<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108181144/636a95689c7e80680e05dc07jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="758"/><figcaption>Mother's group in Accham feed home-cooked meal to their children. Photo: MARTY LOGAN</figcaption></figure>For the first two decades after 1990, Nepal took great strides in reducing malnutrition. But progress has stalled.Nepal registered one of the most dramatic reductions in undernourishment among children and women after the government and international agencies took action in recent decades to reverse shocking statistics that showed <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=570#.XcJAUtIza70">half of under-5 mortality in the country was due to insufficient nourishment</a>.“Nepal is the best country to showcase how political will can implement a multisectoral nutrition program,” says Brenda Kellen, director of Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN), which is holding a global nutrition conference in Kathmandu this week.“From being one of the countries with the highest malnutrition in the 1990s, with stunting at 57%, to have reduced it to 36% -- Nepal can offer lessons for the rest of the world and its model can be replicated elsewhere,” says Kellen, who added that holding the fifth SUN global gathering in Kathmandu was recognition of this achievement.Over 1,000 delegates from 61 countries are attending the conference to discuss the progress, challenges and priorities ahead to ending malnutrition by 2030, a target set by the United Nations’ World Health Assembly.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108181144/636a956b9c7e80680e05dc08jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="901" height="786"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108181144/636a956e9c7e80680e05dc09jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="794" height="223">However despite initial progress, figures for stunting, wasting and anaemia in Nepal have plateaued. UNICEF’s report, State of the World’s Children 2019, released last month, stated that 43% of children under five in Nepal were malnourished.“Malnutrition is still very much prevalent in Nepal, mainly among young children, adolescents and new mothers. We are not satisfied with the progress and there is still much to do,” says Anirudra Sharma at UNICEF Nepal.According to the 2016 Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) wasting (low weight for age) among Nepali children under 5 still hovers at 10% -- a mere 1% decrease from 8 years ago. The UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) require Nepal to reduce wasting to less than 5% by 2030. <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/Interesting-Times/Having-enough-to-eat-is-not-enough,340">Stunting</a> needs to be well below 15% in 10 years to meet the global target -- it is about 36% now.Says Swarnim Waglé, former vice-chair of the National Planning Commission who helped draw up Nepal’s Multi-Sectoral Nutrition Plan: “While a 20% reduction of chronic malnutrition in two decades is quite impressive, 36% stunting is still very high and unacceptable in this day and age. Conventional approaches will not help achieve targets.”<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108181144/636a956f9c7e80680e05dc0ajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="940" height="629">Anaemia among Nepali women has always been very high, but instead of declining it actually increased from 35% to 41% between 2011 and 2016. Anaemia in children below 5 rose dangerously in that period: from 46% to 53%.Exclusive breastfeeding in the first 6 months also declined, and is now 65% against a target of greater than 90%. There has been no significant change in low birth weight either, which declined only 2%, to 27%, in five years. The SDG target is below 5%.“Improvements in nutrition levels are stagnant because we have not reached the most vulnerable communities such as <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/the-face-of-hunger-debt-malnutrition,3604">Dalits</a> and people in remote far western Nepal,” says <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/we-are-what-we-eat-aruna-uprety,3954">public health expert Aruna Uprety</a>. “I see no reason to boast about our past achievements when the present level of chronic malnutrition is so serious.”Nutrition levels are affected not just by food intake, but access to safe drinking water and education about the right selection of food. Underweight children in cities and the rise in obesity are a result of the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepalis-binge-on-junk-foods-the-west-rejected/">proliferation of junk food</a> replacing traditional nutrient-rich grains. Childhood obesity has decreased from 1.4% in 2011 to 1.2% but the figure needs to drop below 1% to meet the target.https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=34&amp;v=c-EPzTXSikw<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/junk-food-is-making-nepali-children-shorter/">An article in The Journal of Nutrition</a> earlier this year found that infants in Kathmandu were getting 25% of their calories from junk food and instead of being fat, those who consumed the most junk food were on average shorter than their peers.Brenda Kellen agrees that while there is a lot of concern about hunger and food security, there is not as much awareness about whether food is nourishing or not.“Let’s look at all the tools available to reduce malnutrition. Fortifying foods can mean that people get micronutrients but it should go hand in hand with promotion of locally produced foods,” Kellen says.Nutritionists believe that Nepal is on the right track, but it needs to make nutrition a <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/editorial/let%E2%80%99s-go-ahead-with-local-elections,3593">political priority</a>, scale up its programs throughout the country and <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/malnutrition-stunting-wasting,3603">target groups susceptible to malnutrition</a>.UNICEF’s Sharma says: “Nutrition should be universal, households should not be left behind. The government has to increase national investment on raising nutrition standards.”<h2>Private sector for nutrition?</h2>Do the private sector and nonprofits have a role in reducing malnutrition? Does their involvement allow the government to shirk its responsibility of ensuring equitable nutrition?<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108181144/636a95719c7e80680e05dc0bjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="452">The issue arose this week at a global conference on nutrition in Kathmandu. Among the 1,000 delegates attending the global gathering are representatives of <a href="https://scalingupnutrition.org/">Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN)</a> Business Network, which tries to build strong <a href="https://scalingupnutrition.org/sun-supporters/sun-business-network/">alliances between the private sector and government</a> to reduce malnutrition.“There are many small scale enterprises that are looking for opportunities to provide local solutions to nutrition-related challenges,” says Brenda Kellen (pictured left) of the Scaling Up Nutrition Movement, which is behind the global gathering in Kathmandu, 4-7 November.In fact, Nepal’s Multi-Sectoral Nutrition Plan 2018-2022 underlines the need for government to partner with business. Experts say that while it makes sense to involve food manufacturers and traders to improve nutrition, there is an inherent contradiction between businesses that are out to maximise profits and the need to ensure nutrition for communities that cannot afford adequate food.<a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=13246#.XcJC79Iza70">Nutrition activist Aruna Uprety</a> is against private sector involvement in ensuring proper nutrition for all. “If you involve businesses they will look first for profit, not adequate nourishment. It is 100% the government’s job to reduce malnutrition.”Uprety says last week she left the Baliyo Nepal Nutrition Initiative, which is supported by the <a href="https://www.gatesfoundation.org/what-we-do/global-development/nutrition">Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMFG)</a>, because it would mobilise Nepal’s private sector food companies to raise nutrition levels among Nepalis. Baliyo Nepal was launched by President Bidya Devi Bhandari on 1 November (pictured below).<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108181144/636a95739c7e80680e05dc0cjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="3600" height="2400">Baliyo Nepal’s Chair <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/guest-editorial/guest-editorial-Nepal-economic-growth,923">Swarnim Waglé</a>, former vice-chair of the National Planning Commission, says the organisation is not trying to take the place of the government but complement its efforts precisely because of the persistence of chronic malnutrition in the country.Baliyo Nepal was dragged into controversy recently after one of its backers, the Chaudhary Foundation, told the media that BMFG funding would be used to fortify its popular instant noodle brand Wai Wai. <a href="https://reliefweb.int/report/nepal/how-do-you-help-break-cycle-poverty-nepal-s-poorest-region">BMFG did test instant noodle fortification</a>, but Waglé says the initiative was not taken any further.He told Nepali Times: “We are not touching any junk food. We want to make nutrition affordable for all Nepalis and collaborate with companies to meet the demand. We are creating a sustainable and independent approach to meet malnutrition targets.”Some experts argue that nutrient fortification of food brands has been successful in Nepal in the past. <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=12452#.XcJFodIza70">Iodisation of the Ayo Noon</a> brand of salt helped eradicate goitre and cretinism in Nepal in the 1990s.Whatever the merits of involving the private sector in ensuring nutrition for all, the real scandal is one in three Nepali children are still malnourished.

Sonia Awale

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Nearly half of Nepali children still malnourished

Nepal has shut down dozens of social media platforms in a move that is widely seen as an effort to tax the revenue they generate in the country, and to control content critical of government. The sites were blocked as of midnight on Thursday, 4 September and affects all Meta products including WhatsApp and Messenger, Threads, and others. Although YouTube, Google and X are also on the government’s list, they were still working as of Friday midday.&nbsp; The government says it took the action after repeated warnings to the platforms to open offices in Nepal, a Cabinet decision last month setting a deadline, as well as a 17 August Supreme Court ruling also requiring them to register and pay requisite taxes. However, the Bill cited in the ban, ‘The Operation, Use, and Regulation of Social Media in Nepal’ has not yet been passed by Parliament. Some social media platforms which were already paying taxes in Nepal even though they are not officially registered, have also been blocked. The move is the latest in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/big-beautiful-bills" target="_blank">a slew of draft legislations</a> designed to undermine Nepal’s open society. A Bill amending the Print and Publications Act would allow district bureaucrats to shut down media. Another draft Bill would allow political appointees to head a new Media Council with the power to revoke the licenses of journalists.&nbsp; A counter-intelligence Bill would let just about anyone in government to arbitrarily tap phones, read emails and trail citizens. On Wednesday the government announced new immigration requirements that would allow it to track the movement of all foreigners in the country. Yet another draft Bill has been set to Parliament to dissolve the <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=10675" target="_blank">Social Welfare Council (SWC)</a> and move registration and monitoring of non-governmental organisations, nonprofits and charities to the Ministry of Social Welfare. Seen in this light, the blockage of social media platforms this week is seen as the latest government attempt to constrict freedom of press. Nepal is one of the few remaining open societies in Asia, and now appears to be drifting towards authoritarianism. The government’s sudden shutdown of social media has been greeted with howls of protest on platforms that still remain open, like Viber and TikTok, as well as in Nepal’s mainstream press. Even senior members of the ruling UML-NC coalition have sharply criticised the move, asking if the government is trying to “turn Nepal into North Korea”.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025090508098_a2ab330e403e8418a7006cd5e915607382628dd6984524332bf7b99c74743656.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="2025090508098_a2ab330e403e8418a7006cd5e915607382628dd6984524332bf7b99c74743656" data-rendition-name="original" width="4280" height="5187" loading="lazy" alt="social media ban in Nepal"> </figure>  The Regional Director of the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) Beh Lih Yi said in a statement: ‘Nepal’s sweeping ban on social media sets a dangerous precedent for press freedom. Blocking online news platforms vital to journalists will undermine reporting and the public’s right to information. The government must immediately rescind this order and restore access to social media platforms, which are essential tools for exercising press freedom.’ Besides undermining press freedom, blocking social media platforms will also hurt commerce and the economy since so many small and medium business trade through Instagram, Facebook and other platforms. Nepal’s vibrant social media has also been a boost or citizens to assert identity, build solidarity against injustice and play an adversarial role when the mainstream media does not do it. Social media platforms have also become the tenuous link for Nepali families scattered across the world to keep in touch with each other — its importance growing with the increasing size of the diaspora. The government wants social media platforms to register, pay taxes and remove posts on their sites that ‘undermine the national interest and Nepal’s territorial integrity, disturb social and religious harmony’.&nbsp; In response, rights activists have said while there is need for the government to regulate extreme content and hate speech, officials appear to be more intent on clamping down on free speech and trying to force platforms to share the revenue. On Friday, the government had allowed WhatsApp back online, but there were reports that it had instructed the Nepal Telecommunication Authority (NTA) to instruct mobile and internet service providers to block by Friday night all platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp, X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn, Reddit, Threads, Snapchat, Pinterest, Signal, Clubhouse, Rumble.&nbsp; Platforms that have registered and are allowed include TikTok, Viber, Nimbuzz, Popo Live, WeTalk, Global Diary and the Nepali portal Hamro Patro. TikTok was banned last year for ‘disturbing social harmony’ and it was lifted after the platform registered its office in Nepal. But even while it was banned, many users simply switched to VPN. Telegram was also banned for ‘financial crimes’ and it has since also been allowed back. NTA officials confirmed that some Asia-Pacific regional offices of platforms, including Meta had been in touch overnight inquiring about the registration process.&nbsp; Nepal is not alone in regulating social media. China bans most Western platforms, Russia and Turkey regulate their and require platforms to locate their data servers in the country. Gulf countries allow social media but keep a tight control on dissent.&nbsp; Experts have said even the government will not dare close down YouTube since so many Nepali individuals and companies make money with posts on that platform, and closing it would also impact on Google and Gmail. Facebook had also just launched a monetisation scheme for videos and reels, and Nepalis uploading content would lose revenue.&nbsp; Blocking the platforms has already hit content creators, influencers and cut small businesses from reaching customers. A survey of social media use in Nepal by Sharecast Initiative showed that 94% of those with smart phones used YouTube, followed by Facebook (92%) while TikTok was in the 50-60% range. X and Instagram were in the single digits. A YouTube ban will also hurt the mainstream media since up to 20% of the revenue of Nepal’s main tv channels came through YouTube. Some 11.1 million Nepalis watch YouTube content every day, the survey showed. ‘For global giants like Meta or Google, Nepal is a small market, and they may not even flinch — but for millions of Nepalis, these platforms are central to daily life, livelihoods, and connections across the world,’ wrote AI consultant Naresh Newar in a LinkedIn post. Some experts said the government’s sweeping ban on social media networks was untenable and the government would be forced to rollback sooner or later. Said editor Shiva Gaunle: “The platforms had given citizens a voice and broken the monopoly of the government, legislators, the courts and journalists over public opinion. This is an effort to reassert that monopoly, but Nepal can never be turned into a North Korea.”

Protest grows against Nepal’s social media ban

At least 15 were killed in a nationwide rally called by Nepal’s youth via social media on Monday to protest corruption and impunity in government. Hundreds of others have been injured in Kathmandu and other cities across Nepal. Fifty of them in Kathmandu are said to be in critical condition, and emergency wards of hospitals ran out of essential supplies to treat them.&nbsp; Two journalists, Dipendra Dhungana and Shyam Shrestha of Kantipur were among those injured as they covered the protesters trying to storm Parliament building. Earlier in the day, tens of thousands of protesters gathered at the Mandala intersection in Kathmandu for what was supposed to be a peaceful gathering to voice outrage against corruption. Rallyists were responding to a call via social media.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250908120948_2652b268dac74e9524a2ca11f320391a33d02233e212e21c1a8ed17210c19a96.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20250908120948_2652b268dac74e9524a2ca11f320391a33d02233e212e21c1a8ed17210c19a96" data-rendition-name="original" width="1200" height="1600" loading="lazy" alt="Gen Z protest"> </figure>  However, the rally soon went out of control of the organisers as public anger against the government boiled over because of unpunished corruption in high places, an unresponsive government, and the blockade of social media platforms on Saturday that shut down 26 sites, including Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, X, and other messaging apps. That appears to have been the last straw, and public outrage over the social media ban spilled over into the streets. On Monday, protests turned violent after demonstrators stormed Parliament, set fire to one of its gates, and vandalised property.&nbsp; The police responded with tear gas and water cannons before Kathmandu’s Chief District Officer ordered them to open fire. The government has since imposed curfew in parts of Kathmandu until 10PM. “I didn’t expect the crowd to be this massive. I just came to observe,” said Sanchit Maharjan, a bystander caught in the middle of the violence. “I’m not even Gen Z, but I was hit by tear gas earlier. Still, it feels powerful to see young people standing up.” <div class="embed-block"><div style="max-width: 56vh;"><div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 177.7778%;"><iframe src="https://cdn.iframe.ly/api/iframe?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fshorts%2FTfzT9WjPOxM&key=87ca3314a9fa775b5c3a7726100694b0" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen scrolling="no" allow="accelerometer *; clipboard-write *; encrypted-media *; gyroscope *; picture-in-picture *; web-share *;"></iframe></div></div></div> Graphic images have since flooded the still functioning social media sites like TikTok: students in uniforms soaked in blood, protesters being carried to the nearby Civil Service Hospital, which itself was engulfed in teargas.&nbsp; Young people, some of them students in college uniform, had started gathering at Mandala as early as 9AM, flashing placards with slogans denouncing government corruption. Popular rapper OMG Spark was performing live music at one point. The GenZ protest is only the latest in a series of demonstrations against Nepal’s career leaders who are seen to be incompetent and corrupt. The international #Nepobaby trend on TikTok gave the protests momentum, and Nepalis used it to expose the scions of powerful politicians and politically-connected influencers who were exhibiting their flashy lifestyles on social media while citizens struggled with joblessness, corruption and poor service delivery.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250908120956_0f8ba149e43922fb551ebd63036701e646704dca4277a7e47c7ee4810c3c36ff.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20250908120956_0f8ba149e43922fb551ebd63036701e646704dca4277a7e47c7ee4810c3c36ff" data-rendition-name="original" width="2576" height="1932" loading="lazy" alt="Gen Z protest"> </figure>  Young Nepalis on social media were posing questions such as: ‘Where does our tax money actually go?’ or ‘Why does the budget vanish into thin air?’ Public anger reached a tipping point when the UML-NC coalition led by Prime Minister &nbsp;K P Oli announced a sweeping ban on major social media platforms citing tax revenue, cyber security, and lack of content moderation.&nbsp; Netizens, civil society and media however saw it as the latest authoritarian attempt by the government to clamp down on free speech, increase surveillance of citizens and clamp down on Nepal’s open society.&nbsp; “Politics is everywhere,” said 22-year old student Susmita Khadka who was at the protest. “Gen Z has the most platforms, and we want a revolution. I believe as long as protests remain peaceful, they can be incredibly effective. But when it turns violent, it creates a Cobra Effect—where it actually makes it worse.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250908120948_cb24f18c947f13e5df9fb4f6ac28e77c7188f0eaa2390b57810b91cd8e66488a.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20250908120948_cb24f18c947f13e5df9fb4f6ac28e77c7188f0eaa2390b57810b91cd8e66488a" data-rendition-name="original" width="1200" height="1600" loading="lazy" alt="Gen Z protest"> </figure>  She added that the protests could have been more peaceful. “I wish there were more organised banners, collective sit-ins where people actually ask for our opinions and listen to our needs. Repetitive slogans and one-day marches won’t bring real change.” As the violence went out of control, the Nepal Army was deployed outside Parliament and a curfew was declared on the road leading to the airport. Organisers Hami Nepali requested demonstrators to go home, and said that those who stormed Parliament were not associated with them, hinting that the rally had been infiltrated by radical groups. Demonstrations have also erupted in major cities including Butwal, Chitwan, Pokhara, and Birtamode. The District Administration Office (DAO) in Kaski has imposed a similar curfew in Pokhara where the police have opened fire, injuring some protesters. Says Ronesh Pradhan of Hami Nepal who led the protest: “The voices of young people matter. We can’t keep being ruled by the same old men. Our generation is the future and if there are older leaders in government, they need to be competent and accountable. We are ready to lead this country forward.” <div class="embed-block"><div style="max-width: 56vh;"><div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 177.7778%;"><iframe src="https://cdn.iframe.ly/api/iframe?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fshorts%2FTfzT9WjPOxM&key=87ca3314a9fa775b5c3a7726100694b0" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen scrolling="no" allow="accelerometer *; clipboard-write *; encrypted-media *; gyroscope *; picture-in-picture *; web-share *;"></iframe></div></div></div> &nbsp;

Nepal’s Gen-Z protest turns deadly

Unlike many countries, there is not much incentive in Nepal for the private sector to fund charities and non-profits. Donations and grants are not tax-deductible.
Yet there are corporate entities that have Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in their portfolio of activities through foundations that they have set up. Some do it loudly to gain public relations mileage, while others are quiet about their <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/norway-supports-himalayan-climate-research?mdrv=www.nepalitimes.com&amp;=1">generous support</a>.
The CSR outlay of factories and manufacturing companies is regulated by Industrial Enterprise Act (IEA), while the Nepal Rastra Bank oversees grants banks and financial institutions contribute and requires them to set aside 1% of their net profit for CSR activities.
The guideline requires banks and financial institutions to donate to activities covering education, health, environment and financial literacy, among others. Recently, the Supreme Court directed the government to formulate a Bill in the parliament to standardise and regulate the private sector’s CSR activities.
“We receive guidelines from Nepal Rastra Bank and follow them,” says Pranisha Shrestha who heads the CSR Department at NMB Bank. “We have got a notice about updates on those guidelines, and we will adapt accordingly.”
<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/greening-nepal-s-tourism">Environmental sustainability </a>is one of the important components of CSR for Nepali companies, and there have been many initiatives aimed at urban renewal. One of the most visible is of the telecommunication company Ncell, which is among Nepal’s largest taxpayers.
Five years ago, Ncell adopted a 6km stretch of the Ring Road from Ekantakuna to Koteswor-Kalanki, planting 12,000 saplings. They have now grown into<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/seeing-the-forest-and-trees-in-nepal"> a thick forest</a> along the embankment of the road.
Not only is the lush greenery in an overbuilt part of Lalitpur soothing to the eye, it also helps in reducing temperature within <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/in-the-heat-of-the-moment-5xcycyot">the urban heat bubble</a>, and also contributes to reducing air pollution and traffic noise.
“We started a pilot project along 600m of the Ekantakuna section of the Ring Road during the pandemic,” recalls Bishakha Lakshmi Khadka, Director of Corporate Communications and Sustainability at Ncell. “It went really well, and after that we extended the<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/saving-cities-with-trees"> tree planting</a> and upkeep to Kalanki.”
Sustainability also means making younger Nepalis aware of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/natures-fragile-gift-to-nepal">the value of nature </a>and environmental sustainability, which is why Ncell has also undertaken a Green School initiative in and around Kathmandu Valley. Besides its One-Tree-One-Youth and 1 Million Trees campaigns, the initiative also aims at behavior change about littering with its waste hackathon in schools.
“The young students can be catalysts with a multiplier effect beyond their schools to society at large, and it has inter-generational impact into the future,” explains Khadka.
Indeed, while <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/tree-mendous">Nepal has doubled its forest cover </a>in the past 30 years to 46% of the country’s area, urban centres like Kathmandu do not have much open spaces and greenery left. And that is where companies like Ncell, Jawalakhel Group of Industries, and others have focused on CSRs.
NMB Bank also runs financial literacy programs for youth where they can learn more about social media safeguards, digital payment systems, with a focus on safety and security. Such training not only helps build skills for the future but also protects young Nepalis from online crime.
“<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/protecting-children-from-anti-social-media">Threats to young minds through social media</a> use are growing as platforms feed algorithm-driven content,” says Shrestha. “We felt media and digital literacy are important in all seven provinces not just to protect young people, but also give them the confidence to use digital financial systems.”
The bank has a special focus on women in leadership programs, and provides scholarships provided in schools across Nepal on environment and sustainability in higher education. Health is another sector where private companies have worked with donating medical equipment, sponsoring health camps and conducting blood donation drives.
CSR or PR?
Other companies heavily involved in CSR include NIMB Bank which contributes to heritage conservation and education, Buddha Air helps farmers in Morang to increase productivity, VOITH with its motto ‘Little things We Do’ provides scholarships to students and has gifted &nbsp;vehicles to hospitals and nature conservation groups, Dwarika’s Hotel promotes organic farming and zero waste initiatives, heritage conservation and helps revive traditional handicrafts.
Although some CSR activities have been criticised for masquerading as PR and for greenwashing, many Nepali companies are actually contributing to improve the situation for individuals in need and underserved communities.
It also brings a sense of accountability to the corporate sector so they look beyond shareholder profit with greater involvement in the public good. In Nepal, where government delivery mechanisms are not up to speed in the social sector and environmental sustainability, CSR is a vehicle for public-private partnerships.
Collaboration with the government is an important aspect of these initiatives since that allows localised campaigns to be scaled up by showing what is possible. For example, the three Metropolitan Cities of the Valley and other private companies are trying to emulate what Ncell has achieved on the Ring Road.
“The Ring Road plantation project has been massively successful,” says Khadka “We were recognised by the Lalitpur Metropolitan City and the Forestry Department for adding greenery to what would have been just an asphalt strip.”

Corporates responsible to society

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2fZXyjsE28" target="_blank">Yog Narendra Malla</a> became king at age 18, and ruled Patan from 1684-1705 — his reign marked by a cultural and architectural renaissance of the city state. He put up a statue of himself in the palace square with a little bronze bird sitting on the guardian serpent above his head. It is said he told his subjects that he would look after their welfare till the day the bird flew off. During<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/lessons-not-learned-from-2015-o2etq6zu"> the 2015 earthquake</a>, the pedestal collapsed and the statue was damaged. The bird was lost, only to be located in a pile of debris and reinstated when the <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/piece-by-piece-patan-darbar-square-reconstruction,3782" target="_blank">statue was consecrated</a> two years later. <div class="embed-block"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/x2fZXyjsE28?si=jYfIb4p6zCLXYQ1T" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe></div> History remembers Yog Narendra Malla as a wise king, but like most<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/preserving-king-birendra-s-family-home"> royalty of the day</a>, he had a weakness for women. He is supposed to have consorted with 30 queens and numerous concubines. At least 33 of them self-immolated themselves on the king's funeral pyre when he died, adhering to the prevailing <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/review/Jhola,947">practice of sati</a>. When Yog Narendra Malla’s favourite queen found out that he was carrying on with yet another woman, she got the local community of the Kwelachhi neighbourhood to stage a shadow sex play to quite literally expose his unfaithfulness. Actors enacted the explicit exploits of the king and his mistress, a bright butter lamp projecting the moving shadows of their lovemaking on a thin white drape to entertain those gathered in the square below. The queen made sure that the show was designed to face the home of the king’s paramour to shame them both. She also paid for a group to chant a bhajan with lyrics that ridiculed the king’s extramarital affair. The Jhyalcha Guthi community trust that the queen set up three-and-half century ago is still active to this day, and performs the annual shadow play in the same building in Kwelachhi the day before <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/the-legend-behind-the-myth-of-indra-jatra">Indra Jatra </a>every year. This year’s show is on Friday evening, 5 September. The opening lines of the chants that accompany the play are the same words approved by the queen all those years ago: “Raja Yog Narendra ya aparadh…” (King Yog Narendra’s crime…) The community leader of the Kwelachhi neighbourhood, 62-year-old Baburaja Awale, explains the importance of the event: “This Jhyalcha is our<a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/saving-the-intangible,3303"> intangible heritage</a> and oral history. We do not have a written format, it has been passed down from generation to generation. Every word of the bhajan is the story of King Yog Narendra Malla.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250904070952_249e85b32cbd99bb8515151557e0ec1a65d44a34ef1aacabaaeb469622d12664.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="20250904070952_249e85b32cbd99bb8515151557e0ec1a65d44a34ef1aacabaaeb469622d12664" data-rendition-name="original" width="1750" height="1167" loading="lazy" alt="Sex and the city of Patan"> <figcaption>The statue of Yog Narendra Malla being reinstated after it toppled in the 2015 earthquake. Photo: GOPEN RAI/ NEPALI TIMES ARCHIVE</figcaption> </figure>  Jhyalcha Pyankha, as the ceremony is called, starts with a puja for the Bhimsen — the god of wealth and prosperity, a popular <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-homecoming-of-nepal-s-gods">deity in Patan</a> who has a temple dedicated just to him in the palace square. This is immediately followed by a bhajan of Bhairab performed with <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/Buzz-house,670">traditional Newa musical instruments</a>. Community members serve snacks consisting of samay baji beaten rice, water buffalo chunks, soybean, green veggies, lentils, ginger, garlic and aila liquor. “In the first act of the shadow play, the man initiates the lovemaking, and in the third it is the woman,” says Laxmi Lal Awale, also a member of the trust that organises the show. The shadow action is all uncensored, but interspersed with <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/between-the-sacred-and-everyday">scenes of everyday life</a>: the woman is spinning a thread, the king is going about his royal chores, and the two sit down to share sanacha fermented pickle that is popular this time of year. <div class="embed-block"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qZ3twuG1wNQ?si=yRfkoC3A-X9cIl8r" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe></div> “Back then, there was no tv, films or YouTube, and yet we managed to stage the shadow play using our own resourcefulness,” says Baburaja Awale. “It is important to continue the tradition.” The challenge now is to ensure that the<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/the-reign-of-the-god-of-rain"> younger generation takes over</a>, learning the lyrics of the ancient bhajan. The dafa khala group that performs all over Patan during festivals and religious events is now training teenagers to play the musical instruments and act in the shadow play. The Jhyalcha was staged even after the 2015 earthquake when the falcha where the bhajan is performed collapsed and they made-do in a tin shed. The structure was later rebuilt with a grant from the group, Photo Circle. Lalitpur Metropolitan City sets aside a budget of Rs50,000 to organise the Jhyalcha Pyankha every year, but this is not enough and is supplemented by individual donations. The performers including musicians and actors are all volunteers, and take part in it because it is their community duty. The erotic shadow play was way ahead of its time, not just in its graphic content but the use of contemporary local technology as well as improvisation and pure imagination. Says Laxmi Lal: “Whatever its origin in the legend of King Yog Narendra Malla and his queen, Jhyalcha also served as a medium of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/lets-talk-about-it">sex education</a>. In the past, women were discouraged from watching the shadow play, but today everyone is welcome, we all watch it together.” Jhyalcha Pyankha Kwelachhi, Chyasal, Patan 7PM onwards Friday, 5 September

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Corporates responsible to society

Sex and the city of Patan