739" height="985" loading="lazy" alt="Firing her imagination"> <figcaption>Photo: DALAI-LA ART SPACE</figcaption> </figure>  The writings on her finished ceramics are deeply rooted in her academic explorations of personal history. Shakya contemplated family relationships, and transformed them into patterns and inscriptions on clay — giving her private meditations an extension on <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/an-ode-to-the-ordinary">life and lessons</a>. “It is never fixed what I want to make when I begin,” says Shakya. “There might be a frame, but never anything too specific. My forms come through an intuitive process. If I try to meticulously plan everything, it never works out, so I just let it flow.” What begins as an imagined idea often transforms through the process, shaped by the unpredictability of clay and fire, keeping her grounded and open-minded. Shakya’s works usually undergo three rounds in the furnace: beginning with bisque firing, followed by layers of engobe underglaze mixed with pigments, which she applies in three coats before the second firing. Finally, she adds the glaze before the final firing. The most demanding part is actually in <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=13617">preparing and mixing the clay</a>, removing bubbles, and refining it so the final product has at least some predictability, she says.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025082711080_d4856f6f195e9b2ad06144832121da0068aaf0f94800c483b278a204fbf3865e.jpg" data-media-id="editor_9" data-image-id="2025082711080_d4856f6f195e9b2ad06144832121da0068aaf0f94800c483b278a204fbf3865e" data-rendition-name="original" width="1280" height="960" loading="lazy" alt="Firing her imagination"> </figure>  The title Burned and Being comes from the ceramic-making process itself. “But more than just the process, it is an embodiment of my existence. As a person learning to take up space, I am filling my surroundings with things that inspire and align with me to create a sense of being and take a stand for myself,” Shakya explains. The artist is now looking ahead to expand her art beyond vases and mirrors to explore more sculptural forms. Burned and Being Till 30 September 11am to 7pm Dalai-la Art Space, Thamel