Sanguine Hope
Biznews item "Bhutan to Import Electrification Equipment from Nepal"
and an article by Er. Gyanendra Lal Pradhan on "Village Development
through Hydropower" (May 2009, Nubiz) are encouraging for the development of hydropower industry in Nepal.
At this time of acute power shortage, it is indeed soothing that Nepali companies have bagged Rs.750 million order from Bhutan Power Corporation (BPC) for electrification equipment. At the same time, Pradhan's PPP model for the development of hydropower projects shows sanguine hope for speeding up hydropower development in Nepal.
Saroj Bhattarai
Nepal SBI Bank, Dharan
Trade Policy
Nubiz Comments "Toying
with Trade Policy" (May
2009) has brought to the fore the fact that policies in Nepal are being drafted haphazardly disregarding the common national goal. It is a reality that the drafted Acts and policies are influenced by the 'ism' of political parties and the interest of the donors and foreign investors. This would certainly restrict the development of the country, be it in trade, agriculture, industry, tourism, hydropower or any other sectors. Our policymakers must be careful while drafting new policies and they should try to make sure that the different political 'isms' don't supersede the overall national interest on which all the political groups must have the same view.
Ujjwal Marahatta
Bharatpur, Chitwan.
Corrigendum
The graphs in the article “The Problem of Non-Performing Loans” under the Sectoral column in Nubiz’s May 2009 issue were inadvertently misplaced. The correct graphs are presented here. The inconvenience caused to the readers is regretted. –Ed
Everest Bank's Way
The news item "Everest bank
to go Hi-tech…" that appeared
in Nubiz May 2009 issue was interesting. Given the fact that this bank had till last year the distinction of having the largest branch network among the private sector banks of the country, its recent new plan for expanding its reach to the rural areas charts a new way for the Nepali banks to expand their reach.
With the growing competition among the banks and other financial intermediaries in the urban areas, expanding to the rural areas is logical. But the profit considerations discourage the banks to do so. The solution lies in using the modern technology as Everest bank is doing.
Still, this method has its own limitations due to the unavailability of telecommunication services in most of the Nepali villages.
In this situation, the government should encourage expansion of 'Postal Saving' bank services in more of the post offices.
Meanwhile, it is also worth noting that in India, a high level task force comprised of representatives from Reserve Bank of India, has recommended to introduce weekly banking Haat. Studying that report may provide the Nepali authorities further ways to expand banking in villages.
Sajjan Basnet
Pokhara
