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			'title' => 'Weekly Round Up (3 - 6 February 2014)',
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			'content' => '<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Tourism Minister hopes EU will remove Nepali Airlines from Blacklist&nbsp;</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation, Ram Kumar Shrestha has expressed hope that the Nepali airlines would soon be removed from European Commission (EC)&rsquo;s blacklist that bans all airlines from Nepal from flying into the 28-nation bloc. He was confident that EU will remove the Nepali carriers from the list of unsafe carriers if the team from the EC, which arrived in Nepal on Feb 3 to conduct an on-site inspection of six airlines, prepares a factual report after thoroughly looking into the air safety measures adopted by them including areas like airworthiness of their aircraft and flight operation. The EC team has started visiting offices of state-owned Nepal Airlines, Buddha Air, Tara Air, Yeti Air, Shree Air and Sita Air from February 3. The team is also visiting the office of Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal to look into areas like flight operation, personal licensing and accident investigation. Minister Shrestha, who was speaking at a programme organised in the capital, also made it clear that EU&rsquo;s decision to put Nepal in the blacklist was not in any way influenced by the government&rsquo;s decision to buy Chinese aircraft.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Pokhara Fair Concludes with Rs 80.5 m Transaction</strong></span></div>
<div>
	The National Industrial Trade Fair that kicked off in Pokhara on January 23 concluded on February 3 with transactions of around Rs 80.5 million. &lsquo;Protection of Investment, Promotion of Business&rsquo; was the theme of the fair organised by Pokhara Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI). According to PCCI General Secretary Narayan Koirala, the fair that ran for 12 days saw over 120,000 visitors. It showcased 270 stalls related to different goods including handicrafts, agro-products, auto mobiles, information technology and garments. The fair was aimed at promoting local products and exploring their market, according to the organizers.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>WB Team Inspects Upper Arun Project Site</strong></span></div>
<div>
	A team from the World Bank (WB) on February 5 visited the project site of the 335MW Upper Arun Hydropower Project located some 10 kilometres away from Nepal-China border in Sankhuwasabha district. The WB team arrived in Nepal after a request from Nepal government to provide funds for the construction of the project. On February 4, officials from the Ministry of Energy (MoE) and Nepal Electricity Authority held talks with the WB team regarding the construction of the project, said Keshab Dhwoj Adhikari, spokesperson for the MoE. According to him, the WB is positive about providing soft loan for the construction of the project. The estimated cost of the project is around USD 450 million.</div>',
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			'description' => 'The National Industrial Trade Fair that kicked off in Pokhara on January 23 concluded on February 3 with transactions of around Rs 80.5 million. ‘Protection of Investment, Promotion of Business’ was the theme of the fair organised by Pokhara Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI).',
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			'id' => '2558',
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			'title' => 'Employee Commitment  & Organizational Performance',
			'sub_title' => '',
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	<strong>--By Amit Sharma</strong></div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Imagine that you are the line manager of a very young guy in your IT department who has been repeatedly complaining of having to work even on holidays. You thought that the introduction of overtime allowance that the company introduced for the last three months will address the issues raised by the IT staff. He, however, has been very hard working. He is always interested to learn the new systems and comes forward to volunteer whenever a new technology is being tested. You consider him a very committed employee until one fine morning he submits his resignation only to tell you that he has joined a competitor who has just brought the same &lsquo;technology&rsquo; your company had been using for the last six months. And, this guy was quite interested to learn this technology and has fairly mastered the new system. After he leaves, you don&rsquo;t have an immediate replacement which will hamper your support service that you are providing to your customer. You had thought this employee was committed!</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Then you have a branch manager at Biratnagar who is considered to be a very good sales staff. He manages a team of 10 people and most of these people are quite productive. However, one thing that really worries the management is the turnover in the branch. When you analyse the exit interview reports, you can clearly see that the branch manager is not a very good team player. His subordinates are quite dissatisfied with his behaviour. When you talk to these employees informally, they point out his weaknesses like he often scolds them in front of the customer even for small mistakes. Strangely, the branch manager used to report positive things about these employees and would come strong when recommending rewards and recognition to his subordinates. You thought his subordinates were very lucky to have a supervisor like him. You try to counsel the branch manager but things wouldn&rsquo;t improve and you cannot let go the branch manager because of his high sales achievement. You had earlier assumed that the loyal staff wouldn&rsquo;t leave your reputed company even if they had some &lsquo;petty&rsquo; issues with their supervisor.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	And, the third employee who has worked with you for last five years at your customer service department has been very vocal about how good she feels about your company. She is very good at handling customers and has been receiving very good ratings in her performance appraisals. However, one thing you don&rsquo;t understand is that her co-workers have been struggling with their performance. Your rational thinking is that the other people would learn from her or even she should be aware of the lower quality of work her team members perform. You once talk to her informally on the issue and seek her advice on what can be done to improve their performance. She, however, doesn&rsquo;t want to be involved in &lsquo;improving&rsquo; their performance. She says that&rsquo;s not her job. You used to think that she was quite committed to the company and would go &lsquo;that extra mile&rsquo; to improve her co-workers. You were wrong.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	So, what is missing in the employees you thought were committed? You realise that some visible aspects of commitment do not bind them with your company. These people were not engaged with your company!</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>From Commitment to Engagement</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Employee commitment has different dimensions. Basically, it has three aspects: Emotional Commitment (Feeling), Cognitive Commitment (Thinking) and Behavioural Commitment (Doing). When we have all three dimensions of the employee commitment, we can say that the employees are engaged with the organisation. Thus, by using the term employee engagement, we will be covering the employee commitment in its holistic form.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	As illustrated in the three staff issues in the beginning, presence of only one dimension doesn&rsquo;t work. As in the first case, employees can be engaged with their job (Job Engagement) but may not be engaged with their organisation (Organisational Engagement). Similarly, some employees may be emotionally committed because of the reputation of the organisation but only emotional commitment does not work.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The third case was that of behavioural commitment. Engaged employees not only give their best productivity, but also &lsquo;go the extra mile&rsquo; to improve the quality of work of their co-workers even if their role doesn&rsquo;t demand such kind of responsibilities. Such employees not only feel and think for the organisation; their action (doing) is towards the betterment of the organisation.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Link between employee engagement and organisational performance</strong></span></div>
<div>
	The general philosophy of employee engagement is that engaged employees contribute more, help in crating positive work environment, stay with the organisation longer and have higher commitment to quality. These &lsquo;traits&rsquo; of engaged employees lead to increased customer satisfaction that ultimately helps in achieving business outcomes.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Several researches show a relationship between employee engagement and financial performance of the organisations. Internationally known consulting frims like Gallup and Aon Hewitt have a long history of measuring employee engagement and its effects in business organisations. Aon Hewitt uses a term called &ldquo;Engage-O-Meter&rdquo; for showing the engagement level and the organisational performance.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	A research carried out by Aon Hewitt covering data from 2008-2010 found that organisations with high levels of engagement (65% or greater) continue to outperform the total stock market index and posted total shareholder returns 22% higher than average in 2010. On the other hand, companies with low engagement (45% or less) had a total shareholder return that was 28% lower than the average. As there was a global recession during that period, the correlation was still valid in times of financial crisis.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Engagement Level in Nepali Organisations</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Though we haven&rsquo;t heard much of such scientific research on employee engagement done in Nepali organisations, some of the organisations conduct annual engagement survey of their employees and the organisational climate surveys. The results of these surveys are only for internal consumption.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Officially, Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) group annually conducts an engagement survey in association with Gallup. Thus, the SCB Nepal, as a part of the group, has been conducting the annual survey. However, one more bank uses the same survey questionnaire but uses its own resources to conduct the survey and analyse the results. Some multinational companies like Coca Cola (Bottlers Nepal) use employee surveys prescribed by their parent company.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<em>(Sharma is the Head of the Human Resource Department of Janata Bank Nepal Ltd. The article is adapted from a paper he presented at the HR Conclave organized by the School of Management, Tribhuvan University on January 10, 2014.)</em></div>',
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			'description' => 'Employee commitment has different dimensions. Basically, it has three aspects: Emotional Commitment (Feeling), Cognitive Commitment (Thinking) and Behavioural Commitment (Doing).',
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			'title' => 'New Accountant',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	A Nepali businessman tells his friend that his company is looking for the new accountant.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	His friend asks, &ldquo;Didn&rsquo;t your company hire a new accountant a few weeks ago?&rdquo;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The businessman replies, &ldquo;That&rsquo;s the accountant we&rsquo;re looking for!&rdquo; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; <strong>&nbsp;-ML</strong></div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>',
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			'modified' => '2014-02-09',
			'keywords' => 'the corporate weekly from Nepal, nepali corporate events – news – interviews – reviews, nepali corporate focus, nepali corporate status and news, news from nepali corporate industry, corporate happenings – events – news from nepal',
			'description' => 'A Nepali businessman tells his friend that his company is looking for the new accountant.',
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			'article_category_id' => '144',
			'title' => 'Manning MAN With Right Men & Women',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	Management Association of Nepal (MAN) is holding its 33rd National Management Convention and Annual General Meeting (AGM) today. The AGM will elect a new executive committee of the Association. The executive committee, in turn, will elect the new office bearers for the next two years. Established some 35 years ago, MAN claims to be the apex body of management professionals in Nepal. The Association also claims to have a strong membership base of over 2000 individuals and 250 institutions from different disciplines and sectors of the Nepali economy and society.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Ideally, almost all MAN members and its top leadership are supposed to be management professionals. However, going by the lists of persons elected in the executive committees of MAN so far, it appears that the Association is by and large dominated by existing and former bureaucrats. The presence of private sector managers in the top leadership of MAN is very low. This is really unfortunate. Going by the very name of the organization, it would be no exaggeration to say that MAN should have been led and moved forward by private sector managers who have proved to be better managers than their public sector counterparts.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Similar organizations in other countries are led by the corporate people or private sector managers. Two examples of such organizations with whom MAN has close links are the American Management Association (AMA) and All India Management Association (AIMA). The management teams or office bearers of Both AMA and AIMA are all representatives of the American and Indian corporate sector, respectively. But this is not the case with MAN.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Bureaucrats are bureaucrats and they remain so as long as they hold their government positions. We are not questioning their capabilities. But the true talent of many bureaucrats is seen only after they are retired; as long as they are serving, they cannot function to the fullest of their capacity as MAN leaders because of various reasons. For example, they cannot criticize the government or raise issues with the government as strongly as private sector managers can. Also, when it comes to management, the Nepali experience has shown that private sector managers are more efficient than the public sector managers or bureaucrats.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Therefore, manning the top management of MAN with the right men and women (read corporate sector managers and leaders) is the first and foremost challenge that MAN faces at present. MAN can never achieve the success or triumph it deserves without addressing this challenge first. In this context, the 33rd AGM of MAN should become a turning point. It should elect as many private sector managers and leaders as possible as its leaders.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	MAN is an organization with immense potential. It can become as strong as organizations like the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) and Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI). But MAN has not been able to become so because of the weak presence of the corporate sector in its leadership. Therefore, the Nepali corporate sector, on its part, should come forward to hold the reins of MAN and steer it to the right direction.</div>',
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			'description' => 'Management Association of Nepal (MAN) is holding its 33rd National Management Convention and Annual General Meeting (AGM) today. The AGM will elect a new executive committee of the Association. The executive committee, in turn, will elect the new office bearers for the next two years. Established some 35 years ago, MAN claims to be the apex body of management professionals in Nepal.',
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			'id' => '2556',
			'article_category_id' => '141',
			'title' => 'Nepal Political News In Brief (3 - 6 February 2014)',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>President&rsquo;s Call for Majority Govt</strong></span></div>
<div>
	<img alt="President Dr Ram Baran Yadav" src="/userfiles/images/7.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px;width: 75px; height: 83px;" />After efforts to install a consensus government failed, President Dr Ram Baran Yadav on February 3 called on the parties represented in the Legislature Parliament to start the process of forming a majority government. In a statement issued by the Office of the President, the President cited Article 38 (2) of Interim Constitution 2063 in support of his announcement.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Unification still Possible with UCPN (M): Baidya</strong></span></div>
<div>
	<img alt="CPN-Maoist Chairman Mohan Baidya" src="/userfiles/images/8.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px;width: 75px; height: 82px;" />CPN-Maoist Chairman Mohan Baidya has said that party unification with the UCPN (Maoist) was still possible provided that the latter amended the political line it took after party&rsquo;s Hetauda General Convention. Speaking at a press conference organised in the Capital to make public the decisions made by the party&rsquo;s politburo meeting, Baidya, however, ruled out the possibility of immediate unification. He reaffirmed his party&rsquo;s stance for an all-side political conference for forging national consensus.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Oli Elected UML&rsquo;s PP Leader</strong></span></div>
<div>
	<img alt=" KP Sharma Oli" src="/userfiles/images/9.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px;width: 75px; height: 80px;" />Senior leader of the CPN-UML, KP Sharma Oli has been elected the party&rsquo;s Parliamentary Party leader. Oli who got 98 votes defeated party Chairman Jhala Nath Khanal who could secure only 75 votes in the election that was held at the second largest party&rsquo;s parliamentary party office in Singha Durbar&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	on February 4.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>PM election on Feb 10</strong></span></div>
<div>
	The House Business Advisory Committee has recommended to Pro-tem Speaker Surya Bahadur Thapa to hold an election to the post of Prime Minister at 11 a.m. on Monday. With this new development, the political parties are expected to step up parleys for power-sharing.&nbsp;</div>',
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			'description' => 'The House Business Advisory Committee has recommended to Pro-tem Speaker Surya Bahadur Thapa to hold an election to the post of Prime Minister at 11 a.m. on Monday. With this new development, the political parties are expected to step up parleys for power-sharing.',
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			'id' => '2552',
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			'title' => 'How New CEO Nadella Will Affect Microsoft Products, Consumers',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Microsoft&rsquo;s decision to name Satya Nadella as its third CEO in 39 years has some tech insiders wondering if the company is quietly moving away from its consumer business and refocusing its attention on corporate clients. Nadella, a 22-year veteran of Microsoft, has been in charge of the tech behemoth&rsquo;s server and cloud computing division, a staid but profitable segment of the company.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Microsoft has struggled with its consumer-based products, spreading itself too thin and falling behind the tech gadget curve, says Yahoo Finance&rsquo;s Jeff Macke.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&ldquo;Microsoft has made a lot of noise about becoming a consumer company,&rdquo; argues Macke in the above video clip. But the company has been &ldquo;trying to be a little bit of all things to all people for too long...it can&rsquo;t satisfy both the enterprise (business) and everyday customer.&rdquo;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Microsoft&rsquo;s business products -- Excel and Office -- are still in high demand with small businesses and Fortune 500 companies. But the company has failed with tablets and smartphones, devices that are deeply popular with consumers. For example, Microsoft sold $893 million worth of its &ldquo;Surface&rdquo; tablets in the holiday quarter -- a blip compared to Apple&rsquo;s $11.5 billion worth of iPads. Consumers purchased about a million Surface tablets last quarter versus Apple&rsquo;s 26 million.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Nadella told employees in a letter Tuesday that the company is &ldquo;headed for greater places&rdquo; and it&rsquo;s their duty to make sure &ldquo;that Microsoft thrives in a mobile and cloud-first world.&rdquo; He continues:</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&ldquo;The opportunity ahead will require us to reimagine a lot of what we have done in the past for a mobile and cloud-first world, and do new things,&rdquo; he writes &ldquo;Our industry does not respect tradition -- it only respects innovation. This is a critical time for the industry and for Microsoft. Make no mistake, we are headed for greater places -- as technology evolves and we evolve with and ahead of it. Our job is to ensure that Microsoft thrives in a mobile and cloud-first world.&rdquo;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Nadella replaces Steve Ballmer, who announced his retirement last August. Ballmer took over as CEO for Microsoft co-founder Bll Gates in 2000. Gates has officially stepped down as chairman of Microsoft&rsquo;s board; he will now advise Nadella on technology-related issues.</div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2014-02-09',
			'modified' => '2014-02-09',
			'keywords' => 'the corporate weekly from Nepal, nepali corporate events – news – interviews – reviews, nepali corporate focus, nepali corporate status and news, news from nepali corporate industry, corporate happenings – events – news from nepal',
			'description' => 'Microsoft’s decision to name Satya Nadella as its third CEO in 39 years has some tech insiders wondering if the company is quietly moving away from its consumer business and refocusing its attention on corporate clients. Nadella, a 22-year veteran of Microsoft, has been in charge of the tech behemoth’s server and cloud computing division, a staid but profitable segment of the company.',
			'sortorder' => '2399',
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	(int) 8 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '2550',
			'article_category_id' => '122',
			'title' => 'Sneha Group: For Hospitality And More',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<strong>--By Gaurav Aryal</strong></div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<table align="right" style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 10px;" width="25">
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>
				<img alt="Bhawani Rana, Chairperson, Sneha Group" src="/userfiles/images/3%20(Copy)(2).jpg" style="border-width: 0px; border-style: solid; width: 200px; height: 203px;" /></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td bgcolor="#FFFFFF">
				<div align="center">
					<div style="text-align: center;">
						<div>
							<div>
								<strong>Bhawani Rana</strong></div>
							<div>
								Chairperson, Sneha Group</div>
						</div>
					</div>
				</div>
			</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>
<div>
	The journey of Sneha Group of Companies began with the Nepalgunj based one star hotel - Sneha Hotel, as a family business of Asit SJB Rana. The hotel later expanded under the leadership of Bhawani Rana, Chairperson of Sneha Group. &nbsp; The hotel that started with 10 rooms has now grown into three star property with 65 rooms.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Rana says that the hotel is now the group&rsquo;s flagship company. Later, new companies in freight business, travel and tourism and agriculture were also named after Sneha as the name turned out to be a lucky charm for the group. The name is used as brand in the group&rsquo;s solo ventures. She reveals that the hotel is being upgraded to four-star category hotel with 75 rooms within a year. Likewise, the group is establishing a resort at Motipur of Bardiya district, near the Bardiya National Park. The resort will offer tourism packages including jungle safari and rafting. &nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The group has another ambitious resort project up its sleeves for Rara National Park as well. Rana says that land acquisition process is undergoing for this project and informed that the group will begin developing the project once the government gives green signal to its proposal. This eco-resort will have no concrete buildings thereby making it a truly eco-friendly resort. Rana says that the group plans to invest Rs 30 to 50 million in the project named as Sneha Eco Resort. The resort will have 20 to 25 rooms only.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Similarly, the group is establishing Sneha Culture and Entertainment in Kathmandu soon that will present various cultural shows for international tourists. . However, Rana did not disclose details of this project. Likewise, the group is also expanding its agro processing and production business that is running under the name Sneha Agro. The group is planning to enter herb processing and expand &nbsp;fisheries and banana farming . At present, the group&rsquo;s banana farm spreads across 15 bighas of Bardiya. According to Rana, the group, as of now has invested Rs 20 million in the agriculture and herbs, Rs 250 million in the hotels and registers around Rs 150 million annual turnover from its various businesses.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The group is interested in developing cable car as medium of public transport in Kathmandu in partnership with other investors. The French expert has undertaken the responsibility to conduct feasibility study of the project. Rana says that the estimated investment has increased to around Rs 25 billion and the viability of the project will be known while the Detailed Project Report (DPR) is prepared.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Focus on Mid and Far West</strong></span></div>
<div>
	The Sneha Group has focused its hospitality and tourism business away from oft-beaten destinations such as Kathmandu, Pokhara and Chitwan. Rana says, &ldquo;There were options for us to establish a project in Kathmandu Valley. But we decided to take the development out of the valley.&rdquo; The group had thought of developing Sanepa Tower Hotel at Sanepa of Lalitpur in a land spread over eight ropanis. However, the group concluded to offer tourists with services in off the beaten routes and destinations. She believes that the new resort project in Rara would open up new possibilities to explore the surrounding areas that have remained virgin as of now. She says that Nepalgunj is developing as a transit point for visiting numerous areas in the region such as Kailash-Mansarovar, Khaptad National Park and Swargadwari. She feels that the lack of promotion of Bardiya national park is holding off the possibility of developing tourism in the area in similar ways as that of Chitwan.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Tourism Specialisation</strong></span></div>
<div>
	It is not only the tourism and hospitality that the group has put its hands into. It was also operating Bardiya Sugar Mill that was closed down during the armed conflict. The group now is making plans to reopen this factory. However, the company&rsquo;s main focus is on the service industry. . Rana says that this decision was made based on her and family&rsquo;s interests. She recalls numerous instances when she was advised to invest in the hydropower sector.&rdquo;But they could not lure me into that,&rdquo; she says. &nbsp;&ldquo;Tourism and service industry is where my interests and experiences are. So, we are expanding in this area and the soon to be established entertainment and cultural centre will be another addition to it.&rdquo;&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Serving the Right Market</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Nepalgunj has become a transit point for visiting numerous tourist destinations in the Mid and Far Western Nepal. Be it domestic destinations like Dolpa, Jumla, Surkhet, Bardiya &nbsp;or &nbsp;few destinations located in Tibet like Kailash and Mansarovar. Nepalgunj is the point from where the journey begins. According to Rana, during the peak seasons, majority of clients residing at Sneha Hotel are the ones hailing from USA and Europe. She says that if tourism infrastructures can be developed and destinations in the region are promoted, the tourism industry can benefit the entire region. Recently, the number of Indian tourist is also significantly increasing, says Rana.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;Apart from pleasure seeking tourists, the major clientele of Sneha Group&rsquo;s hotel is made up of government officials and I/NGO and development workers. . Government and non-government institutions have set Mid and Far-Western region&rsquo;s development as their priority. Consequently, their activities in the region have spiked over the years. Nepalgunj is the base for these institutions where numerous conferences and conventions are organised every month thereby contributing a large chunk of sales and revenue to the hotel business.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Unlike Pokhara and Chitwan, Nepalgunj offers little tourist attraction within the city. So, it has been acting as a one night transit. Rana feels that there are some religiously important places like Bageshwori temple within the city that can be promoted&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	to visitors.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Being one of the oldest hotels in Nepalgunj, Sneha Hotel has remained strong throughout its operation despite the increasing competition. Responding to the changing market scenario, the group plans to rename the hotel as Hotel Sneha: Rana Boutique Hotel. Rana says, &ldquo;The region lacks boutique hotels. Hence this idea.&rdquo;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<table border="0" cellpadding="10" width="99%">
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td bgcolor="#E5E4E2">
				<div>
					<div>
						<div>
							<span style="font-size:16px;"><strong>Turning Point</strong></span></div>
						<div>
							During the decade long conflict, the business of Sneha Group was also affected as Nepalgunj happened to be in the close vicinity of the conflict area. While the sugar mill was closed down, Sneha Hotel was also forced to close for two months. Bhawani Rana, Chairperson of the group recalls those days as terrorising for entrepreneurs in the area. However, her group, with the hope of better situation, did not hesitate in making additional investments. She recalls that most difficult days during the conflict period were when the group had borrowed loan from banks and the conflict immediately escalated to its peak.</div>
						<div>
							&nbsp;</div>
						<div>
							<span style="font-size:16px;"><strong>Managing the Business</strong></span></div>
						<div>
							Rana, who is also Vice President of Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), says she has been able to dedicate very little time to her business, as she has to spend most of her working hours at FNCCI. In her absence, businesspersons in the family and company&rsquo;s managers look after the business. &nbsp;The group has employed 200 people in its hotel, agriculture and travel businesses. Rana says that staff of the group are sincere and hardworking and she recalls the incident where they worked at half their salaries when the hotel remained closed during the conflict period. The group has always treated its employees as family members and &nbsp;motivated them by listening and understanding their problems, by treating them professionally and by providing incentives.</div>
						<div>
							&nbsp;</div>
						<div>
							<span style="font-size:16px;"><strong>CSR</strong></span></div>
						<div>
							The group is carrying out its social responsibilities through an organisation named Saathi Sanstha. The organisation has established a shelter for victims of women trafficking. Women in the shelter are provided with hotel management and other skill oriented trainings. Rana says that the organisation also tries offering them job placements. She shares that 15 women are trained annually by this organization. Similarly, the group also provides scholarships to needy children every year.&nbsp;</div>
					</div>
				</div>
			</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>
<p>
	&nbsp;</p>',
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			'description' => 'Sneha Group of Companies, a business house based in the mid-western region of Nepal, is expanding its business roots into agriculture and tourism industry.',
			'sortorder' => '2398',
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	(int) 9 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '2554',
			'article_category_id' => '140',
			'title' => 'ADB’s USD 50 Mn Loan For Gautam Buddha Airport',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	<strong>--By TC Correspondent</strong></div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The Asian Development Bank has agreed to provide a soft loan of USD 50 million for the upgrading of the Gautam Budhha Airport in Bhairahawa. &ldquo;ADB has already decided to provide the loan assistance. What remains now is the formalization of the decision by the ADB Board,&rdquo; said Madhu Kumar Marasini, chief of the International Economic Cooperation Coordination Division under the Ministry of Finance (MoF). &ldquo;The Bank seems positive to provide an additional loan of USD 30 million later,&rdquo; he informed The Corporate, adding that the upgrading of the airport will be completed by the end of 2018.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Towards the end of the year 2012, ADB had agreed to provide a soft loan of USD 36 million for the project. Back then, it was estimated that a total amount of USD 42 million would be required to complete the upgrading of the airport. However, the project became uncertain after a Korean consultant put the estimated amount at USD 77 million for the project.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The latest estimate has put the total amount at USD 95.05 million, according to Ratish Chandra Lal Suman, director general of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN). &ldquo;CAAN will invest USD 22 million for the upgrading of the airport,&rdquo; he said. CAAN has already announced an international competitive bidding in accordance with ADB&rsquo;s guidelines for the construction of necessary infrastructure at the airport.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	According to CAAN, the upgrading of the airport will be done in two phases &ndash; civil work and installation of electronic devices and other equipment. In the first phase of the upgradation work, a 3000-metre runway, control tower, international terminal building, taxi way, fire brigade building, maintenance building, air cargo building and security posts etc will be constructed. Construction of these necessary infrastructures will begin by mid-2014.</div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2014-02-09',
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			'keywords' => 'the corporate weekly from Nepal, nepali corporate events – news – interviews – reviews, nepali corporate focus, nepali corporate status and news, news from nepali corporate industry, corporate happenings – events – news from nepal',
			'description' => 'The Asian Development Bank has agreed to provide a soft loan of USD 50 million for the upgrading of the Gautam Budhha Airport in Bhairahawa. “ADB has already decided to provide the loan assistance. What remains now is the formalization of the decision by the ADB Board,” said Madhu Kumar Marasini, chief of the International Economic Cooperation Coordination Division under the Ministry of Finance (MoF).',
			'sortorder' => '2397',
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	(int) 10 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '2549',
			'article_category_id' => '91',
			'title' => 'Women A Minority In MAN',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	<strong>--By Eliza Tuladhar</strong></div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<table align="right" style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 10px;" width="25">
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>
				<img alt="Shanti Laxmi Shakya, Treasurer, MAN" src="/userfiles/images/2(4).jpg" style="border-width: 0px; border-style: solid; width: 200px; height: 239px;" /></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td bgcolor="#FFFFFF">
				<div align="center">
					<div style="text-align: center;">
						<div>
							<strong>Shanti Laxmi Shakya</strong></div>
						<div>
							Treasurer, MAN</div>
					</div>
				</div>
			</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>
<div>
	Despite the widespread rhetoric on increasing women&rsquo;s participation in the management sector, the Management Association of Nepal (MAN), the only association of management professionals from various fields in the country lacks such participation. Though 40 per cent of its members are woman, their participation in the association&rsquo;s activities is quite low. &ldquo;The number of women members is increasing gradually but we still need their active participation and representation in the association&rsquo;s activities,&rdquo; said Treasurer of MAN Shanti Laxmi Shakya who has been working as acting director of legal department of Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) since 2045. Shakya is however, in the executive committee for the last 20 years.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	According to her, the number of women members and their participation in the association is still not satisfactory. &ldquo;Women should not remain passive, they should come forward with their views and ideas. If they don&rsquo;t they will be always deprived from every opportunity,&rdquo; said Shakya and further stressed on the need for women to struggle and move ahead. &ldquo;Since its establishment there has been only one female president, Dr. Arzu Rana Deuba,&rdquo; said Shakya.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	In 2002the association started awarding best women managers with the &ldquo;Women Manager Recognition Award.&rdquo;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	So far, nine women have received this award. Meera Bhattarai is the first to receive the &lsquo;Woman Manager Recognition Award&rsquo; in 2002, while she was serving as the executive director of Association for Craft Producers. Later in 2004 Hajuri Bista, managing director of H.K Food Products received the award. Other outstanding women managers to receive this award are Saraswati Shrestha, executive chairman of Women Cooperative Society Limited (2004), Lily Thapa, executive chairman of WHR, Single Women Group (2006), Sangita Nirola, executive director of SWATI (2007), Rama Pokharel Dahal, assistant general manager of Everest Insurance Limited (2009), Barsha Shrestha, general manager of Clean Energy Development Bank (2010), Pramila Rijal, executive chairman of SAARC Chamber Women Entrepreneurs Council (2011) and Indira Maiya Shrestha chief executive officer of Shtrii Shakti (S2)(2012).&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	In 2008 Anuradha Koirala, executive chairperson of Maiti Nepal was presented the &lsquo;Outstanding Management Award&rsquo; of MAN and she is the only women to receive this award so far.</div>',
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			'description' => 'Despite the widespread rhetoric on increasing women’s participation in the management sector, the Management Association of Nepal (MAN), the only association of management professionals from various fields in the country lacks such participation. Though 40 per cent of its members are woman, their participation in the association’s activities is quite low',
			'sortorder' => '2396',
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	(int) 11 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '2553',
			'article_category_id' => '139',
			'title' => 'Nepal And The World News In Brief (7 - 16 February 2014)',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Market Cap of Global Exchanges Hits 10-Year High</strong></span></div>
<div>
	The overall market capitalisation of bourses worldwide crossed $64 trillion last year, the highest level in more than a decade, on the back of improving investor sentiment. Latest data from the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE) show that market valuation of 53 stock exchanges across the globe stood at $64 trillion last year compared to $54.5 trillion in 2012. The level touched in 2013 is also the highest since the 2008 Lehman Brothers crisis that had pushed the global financial system into a tizzy.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Morgan Stanley to pay out $1.25bn&nbsp;</strong></span></div>
<div>
	US banking giant Morgan Stanley has agreed to pay USD 1.25 bn to settle a lawsuit over the sale of mortgage-backed securities. The money will be paid to the US regulator that oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage guarantee firms. US taxpayers had to rescue the two firms in 2008 in a bailout worth $187 bn during the financial crisis.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Panasonic Posts Profit in First Nine Months</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Japanese electronics firm Panasonic Corp posted a net profit for the first nine months of the current fiscal year, the firm said on Tuesday, thanks in part to a weaker yen and restructuring efforts. The company said it had made a profit of &yen;243 billion ($ 2.4 billion) in the period April to December last year. The figure compares to a loss of &yen;623.8 billion for the corresponding period of the previous year.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Investors Flee Emerging Market&nbsp;</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Investors yanked more than $6.3 billion from emerging market equity funds last week, the largest outflow on record in dollar terms. Boston-based fund tracker EPFR Global said the outflow was broad based and the biggest in three years as a percentage of assets under management. Institutional investors accounted for $5 billion of the redemptions.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>US Debt Default by &lsquo;End of Month&rsquo;</strong></span></div>
<div>
	US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew has warned the US may default on its debt by the end of the month if Congress does not raise its borrowing limit. Lew said he could rely on emergency measures to pay US debts after the limit is reinstated on 7 February. But he anticipated the treasury&rsquo;s reserves would quickly be exhausted as it issues annual income tax refunds. The $16.7 tn cap will be reinstated on Friday.</div>',
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			'description' => 'The overall market capitalisation of bourses worldwide crossed $64 trillion last year, the highest level in more than a decade, on the back of improving investor sentiment. Latest data from the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE) show that market valuation of 53 stock exchanges across the globe stood at $64 trillion last year compared to $54.5 trillion in 2012. The level touched in 2013 is also the highest since the 2008 Lehman Brothers crisis that had pushed the global financial system into a tizzy.',
			'sortorder' => '2395',
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	(int) 12 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '2544',
			'article_category_id' => '137',
			'title' => 'Nepal Ranks Better Than India & Pakistan In Environmental Performance',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	<strong>--By TC correspondent</strong></div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Nepal has improved its environmental performance in the past decade, a latest report by the Yale University shows. According to the 2014 Environmental Performance Index (EPI), Nepal witnessed a progress of 4.96 per cent from 2000 to 2012, achieving a rank of 139th out of 178 countries. &nbsp;The country&rsquo;s overall score was 37 with noticeable improvements being marked in agriculture and forest. The index comprises of nine key indicators reflecting the performance of individual countries. The indicators include Health Impact, Air Quality, Water and Sanitation, Water resources, Agriculture, Forests, Fisheries, Biodiversity and Habit and Climate and Energy along with 20 sub-indicators. With a score of 100, Nepal ranked 1st in the world in agriculture subsidy-sub indicator. Similarly, the country also ranked 66th in pesticide regulation with a score of 84. Likewise, Nepal ranked 26th in forests sub-index with score of 63.12.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	However, in terms of air quality, Nepal performed poorly (ranked at 177), according to the report. Over the past decade, Nepal saw its air quality dropping by 42.75 per cent with all three sub-indicators showing degradation due to rising air pollution. The country&rsquo;s sub-indicator for household air quality declined 18.18 per cent whereas, average exposure to PM 2.5 air particulate decreased 33.5 per cent and PM 2.5 exceedance changed by 100 per cent over the past decade.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	In South Asia region, Sri Lanka is the highest ranking country (69), followed by Bhutan (103), Nepal (139), Pakistan (148), India (155) and Bangladesh (169). Afghanistan is the worst performer in the region (174). India ranked much lower than its emerging economies peers like Brazil (77), Russia (73) and South Africa at 72nd position. Meanwhile, China ranked 118th in the index. Switzerland topped the ranking followed by Luxembourg, Australia, Singapore, and Czech Republic. Among countries with the largest economies, Germany ranked the highest in the sixth spot followed by the United Kingdom in 12th, Canada 24th, Japan 26th, France 27th, and the United States in 33rd. &nbsp;In the 2014 EPI, Somalia was the poorest performer (178) accompanied by Mali (177), Haiti (176), Lesotho (175).&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The EPI report urged policymakers across the world to introduce and implement effective policies to protect the global environment. &ldquo;The EPI documents the tangible benefits that arise when policymakers pursue strong environmental performance and the damage that manifests when they do not,&rdquo; it said. The authors of the report hoped 2014 EPI results would initiate meaningful conversation among countries to understand how they perform on a range of high-priority environmental issues. First published in 2002, EPI was developed from the Pilot Environmental Performance Index, and designed to supplement the environmental targets set forth in the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). &nbsp;</div>',
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			'description' => 'Nepal has improved its environmental performance in the past decade, a latest report by the Yale University shows. According to the 2014 Environmental Performance Index (EPI), Nepal witnessed a progress of 4.96 per cent from 2000 to 2012, achieving a rank of 139th out of 178 countries.  The country’s overall score was 37 with noticeable improvements being marked in agriculture and forest.',
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	(int) 13 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '2504',
			'article_category_id' => '134',
			'title' => '“DANIDA Is Striving To Improve An Enabling Environment For The Business Sector”',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:16px;">Nepal became a priority country for Denmark in 1989 and a long-term partnership was established. Through this partnership, Denmark aims to contribute to poverty reduction, political stability and to strengthen inclusive economic growth and access to renewable energy. In an interview with The Corporate&rsquo;s <strong>Gaurav Aryal</strong> and <strong>Sanjeev Sharma</strong>, the Ambassador of Denmark to Nepal, <strong>Kirsten Geelan</strong>, talked about DANIDA&rsquo;s projects in Nepal. She also talked about Danish development policy paper for Nepal for the years 2013-2017. <strong>Excerpts:</strong></span></div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>It has been 45 years since Denmark-Nepal bilateral relationship has been established. How do you evaluate this friendly relationship?</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Denmark and Nepal have been in a mutually beneficial and cordial bilateral relation for almost half a century. The Danish engagement in Nepal over these years has developed and matured considerably. We now increasingly work with Nepali national partners. We see much higher degree of national ownership and involvement in our development activities and considerable improvement of national skills and competences when compared to the early days of our collaboration.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Denmark has a quite a few successful examples of Business to Business (B2B) Cooperation like Carlsberg. How do you think such partnerships can be enhanced in the days to come?</strong></span></div>
<div>
	We hope that the match making event between Danish and Nepali businesses scheduled for March, will assist in finding new ways of increasing business collaboration between Danish companies and Nepali partners. We have identified six sectors as potential ones, namely agriculture, tourism, handicraft, IT, waste management and health. The idea of the business partnership is to create jobs, strengthen competitiveness and promote corporate social responsibility in developing countries. The initiative aims for that sort of overarching objectives while providing Danish companies with new markets and opportunities to save costs, hire human resources at cheap salaries and provide access to raw materials. We have seen some success stories in Nepal. Wehave a very well known Danish fruit and juice producing company teaming up with a Nepali company in Bhaktapur to produce organic juice and ice cream.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>How do you view the progress of DANIDA projects in Nepal?</strong></span></div>
<div>
	There are no shortcuts or blueprint solutions to long-term sustainable development. Nevertheless, there are some lessons learnt. We have seen thatprojects and programmes developed through long-term partnership, even in a preparatory phase, is an important prerequisite for long term and sustainable outcome. Working with national partners and having their involvement throughout projects is another important aspect for national ownership.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	We are not an implementing agency. We work with local co-partners in order to strengthen capacity of local partners and local government institutions to pave the way for sustainable development. We have done so in the past and will continue it in the future. We work very closely with the local government,which is an important partner in the development of Nepal.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Another lesson learned is on monitoring and resource management system, where we have developed considerably in our approach. We need to focus on constant monitoring of output, activities and impact, not just on the list of activities. Development has moved from a very simple straightforward project to big complicated phenomenon, covering numerous sectors and programmes. Another important lesson is we have to be working not only with national partners but also with other donors. We are constantly looking at the possibilities of basket funding, strengthening equal operation with other bilateral and international donors.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Private sector&rsquo;s role in the development programmes has tremendously increased over the years. How is DANIDA recognising this role in its new 2013-2017 programme?</strong></span></div>
<div>
	In this new inclusive growth programme, we will be focusing on developing agriculture with priorities in three key sectors namely tea, ginger and dairy in seven districts of eastern Nepal. We will increase value added chain, enhance infrastructure and work closely with district authorities in improving the enabling environment for the&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	business sector.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Some of the important programmes of DANIDA such as Education Programme, Human Rights and Good Governance Programme and Peace Support Programme concluded in 2013. How do you assess the achievements of these programmes?</strong></span></div>
<div>
	We have been working in the education sector in Nepal closely with the government for 20 years. Over these years, we have seen impressive gains in the education sector. We are very pleased to be part of that development. We have seen literacy rate rising from very low to significantly high. More importantly, we have seen an increase in female literacy rate and enrolment of girls in school. It is fair to say that with our assistance, Nepal has moved from fragmented and limited education sector to much more comprehensive and coordinated approach. So, that is some achievement we are very proud to be part of.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	In terms of human rights and governance, we have been very active key player in peace building process. We have supported Nepal Peace Trust, UN Peace Fund and have been instrumental in the successful integration of Maoist combatants into the Nepali Army. We have established a long-term partnership with Election Commission. We were very supportive to the recent elections. We have also worked very closely with the National Human Rights Commission and supported their important task in handling various complaints of human rights abuses. We have worked and will continue to work with civil society organisation particularly with regards to human rights. We have seen improvement in gender rights and situation of marginalised groups, particularly Dalits.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>DANIDA had been supporting the Government School Sector Reform Program (SSRP). However, some of the targets of this programme are yet to be met and thus, it is extended for another two years. Why did DANIDA decide to stop supporting the education sector?</strong></span></div>
<div>
	We have two priorities in our development assistance programmes: human rights and inclusive and green growth. That is in one of the reasons why the decision was taken in Copenhagen not to continue our engagement in education sector. Having said that let&rsquo;s not forget Denmark as EU member country is continuing to support education sector in Nepal through the activities of EU.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	We have been criticized for shifting our engagement in Nepal from the education sector but it is important to remind ourselves that this is a decision that has been taken in Copenhagen by the Ministry for Development Cooperation. It was a slight policy shift when we had a new government in Denmark, a couple of years ago.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>DANIDA has shifted its focus to renewal energy sector in Nepal. What is the progress so far?&nbsp;</strong></span></div>
<div>
	More than a million households have been benefitted from our efforts to accelerate access to renewable energy technologies in Nepal. We have worked for quite a number of years since late 1990s in Nepal&rsquo;s energy sector. We have delivered concrete results with our long-term partners, Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment and Alternative Energy Promotion Centre. We have seen improved technologies in terms of improved cooking stoves, solar systems and small hydropower plants changing the lives of millions of people. We also hope to be able to do so in our new inclusive growth programme to create even stronger synergy with renewable energy programme in tapping the experiences gained already.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>DANIDA in its policy paper for 2013-2017 has prioritised poverty reduction through support on green and inclusive economic growth. How easy or difficult you find meeting this target as green economic growth is still a challenge for developed countries?</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Apart from the renewable energy programme, we will be embarking on a new inclusive growth programme. It is a programme that will run over five years and has a huge budget of 400 million Danish Kroner. Green growth is a challenge for all countries. In a country like Nepal, challenge is to reconcile the country&rsquo;s need for rapid growth and poverty alleviation while avoiding damage to the environment. This is where we see the new programme making a difference to local communities. It is not a very big programme. The approach is to support local programme that is implemented by local districts and with specific poverty alleviation dimension. Over the years, the programme will be able to support the value added chain in conjunction with supply and finance and improved infrastructure.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
	<span style="font-size:16px;"><strong>Trade/Investment</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Nepal&rsquo;s exports to Denmark include handicrafts, silver products, ready-made garments, woolen goods, paper and paper products, etc. and major imports are machinery and parts, medicine and medical equipment, industrial raw materials, food and edible items, etc. from Denmark. The following figure shows that Nepal&rsquo;s balance of trade with Denmark is negative, except for the year 2012:</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<img alt="TRADE / INVESTMENT" src="/userfiles/images/inter%20(Copy)(1).jpg" style="width: 550px; height: 155px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px;" /></div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<div>
		Under Danish investment, a total of 21 joint ventures were established until July 2012 which had an FDI of Rs. 198 million and created 969 jobs.</div>
	<div style="text-align: right;">
		(Source: Ministry of Finance, Nepal)</div>
</div>
<p>
	&nbsp;</p>',
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			'description' => 'Nepal became a priority country for Denmark in 1989 and a long-term partnership was established. Through this partnership, Denmark aims to contribute to poverty reduction, political stability and to strengthen inclusive economic growth and access to renewable energy. In an interview with The Corporate’s Gaurav Aryal and Sanjeev Sharma, the Ambassador of Denmark to Nepal, Kirsten Geelan, talked about DANIDA’s projects in Nepal.',
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			'article_category_id' => '153',
			'title' => 'Generators: A Biz Thriving Under Loadshedding',
			'sub_title' => '',
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			'content' => '<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<strong>--By Madan Lamichhane</strong></div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The increase in load shedding hours and dip in temperature have created double whammy for generators market. In the past years, non-branded generators with low capacity were high on demand. But, now, people are inclined towards branded generators. Thus, the demand for branded generators is increasing day by day.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The generator market is on rise mainly because of the rise in the loadshedding hours. Prior to loadshedding, generators were used for backup only. But, due to current energy crisis, generators are being used as an alternative source of energy. The present Nepali market consists of four kinds of generators that run on deisel, petrol, gas and kerosene.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:16px;"><strong>Branded Vs Non-Branded generators</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Previously, customers prefered non-branded generators due to its low cost. However, in the recent days, people are aware about the quality of the generators which is one of the main reason for the increasing demand for generators. According to Vishal Gadia, Executive Director of Morang Auto Works Engineering Pvt Ltd., increasing awareness among people about the &nbsp;lifespan of the generators, fuel consumption, servicing and facilities of branded generators has caused a decline in the sales of non-branded generators. However, the share of low capacity generators in the Nepali market in the non-branded segment is also significant. &nbsp;Gadia estimates the market share of the non-branded generators with a capacity between one to &nbsp;20 KVA to be around fifty per cent. However, in comparison to the fast few years, the use of such generators has been decreasing, he adds.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&ldquo;Even though branded generators require huge amount of investment, because of its quality it is highly demanded,&rdquo; says Nirmal Bogati, Director of Subha Kamal Global Business Hub Pvt Ltd.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	In the recent years, generators have become compulsion in housing, departmental stores, offices and factories. Due to its increasing demand, there are varieties of generators available in the market from various brands of different capacities. However, in the past three years, the market of generator has remained stable because of its long lifespan. &ldquo;Generators are equipments that need not be bought time and again and thus the market is stable,&rdquo; says Bogati.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The market consists of different sized generators, ranging from portable generators to big heavy generators. &ldquo;Generators of different sizes are brought in the market depending on the customer&rsquo;s demand,&rdquo; says Bandhan Karki, Manager of Syakar Company Ltd. &nbsp;Syakar Company recently launched portable Honda generators. &ldquo;Such portable generators are useful for trekkers,&rdquo; adds Karki.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The increasing load shedding hours and the restriction on imports of inverters by the government has compelled the consumers to be dependent on generators. The Ministry of Energy had restricted imports of inverters in 2066 with the aim of decreasing loadshedding in Nepal.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Loadshedding directly affects the sales of low capacity generators. According to Gadia, the sale of generators with a capacity of 20 KVA is increasing because of long hours of loadshedding. If the loadshedding hours were less, &nbsp;consumers would have used lower capacity generators. This could decrease the sales of generators below 20 KVA capacity.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:16px;"><strong>Market Competition</strong></span></div>
<div>
	&ldquo;The generators with 1 to 20 KVA capacity make up 75 per cent of the market share&rdquo;, says Gadia. In comparsion to big generators, small ones are demanded more because of their relatively low price. The market competition is based on the features of the generators. As such, the competition between companies is based on fuel consumption, operation cost, customer service, availability of spare parts and price of the generators. Consumers&rsquo; awareness about low quality generators has created competition based on service, incentives and quality. This has led to the downfall of the non-branded generators as consumers are being aware about their pitfalls.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:16px;"><strong>Brands sold in Nepal</strong></span></div>
<div>
	There are one hundred generator distributors in Kathmandu alone. Some of the recognized generators in Nepal are- Honda, Yamaha, Kirloskar, Kohler, SDS and Greaves. 80 per cent of the branded generators are used in Kathmandu, Pokhara and Narayanghat while the remaining 20 per cent is used in other cities. &nbsp;As there is no basis to expect reduction in loadhshedding hours for the next 5 years, energy experts have said that generators are the best alternative to meet the energy crisis.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:16px;"><strong>Types of generator engines</strong></span></div>
<div>
	There are basically two types of generators available in the market-water cooled engines and air cooled engines. Many entrepreneurs believe that water cooled generators are more effective in comparison to air cooled ones. Water cooled are relatively cheaper and have a longer life span.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	In the recent times, the generators that are assembled in Nepal are gaining popularity. But, entrepreneurs suggest consumers to opt for branded generators because these come with warranty and other facilities. Similarly, the engines of branded generators are covered. These generators are safe to use and are sound proof. In India, generators lacking &lsquo;sound proof&rsquo; facility are banned.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<img alt="Generators" src="/userfiles/images/fc1%20(Copy)(5).jpg" style="width: 550px; height: 166px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px;" /></div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:16px;"><strong>Generators everywhere</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Though branded generators require huge amount of investment, customers&rsquo; preference for them &nbsp;have made them dominent in the market. Likewise, entrepreneurs believe that some of the latest Chinese generators available in the market are also good in terms of quality. Due to lack of domestic production of generators, many entrepreneurs have established themselves as authorized distributors of foreign branded generators.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:16px;"><strong>Problems</strong></span></div>
<div>
	For the imports of small generators of 10 KVA capacity, 25 per cent custom duty has to be paid. But, for importing generators with more capacity, only 1 per cent custom duty has to be paid. This is creating a big problem for the entrepreneurs. Because of the increasing loadshedding hours generators are demanded in every sector now . So, the government has to reduce custom in small generators because they are high in demand. If done so many people can afford generators.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:16px;"><strong>Things to be considered</strong></span></div>
<div>
	After every hundred hours of use, generators must be given for servicing. Generators, being a matter of one time investment, have to be used carefully. Generators have to be kept safely and out of reach of children. Similarly, their engine oil has to be checked time and again.</div>',
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			'content' => '<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Tourism Minister hopes EU will remove Nepali Airlines from Blacklist&nbsp;</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation, Ram Kumar Shrestha has expressed hope that the Nepali airlines would soon be removed from European Commission (EC)&rsquo;s blacklist that bans all airlines from Nepal from flying into the 28-nation bloc. He was confident that EU will remove the Nepali carriers from the list of unsafe carriers if the team from the EC, which arrived in Nepal on Feb 3 to conduct an on-site inspection of six airlines, prepares a factual report after thoroughly looking into the air safety measures adopted by them including areas like airworthiness of their aircraft and flight operation. The EC team has started visiting offices of state-owned Nepal Airlines, Buddha Air, Tara Air, Yeti Air, Shree Air and Sita Air from February 3. The team is also visiting the office of Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal to look into areas like flight operation, personal licensing and accident investigation. Minister Shrestha, who was speaking at a programme organised in the capital, also made it clear that EU&rsquo;s decision to put Nepal in the blacklist was not in any way influenced by the government&rsquo;s decision to buy Chinese aircraft.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Pokhara Fair Concludes with Rs 80.5 m Transaction</strong></span></div>
<div>
	The National Industrial Trade Fair that kicked off in Pokhara on January 23 concluded on February 3 with transactions of around Rs 80.5 million. &lsquo;Protection of Investment, Promotion of Business&rsquo; was the theme of the fair organised by Pokhara Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI). According to PCCI General Secretary Narayan Koirala, the fair that ran for 12 days saw over 120,000 visitors. It showcased 270 stalls related to different goods including handicrafts, agro-products, auto mobiles, information technology and garments. The fair was aimed at promoting local products and exploring their market, according to the organizers.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>WB Team Inspects Upper Arun Project Site</strong></span></div>
<div>
	A team from the World Bank (WB) on February 5 visited the project site of the 335MW Upper Arun Hydropower Project located some 10 kilometres away from Nepal-China border in Sankhuwasabha district. The WB team arrived in Nepal after a request from Nepal government to provide funds for the construction of the project. On February 4, officials from the Ministry of Energy (MoE) and Nepal Electricity Authority held talks with the WB team regarding the construction of the project, said Keshab Dhwoj Adhikari, spokesperson for the MoE. According to him, the WB is positive about providing soft loan for the construction of the project. The estimated cost of the project is around USD 450 million.</div>',
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	<strong>--By Amit Sharma</strong></div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Imagine that you are the line manager of a very young guy in your IT department who has been repeatedly complaining of having to work even on holidays. You thought that the introduction of overtime allowance that the company introduced for the last three months will address the issues raised by the IT staff. He, however, has been very hard working. He is always interested to learn the new systems and comes forward to volunteer whenever a new technology is being tested. You consider him a very committed employee until one fine morning he submits his resignation only to tell you that he has joined a competitor who has just brought the same &lsquo;technology&rsquo; your company had been using for the last six months. And, this guy was quite interested to learn this technology and has fairly mastered the new system. After he leaves, you don&rsquo;t have an immediate replacement which will hamper your support service that you are providing to your customer. You had thought this employee was committed!</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Then you have a branch manager at Biratnagar who is considered to be a very good sales staff. He manages a team of 10 people and most of these people are quite productive. However, one thing that really worries the management is the turnover in the branch. When you analyse the exit interview reports, you can clearly see that the branch manager is not a very good team player. His subordinates are quite dissatisfied with his behaviour. When you talk to these employees informally, they point out his weaknesses like he often scolds them in front of the customer even for small mistakes. Strangely, the branch manager used to report positive things about these employees and would come strong when recommending rewards and recognition to his subordinates. You thought his subordinates were very lucky to have a supervisor like him. You try to counsel the branch manager but things wouldn&rsquo;t improve and you cannot let go the branch manager because of his high sales achievement. You had earlier assumed that the loyal staff wouldn&rsquo;t leave your reputed company even if they had some &lsquo;petty&rsquo; issues with their supervisor.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	And, the third employee who has worked with you for last five years at your customer service department has been very vocal about how good she feels about your company. She is very good at handling customers and has been receiving very good ratings in her performance appraisals. However, one thing you don&rsquo;t understand is that her co-workers have been struggling with their performance. Your rational thinking is that the other people would learn from her or even she should be aware of the lower quality of work her team members perform. You once talk to her informally on the issue and seek her advice on what can be done to improve their performance. She, however, doesn&rsquo;t want to be involved in &lsquo;improving&rsquo; their performance. She says that&rsquo;s not her job. You used to think that she was quite committed to the company and would go &lsquo;that extra mile&rsquo; to improve her co-workers. You were wrong.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	So, what is missing in the employees you thought were committed? You realise that some visible aspects of commitment do not bind them with your company. These people were not engaged with your company!</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>From Commitment to Engagement</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Employee commitment has different dimensions. Basically, it has three aspects: Emotional Commitment (Feeling), Cognitive Commitment (Thinking) and Behavioural Commitment (Doing). When we have all three dimensions of the employee commitment, we can say that the employees are engaged with the organisation. Thus, by using the term employee engagement, we will be covering the employee commitment in its holistic form.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	As illustrated in the three staff issues in the beginning, presence of only one dimension doesn&rsquo;t work. As in the first case, employees can be engaged with their job (Job Engagement) but may not be engaged with their organisation (Organisational Engagement). Similarly, some employees may be emotionally committed because of the reputation of the organisation but only emotional commitment does not work.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The third case was that of behavioural commitment. Engaged employees not only give their best productivity, but also &lsquo;go the extra mile&rsquo; to improve the quality of work of their co-workers even if their role doesn&rsquo;t demand such kind of responsibilities. Such employees not only feel and think for the organisation; their action (doing) is towards the betterment of the organisation.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Link between employee engagement and organisational performance</strong></span></div>
<div>
	The general philosophy of employee engagement is that engaged employees contribute more, help in crating positive work environment, stay with the organisation longer and have higher commitment to quality. These &lsquo;traits&rsquo; of engaged employees lead to increased customer satisfaction that ultimately helps in achieving business outcomes.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Several researches show a relationship between employee engagement and financial performance of the organisations. Internationally known consulting frims like Gallup and Aon Hewitt have a long history of measuring employee engagement and its effects in business organisations. Aon Hewitt uses a term called &ldquo;Engage-O-Meter&rdquo; for showing the engagement level and the organisational performance.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	A research carried out by Aon Hewitt covering data from 2008-2010 found that organisations with high levels of engagement (65% or greater) continue to outperform the total stock market index and posted total shareholder returns 22% higher than average in 2010. On the other hand, companies with low engagement (45% or less) had a total shareholder return that was 28% lower than the average. As there was a global recession during that period, the correlation was still valid in times of financial crisis.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Engagement Level in Nepali Organisations</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Though we haven&rsquo;t heard much of such scientific research on employee engagement done in Nepali organisations, some of the organisations conduct annual engagement survey of their employees and the organisational climate surveys. The results of these surveys are only for internal consumption.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Officially, Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) group annually conducts an engagement survey in association with Gallup. Thus, the SCB Nepal, as a part of the group, has been conducting the annual survey. However, one more bank uses the same survey questionnaire but uses its own resources to conduct the survey and analyse the results. Some multinational companies like Coca Cola (Bottlers Nepal) use employee surveys prescribed by their parent company.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<em>(Sharma is the Head of the Human Resource Department of Janata Bank Nepal Ltd. The article is adapted from a paper he presented at the HR Conclave organized by the School of Management, Tribhuvan University on January 10, 2014.)</em></div>',
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			'description' => 'Employee commitment has different dimensions. Basically, it has three aspects: Emotional Commitment (Feeling), Cognitive Commitment (Thinking) and Behavioural Commitment (Doing).',
			'sortorder' => '2403',
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '2559',
			'article_category_id' => '86',
			'title' => 'New Accountant',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	A Nepali businessman tells his friend that his company is looking for the new accountant.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	His friend asks, &ldquo;Didn&rsquo;t your company hire a new accountant a few weeks ago?&rdquo;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The businessman replies, &ldquo;That&rsquo;s the accountant we&rsquo;re looking for!&rdquo; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; <strong>&nbsp;-ML</strong></div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>',
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			'created' => '2014-02-09',
			'modified' => '2014-02-09',
			'keywords' => 'the corporate weekly from Nepal, nepali corporate events – news – interviews – reviews, nepali corporate focus, nepali corporate status and news, news from nepali corporate industry, corporate happenings – events – news from nepal',
			'description' => 'A Nepali businessman tells his friend that his company is looking for the new accountant.',
			'sortorder' => '2402',
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	(int) 5 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '2557',
			'article_category_id' => '144',
			'title' => 'Manning MAN With Right Men & Women',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	Management Association of Nepal (MAN) is holding its 33rd National Management Convention and Annual General Meeting (AGM) today. The AGM will elect a new executive committee of the Association. The executive committee, in turn, will elect the new office bearers for the next two years. Established some 35 years ago, MAN claims to be the apex body of management professionals in Nepal. The Association also claims to have a strong membership base of over 2000 individuals and 250 institutions from different disciplines and sectors of the Nepali economy and society.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Ideally, almost all MAN members and its top leadership are supposed to be management professionals. However, going by the lists of persons elected in the executive committees of MAN so far, it appears that the Association is by and large dominated by existing and former bureaucrats. The presence of private sector managers in the top leadership of MAN is very low. This is really unfortunate. Going by the very name of the organization, it would be no exaggeration to say that MAN should have been led and moved forward by private sector managers who have proved to be better managers than their public sector counterparts.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Similar organizations in other countries are led by the corporate people or private sector managers. Two examples of such organizations with whom MAN has close links are the American Management Association (AMA) and All India Management Association (AIMA). The management teams or office bearers of Both AMA and AIMA are all representatives of the American and Indian corporate sector, respectively. But this is not the case with MAN.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Bureaucrats are bureaucrats and they remain so as long as they hold their government positions. We are not questioning their capabilities. But the true talent of many bureaucrats is seen only after they are retired; as long as they are serving, they cannot function to the fullest of their capacity as MAN leaders because of various reasons. For example, they cannot criticize the government or raise issues with the government as strongly as private sector managers can. Also, when it comes to management, the Nepali experience has shown that private sector managers are more efficient than the public sector managers or bureaucrats.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Therefore, manning the top management of MAN with the right men and women (read corporate sector managers and leaders) is the first and foremost challenge that MAN faces at present. MAN can never achieve the success or triumph it deserves without addressing this challenge first. In this context, the 33rd AGM of MAN should become a turning point. It should elect as many private sector managers and leaders as possible as its leaders.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	MAN is an organization with immense potential. It can become as strong as organizations like the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) and Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI). But MAN has not been able to become so because of the weak presence of the corporate sector in its leadership. Therefore, the Nepali corporate sector, on its part, should come forward to hold the reins of MAN and steer it to the right direction.</div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2014-02-09',
			'modified' => '2014-02-10',
			'keywords' => 'the corporate weekly from Nepal, nepali corporate events – news – interviews – reviews, nepali corporate focus, nepali corporate status and news, news from nepali corporate industry, corporate happenings – events – news from nepal',
			'description' => 'Management Association of Nepal (MAN) is holding its 33rd National Management Convention and Annual General Meeting (AGM) today. The AGM will elect a new executive committee of the Association. The executive committee, in turn, will elect the new office bearers for the next two years. Established some 35 years ago, MAN claims to be the apex body of management professionals in Nepal.',
			'sortorder' => '2401',
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	(int) 6 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '2556',
			'article_category_id' => '141',
			'title' => 'Nepal Political News In Brief (3 - 6 February 2014)',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>President&rsquo;s Call for Majority Govt</strong></span></div>
<div>
	<img alt="President Dr Ram Baran Yadav" src="/userfiles/images/7.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px;width: 75px; height: 83px;" />After efforts to install a consensus government failed, President Dr Ram Baran Yadav on February 3 called on the parties represented in the Legislature Parliament to start the process of forming a majority government. In a statement issued by the Office of the President, the President cited Article 38 (2) of Interim Constitution 2063 in support of his announcement.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Unification still Possible with UCPN (M): Baidya</strong></span></div>
<div>
	<img alt="CPN-Maoist Chairman Mohan Baidya" src="/userfiles/images/8.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px;width: 75px; height: 82px;" />CPN-Maoist Chairman Mohan Baidya has said that party unification with the UCPN (Maoist) was still possible provided that the latter amended the political line it took after party&rsquo;s Hetauda General Convention. Speaking at a press conference organised in the Capital to make public the decisions made by the party&rsquo;s politburo meeting, Baidya, however, ruled out the possibility of immediate unification. He reaffirmed his party&rsquo;s stance for an all-side political conference for forging national consensus.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Oli Elected UML&rsquo;s PP Leader</strong></span></div>
<div>
	<img alt=" KP Sharma Oli" src="/userfiles/images/9.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px;width: 75px; height: 80px;" />Senior leader of the CPN-UML, KP Sharma Oli has been elected the party&rsquo;s Parliamentary Party leader. Oli who got 98 votes defeated party Chairman Jhala Nath Khanal who could secure only 75 votes in the election that was held at the second largest party&rsquo;s parliamentary party office in Singha Durbar&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	on February 4.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>PM election on Feb 10</strong></span></div>
<div>
	The House Business Advisory Committee has recommended to Pro-tem Speaker Surya Bahadur Thapa to hold an election to the post of Prime Minister at 11 a.m. on Monday. With this new development, the political parties are expected to step up parleys for power-sharing.&nbsp;</div>',
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			'description' => 'The House Business Advisory Committee has recommended to Pro-tem Speaker Surya Bahadur Thapa to hold an election to the post of Prime Minister at 11 a.m. on Monday. With this new development, the political parties are expected to step up parleys for power-sharing.',
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '2552',
			'article_category_id' => '138',
			'title' => 'How New CEO Nadella Will Affect Microsoft Products, Consumers',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Microsoft&rsquo;s decision to name Satya Nadella as its third CEO in 39 years has some tech insiders wondering if the company is quietly moving away from its consumer business and refocusing its attention on corporate clients. Nadella, a 22-year veteran of Microsoft, has been in charge of the tech behemoth&rsquo;s server and cloud computing division, a staid but profitable segment of the company.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Microsoft has struggled with its consumer-based products, spreading itself too thin and falling behind the tech gadget curve, says Yahoo Finance&rsquo;s Jeff Macke.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&ldquo;Microsoft has made a lot of noise about becoming a consumer company,&rdquo; argues Macke in the above video clip. But the company has been &ldquo;trying to be a little bit of all things to all people for too long...it can&rsquo;t satisfy both the enterprise (business) and everyday customer.&rdquo;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Microsoft&rsquo;s business products -- Excel and Office -- are still in high demand with small businesses and Fortune 500 companies. But the company has failed with tablets and smartphones, devices that are deeply popular with consumers. For example, Microsoft sold $893 million worth of its &ldquo;Surface&rdquo; tablets in the holiday quarter -- a blip compared to Apple&rsquo;s $11.5 billion worth of iPads. Consumers purchased about a million Surface tablets last quarter versus Apple&rsquo;s 26 million.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Nadella told employees in a letter Tuesday that the company is &ldquo;headed for greater places&rdquo; and it&rsquo;s their duty to make sure &ldquo;that Microsoft thrives in a mobile and cloud-first world.&rdquo; He continues:</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&ldquo;The opportunity ahead will require us to reimagine a lot of what we have done in the past for a mobile and cloud-first world, and do new things,&rdquo; he writes &ldquo;Our industry does not respect tradition -- it only respects innovation. This is a critical time for the industry and for Microsoft. Make no mistake, we are headed for greater places -- as technology evolves and we evolve with and ahead of it. Our job is to ensure that Microsoft thrives in a mobile and cloud-first world.&rdquo;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Nadella replaces Steve Ballmer, who announced his retirement last August. Ballmer took over as CEO for Microsoft co-founder Bll Gates in 2000. Gates has officially stepped down as chairman of Microsoft&rsquo;s board; he will now advise Nadella on technology-related issues.</div>',
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			'description' => 'Microsoft’s decision to name Satya Nadella as its third CEO in 39 years has some tech insiders wondering if the company is quietly moving away from its consumer business and refocusing its attention on corporate clients. Nadella, a 22-year veteran of Microsoft, has been in charge of the tech behemoth’s server and cloud computing division, a staid but profitable segment of the company.',
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	(int) 8 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '2550',
			'article_category_id' => '122',
			'title' => 'Sneha Group: For Hospitality And More',
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			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<strong>--By Gaurav Aryal</strong></div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<table align="right" style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 10px;" width="25">
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>
				<img alt="Bhawani Rana, Chairperson, Sneha Group" src="/userfiles/images/3%20(Copy)(2).jpg" style="border-width: 0px; border-style: solid; width: 200px; height: 203px;" /></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td bgcolor="#FFFFFF">
				<div align="center">
					<div style="text-align: center;">
						<div>
							<div>
								<strong>Bhawani Rana</strong></div>
							<div>
								Chairperson, Sneha Group</div>
						</div>
					</div>
				</div>
			</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>
<div>
	The journey of Sneha Group of Companies began with the Nepalgunj based one star hotel - Sneha Hotel, as a family business of Asit SJB Rana. The hotel later expanded under the leadership of Bhawani Rana, Chairperson of Sneha Group. &nbsp; The hotel that started with 10 rooms has now grown into three star property with 65 rooms.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Rana says that the hotel is now the group&rsquo;s flagship company. Later, new companies in freight business, travel and tourism and agriculture were also named after Sneha as the name turned out to be a lucky charm for the group. The name is used as brand in the group&rsquo;s solo ventures. She reveals that the hotel is being upgraded to four-star category hotel with 75 rooms within a year. Likewise, the group is establishing a resort at Motipur of Bardiya district, near the Bardiya National Park. The resort will offer tourism packages including jungle safari and rafting. &nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The group has another ambitious resort project up its sleeves for Rara National Park as well. Rana says that land acquisition process is undergoing for this project and informed that the group will begin developing the project once the government gives green signal to its proposal. This eco-resort will have no concrete buildings thereby making it a truly eco-friendly resort. Rana says that the group plans to invest Rs 30 to 50 million in the project named as Sneha Eco Resort. The resort will have 20 to 25 rooms only.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Similarly, the group is establishing Sneha Culture and Entertainment in Kathmandu soon that will present various cultural shows for international tourists. . However, Rana did not disclose details of this project. Likewise, the group is also expanding its agro processing and production business that is running under the name Sneha Agro. The group is planning to enter herb processing and expand &nbsp;fisheries and banana farming . At present, the group&rsquo;s banana farm spreads across 15 bighas of Bardiya. According to Rana, the group, as of now has invested Rs 20 million in the agriculture and herbs, Rs 250 million in the hotels and registers around Rs 150 million annual turnover from its various businesses.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The group is interested in developing cable car as medium of public transport in Kathmandu in partnership with other investors. The French expert has undertaken the responsibility to conduct feasibility study of the project. Rana says that the estimated investment has increased to around Rs 25 billion and the viability of the project will be known while the Detailed Project Report (DPR) is prepared.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Focus on Mid and Far West</strong></span></div>
<div>
	The Sneha Group has focused its hospitality and tourism business away from oft-beaten destinations such as Kathmandu, Pokhara and Chitwan. Rana says, &ldquo;There were options for us to establish a project in Kathmandu Valley. But we decided to take the development out of the valley.&rdquo; The group had thought of developing Sanepa Tower Hotel at Sanepa of Lalitpur in a land spread over eight ropanis. However, the group concluded to offer tourists with services in off the beaten routes and destinations. She believes that the new resort project in Rara would open up new possibilities to explore the surrounding areas that have remained virgin as of now. She says that Nepalgunj is developing as a transit point for visiting numerous areas in the region such as Kailash-Mansarovar, Khaptad National Park and Swargadwari. She feels that the lack of promotion of Bardiya national park is holding off the possibility of developing tourism in the area in similar ways as that of Chitwan.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Tourism Specialisation</strong></span></div>
<div>
	It is not only the tourism and hospitality that the group has put its hands into. It was also operating Bardiya Sugar Mill that was closed down during the armed conflict. The group now is making plans to reopen this factory. However, the company&rsquo;s main focus is on the service industry. . Rana says that this decision was made based on her and family&rsquo;s interests. She recalls numerous instances when she was advised to invest in the hydropower sector.&rdquo;But they could not lure me into that,&rdquo; she says. &nbsp;&ldquo;Tourism and service industry is where my interests and experiences are. So, we are expanding in this area and the soon to be established entertainment and cultural centre will be another addition to it.&rdquo;&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Serving the Right Market</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Nepalgunj has become a transit point for visiting numerous tourist destinations in the Mid and Far Western Nepal. Be it domestic destinations like Dolpa, Jumla, Surkhet, Bardiya &nbsp;or &nbsp;few destinations located in Tibet like Kailash and Mansarovar. Nepalgunj is the point from where the journey begins. According to Rana, during the peak seasons, majority of clients residing at Sneha Hotel are the ones hailing from USA and Europe. She says that if tourism infrastructures can be developed and destinations in the region are promoted, the tourism industry can benefit the entire region. Recently, the number of Indian tourist is also significantly increasing, says Rana.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;Apart from pleasure seeking tourists, the major clientele of Sneha Group&rsquo;s hotel is made up of government officials and I/NGO and development workers. . Government and non-government institutions have set Mid and Far-Western region&rsquo;s development as their priority. Consequently, their activities in the region have spiked over the years. Nepalgunj is the base for these institutions where numerous conferences and conventions are organised every month thereby contributing a large chunk of sales and revenue to the hotel business.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Unlike Pokhara and Chitwan, Nepalgunj offers little tourist attraction within the city. So, it has been acting as a one night transit. Rana feels that there are some religiously important places like Bageshwori temple within the city that can be promoted&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	to visitors.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Being one of the oldest hotels in Nepalgunj, Sneha Hotel has remained strong throughout its operation despite the increasing competition. Responding to the changing market scenario, the group plans to rename the hotel as Hotel Sneha: Rana Boutique Hotel. Rana says, &ldquo;The region lacks boutique hotels. Hence this idea.&rdquo;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<table border="0" cellpadding="10" width="99%">
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td bgcolor="#E5E4E2">
				<div>
					<div>
						<div>
							<span style="font-size:16px;"><strong>Turning Point</strong></span></div>
						<div>
							During the decade long conflict, the business of Sneha Group was also affected as Nepalgunj happened to be in the close vicinity of the conflict area. While the sugar mill was closed down, Sneha Hotel was also forced to close for two months. Bhawani Rana, Chairperson of the group recalls those days as terrorising for entrepreneurs in the area. However, her group, with the hope of better situation, did not hesitate in making additional investments. She recalls that most difficult days during the conflict period were when the group had borrowed loan from banks and the conflict immediately escalated to its peak.</div>
						<div>
							&nbsp;</div>
						<div>
							<span style="font-size:16px;"><strong>Managing the Business</strong></span></div>
						<div>
							Rana, who is also Vice President of Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), says she has been able to dedicate very little time to her business, as she has to spend most of her working hours at FNCCI. In her absence, businesspersons in the family and company&rsquo;s managers look after the business. &nbsp;The group has employed 200 people in its hotel, agriculture and travel businesses. Rana says that staff of the group are sincere and hardworking and she recalls the incident where they worked at half their salaries when the hotel remained closed during the conflict period. The group has always treated its employees as family members and &nbsp;motivated them by listening and understanding their problems, by treating them professionally and by providing incentives.</div>
						<div>
							&nbsp;</div>
						<div>
							<span style="font-size:16px;"><strong>CSR</strong></span></div>
						<div>
							The group is carrying out its social responsibilities through an organisation named Saathi Sanstha. The organisation has established a shelter for victims of women trafficking. Women in the shelter are provided with hotel management and other skill oriented trainings. Rana says that the organisation also tries offering them job placements. She shares that 15 women are trained annually by this organization. Similarly, the group also provides scholarships to needy children every year.&nbsp;</div>
					</div>
				</div>
			</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>
<p>
	&nbsp;</p>',
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			'description' => 'Sneha Group of Companies, a business house based in the mid-western region of Nepal, is expanding its business roots into agriculture and tourism industry.',
			'sortorder' => '2398',
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	(int) 9 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '2554',
			'article_category_id' => '140',
			'title' => 'ADB’s USD 50 Mn Loan For Gautam Buddha Airport',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	<strong>--By TC Correspondent</strong></div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The Asian Development Bank has agreed to provide a soft loan of USD 50 million for the upgrading of the Gautam Budhha Airport in Bhairahawa. &ldquo;ADB has already decided to provide the loan assistance. What remains now is the formalization of the decision by the ADB Board,&rdquo; said Madhu Kumar Marasini, chief of the International Economic Cooperation Coordination Division under the Ministry of Finance (MoF). &ldquo;The Bank seems positive to provide an additional loan of USD 30 million later,&rdquo; he informed The Corporate, adding that the upgrading of the airport will be completed by the end of 2018.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Towards the end of the year 2012, ADB had agreed to provide a soft loan of USD 36 million for the project. Back then, it was estimated that a total amount of USD 42 million would be required to complete the upgrading of the airport. However, the project became uncertain after a Korean consultant put the estimated amount at USD 77 million for the project.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The latest estimate has put the total amount at USD 95.05 million, according to Ratish Chandra Lal Suman, director general of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN). &ldquo;CAAN will invest USD 22 million for the upgrading of the airport,&rdquo; he said. CAAN has already announced an international competitive bidding in accordance with ADB&rsquo;s guidelines for the construction of necessary infrastructure at the airport.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	According to CAAN, the upgrading of the airport will be done in two phases &ndash; civil work and installation of electronic devices and other equipment. In the first phase of the upgradation work, a 3000-metre runway, control tower, international terminal building, taxi way, fire brigade building, maintenance building, air cargo building and security posts etc will be constructed. Construction of these necessary infrastructures will begin by mid-2014.</div>',
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			'description' => 'The Asian Development Bank has agreed to provide a soft loan of USD 50 million for the upgrading of the Gautam Budhha Airport in Bhairahawa. “ADB has already decided to provide the loan assistance. What remains now is the formalization of the decision by the ADB Board,” said Madhu Kumar Marasini, chief of the International Economic Cooperation Coordination Division under the Ministry of Finance (MoF).',
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	(int) 10 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '2549',
			'article_category_id' => '91',
			'title' => 'Women A Minority In MAN',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	<strong>--By Eliza Tuladhar</strong></div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<table align="right" style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 10px;" width="25">
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>
				<img alt="Shanti Laxmi Shakya, Treasurer, MAN" src="/userfiles/images/2(4).jpg" style="border-width: 0px; border-style: solid; width: 200px; height: 239px;" /></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td bgcolor="#FFFFFF">
				<div align="center">
					<div style="text-align: center;">
						<div>
							<strong>Shanti Laxmi Shakya</strong></div>
						<div>
							Treasurer, MAN</div>
					</div>
				</div>
			</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>
<div>
	Despite the widespread rhetoric on increasing women&rsquo;s participation in the management sector, the Management Association of Nepal (MAN), the only association of management professionals from various fields in the country lacks such participation. Though 40 per cent of its members are woman, their participation in the association&rsquo;s activities is quite low. &ldquo;The number of women members is increasing gradually but we still need their active participation and representation in the association&rsquo;s activities,&rdquo; said Treasurer of MAN Shanti Laxmi Shakya who has been working as acting director of legal department of Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) since 2045. Shakya is however, in the executive committee for the last 20 years.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	According to her, the number of women members and their participation in the association is still not satisfactory. &ldquo;Women should not remain passive, they should come forward with their views and ideas. If they don&rsquo;t they will be always deprived from every opportunity,&rdquo; said Shakya and further stressed on the need for women to struggle and move ahead. &ldquo;Since its establishment there has been only one female president, Dr. Arzu Rana Deuba,&rdquo; said Shakya.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	In 2002the association started awarding best women managers with the &ldquo;Women Manager Recognition Award.&rdquo;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	So far, nine women have received this award. Meera Bhattarai is the first to receive the &lsquo;Woman Manager Recognition Award&rsquo; in 2002, while she was serving as the executive director of Association for Craft Producers. Later in 2004 Hajuri Bista, managing director of H.K Food Products received the award. Other outstanding women managers to receive this award are Saraswati Shrestha, executive chairman of Women Cooperative Society Limited (2004), Lily Thapa, executive chairman of WHR, Single Women Group (2006), Sangita Nirola, executive director of SWATI (2007), Rama Pokharel Dahal, assistant general manager of Everest Insurance Limited (2009), Barsha Shrestha, general manager of Clean Energy Development Bank (2010), Pramila Rijal, executive chairman of SAARC Chamber Women Entrepreneurs Council (2011) and Indira Maiya Shrestha chief executive officer of Shtrii Shakti (S2)(2012).&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	In 2008 Anuradha Koirala, executive chairperson of Maiti Nepal was presented the &lsquo;Outstanding Management Award&rsquo; of MAN and she is the only women to receive this award so far.</div>',
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			'description' => 'Despite the widespread rhetoric on increasing women’s participation in the management sector, the Management Association of Nepal (MAN), the only association of management professionals from various fields in the country lacks such participation. Though 40 per cent of its members are woman, their participation in the association’s activities is quite low',
			'sortorder' => '2396',
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	(int) 11 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '2553',
			'article_category_id' => '139',
			'title' => 'Nepal And The World News In Brief (7 - 16 February 2014)',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Market Cap of Global Exchanges Hits 10-Year High</strong></span></div>
<div>
	The overall market capitalisation of bourses worldwide crossed $64 trillion last year, the highest level in more than a decade, on the back of improving investor sentiment. Latest data from the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE) show that market valuation of 53 stock exchanges across the globe stood at $64 trillion last year compared to $54.5 trillion in 2012. The level touched in 2013 is also the highest since the 2008 Lehman Brothers crisis that had pushed the global financial system into a tizzy.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Morgan Stanley to pay out $1.25bn&nbsp;</strong></span></div>
<div>
	US banking giant Morgan Stanley has agreed to pay USD 1.25 bn to settle a lawsuit over the sale of mortgage-backed securities. The money will be paid to the US regulator that oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage guarantee firms. US taxpayers had to rescue the two firms in 2008 in a bailout worth $187 bn during the financial crisis.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Panasonic Posts Profit in First Nine Months</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Japanese electronics firm Panasonic Corp posted a net profit for the first nine months of the current fiscal year, the firm said on Tuesday, thanks in part to a weaker yen and restructuring efforts. The company said it had made a profit of &yen;243 billion ($ 2.4 billion) in the period April to December last year. The figure compares to a loss of &yen;623.8 billion for the corresponding period of the previous year.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Investors Flee Emerging Market&nbsp;</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Investors yanked more than $6.3 billion from emerging market equity funds last week, the largest outflow on record in dollar terms. Boston-based fund tracker EPFR Global said the outflow was broad based and the biggest in three years as a percentage of assets under management. Institutional investors accounted for $5 billion of the redemptions.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>US Debt Default by &lsquo;End of Month&rsquo;</strong></span></div>
<div>
	US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew has warned the US may default on its debt by the end of the month if Congress does not raise its borrowing limit. Lew said he could rely on emergency measures to pay US debts after the limit is reinstated on 7 February. But he anticipated the treasury&rsquo;s reserves would quickly be exhausted as it issues annual income tax refunds. The $16.7 tn cap will be reinstated on Friday.</div>',
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			'description' => 'The overall market capitalisation of bourses worldwide crossed $64 trillion last year, the highest level in more than a decade, on the back of improving investor sentiment. Latest data from the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE) show that market valuation of 53 stock exchanges across the globe stood at $64 trillion last year compared to $54.5 trillion in 2012. The level touched in 2013 is also the highest since the 2008 Lehman Brothers crisis that had pushed the global financial system into a tizzy.',
			'sortorder' => '2395',
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	(int) 12 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '2544',
			'article_category_id' => '137',
			'title' => 'Nepal Ranks Better Than India & Pakistan In Environmental Performance',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	<strong>--By TC correspondent</strong></div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Nepal has improved its environmental performance in the past decade, a latest report by the Yale University shows. According to the 2014 Environmental Performance Index (EPI), Nepal witnessed a progress of 4.96 per cent from 2000 to 2012, achieving a rank of 139th out of 178 countries. &nbsp;The country&rsquo;s overall score was 37 with noticeable improvements being marked in agriculture and forest. The index comprises of nine key indicators reflecting the performance of individual countries. The indicators include Health Impact, Air Quality, Water and Sanitation, Water resources, Agriculture, Forests, Fisheries, Biodiversity and Habit and Climate and Energy along with 20 sub-indicators. With a score of 100, Nepal ranked 1st in the world in agriculture subsidy-sub indicator. Similarly, the country also ranked 66th in pesticide regulation with a score of 84. Likewise, Nepal ranked 26th in forests sub-index with score of 63.12.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	However, in terms of air quality, Nepal performed poorly (ranked at 177), according to the report. Over the past decade, Nepal saw its air quality dropping by 42.75 per cent with all three sub-indicators showing degradation due to rising air pollution. The country&rsquo;s sub-indicator for household air quality declined 18.18 per cent whereas, average exposure to PM 2.5 air particulate decreased 33.5 per cent and PM 2.5 exceedance changed by 100 per cent over the past decade.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	In South Asia region, Sri Lanka is the highest ranking country (69), followed by Bhutan (103), Nepal (139), Pakistan (148), India (155) and Bangladesh (169). Afghanistan is the worst performer in the region (174). India ranked much lower than its emerging economies peers like Brazil (77), Russia (73) and South Africa at 72nd position. Meanwhile, China ranked 118th in the index. Switzerland topped the ranking followed by Luxembourg, Australia, Singapore, and Czech Republic. Among countries with the largest economies, Germany ranked the highest in the sixth spot followed by the United Kingdom in 12th, Canada 24th, Japan 26th, France 27th, and the United States in 33rd. &nbsp;In the 2014 EPI, Somalia was the poorest performer (178) accompanied by Mali (177), Haiti (176), Lesotho (175).&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The EPI report urged policymakers across the world to introduce and implement effective policies to protect the global environment. &ldquo;The EPI documents the tangible benefits that arise when policymakers pursue strong environmental performance and the damage that manifests when they do not,&rdquo; it said. The authors of the report hoped 2014 EPI results would initiate meaningful conversation among countries to understand how they perform on a range of high-priority environmental issues. First published in 2002, EPI was developed from the Pilot Environmental Performance Index, and designed to supplement the environmental targets set forth in the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). &nbsp;</div>',
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			'description' => 'Nepal has improved its environmental performance in the past decade, a latest report by the Yale University shows. According to the 2014 Environmental Performance Index (EPI), Nepal witnessed a progress of 4.96 per cent from 2000 to 2012, achieving a rank of 139th out of 178 countries.  The country’s overall score was 37 with noticeable improvements being marked in agriculture and forest.',
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	(int) 13 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '2504',
			'article_category_id' => '134',
			'title' => '“DANIDA Is Striving To Improve An Enabling Environment For The Business Sector”',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:16px;">Nepal became a priority country for Denmark in 1989 and a long-term partnership was established. Through this partnership, Denmark aims to contribute to poverty reduction, political stability and to strengthen inclusive economic growth and access to renewable energy. In an interview with The Corporate&rsquo;s <strong>Gaurav Aryal</strong> and <strong>Sanjeev Sharma</strong>, the Ambassador of Denmark to Nepal, <strong>Kirsten Geelan</strong>, talked about DANIDA&rsquo;s projects in Nepal. She also talked about Danish development policy paper for Nepal for the years 2013-2017. <strong>Excerpts:</strong></span></div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>It has been 45 years since Denmark-Nepal bilateral relationship has been established. How do you evaluate this friendly relationship?</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Denmark and Nepal have been in a mutually beneficial and cordial bilateral relation for almost half a century. The Danish engagement in Nepal over these years has developed and matured considerably. We now increasingly work with Nepali national partners. We see much higher degree of national ownership and involvement in our development activities and considerable improvement of national skills and competences when compared to the early days of our collaboration.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Denmark has a quite a few successful examples of Business to Business (B2B) Cooperation like Carlsberg. How do you think such partnerships can be enhanced in the days to come?</strong></span></div>
<div>
	We hope that the match making event between Danish and Nepali businesses scheduled for March, will assist in finding new ways of increasing business collaboration between Danish companies and Nepali partners. We have identified six sectors as potential ones, namely agriculture, tourism, handicraft, IT, waste management and health. The idea of the business partnership is to create jobs, strengthen competitiveness and promote corporate social responsibility in developing countries. The initiative aims for that sort of overarching objectives while providing Danish companies with new markets and opportunities to save costs, hire human resources at cheap salaries and provide access to raw materials. We have seen some success stories in Nepal. Wehave a very well known Danish fruit and juice producing company teaming up with a Nepali company in Bhaktapur to produce organic juice and ice cream.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>How do you view the progress of DANIDA projects in Nepal?</strong></span></div>
<div>
	There are no shortcuts or blueprint solutions to long-term sustainable development. Nevertheless, there are some lessons learnt. We have seen thatprojects and programmes developed through long-term partnership, even in a preparatory phase, is an important prerequisite for long term and sustainable outcome. Working with national partners and having their involvement throughout projects is another important aspect for national ownership.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	We are not an implementing agency. We work with local co-partners in order to strengthen capacity of local partners and local government institutions to pave the way for sustainable development. We have done so in the past and will continue it in the future. We work very closely with the local government,which is an important partner in the development of Nepal.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Another lesson learned is on monitoring and resource management system, where we have developed considerably in our approach. We need to focus on constant monitoring of output, activities and impact, not just on the list of activities. Development has moved from a very simple straightforward project to big complicated phenomenon, covering numerous sectors and programmes. Another important lesson is we have to be working not only with national partners but also with other donors. We are constantly looking at the possibilities of basket funding, strengthening equal operation with other bilateral and international donors.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Private sector&rsquo;s role in the development programmes has tremendously increased over the years. How is DANIDA recognising this role in its new 2013-2017 programme?</strong></span></div>
<div>
	In this new inclusive growth programme, we will be focusing on developing agriculture with priorities in three key sectors namely tea, ginger and dairy in seven districts of eastern Nepal. We will increase value added chain, enhance infrastructure and work closely with district authorities in improving the enabling environment for the&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	business sector.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Some of the important programmes of DANIDA such as Education Programme, Human Rights and Good Governance Programme and Peace Support Programme concluded in 2013. How do you assess the achievements of these programmes?</strong></span></div>
<div>
	We have been working in the education sector in Nepal closely with the government for 20 years. Over these years, we have seen impressive gains in the education sector. We are very pleased to be part of that development. We have seen literacy rate rising from very low to significantly high. More importantly, we have seen an increase in female literacy rate and enrolment of girls in school. It is fair to say that with our assistance, Nepal has moved from fragmented and limited education sector to much more comprehensive and coordinated approach. So, that is some achievement we are very proud to be part of.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	In terms of human rights and governance, we have been very active key player in peace building process. We have supported Nepal Peace Trust, UN Peace Fund and have been instrumental in the successful integration of Maoist combatants into the Nepali Army. We have established a long-term partnership with Election Commission. We were very supportive to the recent elections. We have also worked very closely with the National Human Rights Commission and supported their important task in handling various complaints of human rights abuses. We have worked and will continue to work with civil society organisation particularly with regards to human rights. We have seen improvement in gender rights and situation of marginalised groups, particularly Dalits.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>DANIDA had been supporting the Government School Sector Reform Program (SSRP). However, some of the targets of this programme are yet to be met and thus, it is extended for another two years. Why did DANIDA decide to stop supporting the education sector?</strong></span></div>
<div>
	We have two priorities in our development assistance programmes: human rights and inclusive and green growth. That is in one of the reasons why the decision was taken in Copenhagen not to continue our engagement in education sector. Having said that let&rsquo;s not forget Denmark as EU member country is continuing to support education sector in Nepal through the activities of EU.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	We have been criticized for shifting our engagement in Nepal from the education sector but it is important to remind ourselves that this is a decision that has been taken in Copenhagen by the Ministry for Development Cooperation. It was a slight policy shift when we had a new government in Denmark, a couple of years ago.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>DANIDA has shifted its focus to renewal energy sector in Nepal. What is the progress so far?&nbsp;</strong></span></div>
<div>
	More than a million households have been benefitted from our efforts to accelerate access to renewable energy technologies in Nepal. We have worked for quite a number of years since late 1990s in Nepal&rsquo;s energy sector. We have delivered concrete results with our long-term partners, Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment and Alternative Energy Promotion Centre. We have seen improved technologies in terms of improved cooking stoves, solar systems and small hydropower plants changing the lives of millions of people. We also hope to be able to do so in our new inclusive growth programme to create even stronger synergy with renewable energy programme in tapping the experiences gained already.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>DANIDA in its policy paper for 2013-2017 has prioritised poverty reduction through support on green and inclusive economic growth. How easy or difficult you find meeting this target as green economic growth is still a challenge for developed countries?</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Apart from the renewable energy programme, we will be embarking on a new inclusive growth programme. It is a programme that will run over five years and has a huge budget of 400 million Danish Kroner. Green growth is a challenge for all countries. In a country like Nepal, challenge is to reconcile the country&rsquo;s need for rapid growth and poverty alleviation while avoiding damage to the environment. This is where we see the new programme making a difference to local communities. It is not a very big programme. The approach is to support local programme that is implemented by local districts and with specific poverty alleviation dimension. Over the years, the programme will be able to support the value added chain in conjunction with supply and finance and improved infrastructure.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
	<span style="font-size:16px;"><strong>Trade/Investment</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Nepal&rsquo;s exports to Denmark include handicrafts, silver products, ready-made garments, woolen goods, paper and paper products, etc. and major imports are machinery and parts, medicine and medical equipment, industrial raw materials, food and edible items, etc. from Denmark. The following figure shows that Nepal&rsquo;s balance of trade with Denmark is negative, except for the year 2012:</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<img alt="TRADE / INVESTMENT" src="/userfiles/images/inter%20(Copy)(1).jpg" style="width: 550px; height: 155px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px;" /></div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<div>
		Under Danish investment, a total of 21 joint ventures were established until July 2012 which had an FDI of Rs. 198 million and created 969 jobs.</div>
	<div style="text-align: right;">
		(Source: Ministry of Finance, Nepal)</div>
</div>
<p>
	&nbsp;</p>',
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			'description' => 'Nepal became a priority country for Denmark in 1989 and a long-term partnership was established. Through this partnership, Denmark aims to contribute to poverty reduction, political stability and to strengthen inclusive economic growth and access to renewable energy. In an interview with The Corporate’s Gaurav Aryal and Sanjeev Sharma, the Ambassador of Denmark to Nepal, Kirsten Geelan, talked about DANIDA’s projects in Nepal.',
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			'article_category_id' => '153',
			'title' => 'Generators: A Biz Thriving Under Loadshedding',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<strong>--By Madan Lamichhane</strong></div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The increase in load shedding hours and dip in temperature have created double whammy for generators market. In the past years, non-branded generators with low capacity were high on demand. But, now, people are inclined towards branded generators. Thus, the demand for branded generators is increasing day by day.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The generator market is on rise mainly because of the rise in the loadshedding hours. Prior to loadshedding, generators were used for backup only. But, due to current energy crisis, generators are being used as an alternative source of energy. The present Nepali market consists of four kinds of generators that run on deisel, petrol, gas and kerosene.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:16px;"><strong>Branded Vs Non-Branded generators</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Previously, customers prefered non-branded generators due to its low cost. However, in the recent days, people are aware about the quality of the generators which is one of the main reason for the increasing demand for generators. According to Vishal Gadia, Executive Director of Morang Auto Works Engineering Pvt Ltd., increasing awareness among people about the &nbsp;lifespan of the generators, fuel consumption, servicing and facilities of branded generators has caused a decline in the sales of non-branded generators. However, the share of low capacity generators in the Nepali market in the non-branded segment is also significant. &nbsp;Gadia estimates the market share of the non-branded generators with a capacity between one to &nbsp;20 KVA to be around fifty per cent. However, in comparison to the fast few years, the use of such generators has been decreasing, he adds.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&ldquo;Even though branded generators require huge amount of investment, because of its quality it is highly demanded,&rdquo; says Nirmal Bogati, Director of Subha Kamal Global Business Hub Pvt Ltd.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	In the recent years, generators have become compulsion in housing, departmental stores, offices and factories. Due to its increasing demand, there are varieties of generators available in the market from various brands of different capacities. However, in the past three years, the market of generator has remained stable because of its long lifespan. &ldquo;Generators are equipments that need not be bought time and again and thus the market is stable,&rdquo; says Bogati.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The market consists of different sized generators, ranging from portable generators to big heavy generators. &ldquo;Generators of different sizes are brought in the market depending on the customer&rsquo;s demand,&rdquo; says Bandhan Karki, Manager of Syakar Company Ltd. &nbsp;Syakar Company recently launched portable Honda generators. &ldquo;Such portable generators are useful for trekkers,&rdquo; adds Karki.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The increasing load shedding hours and the restriction on imports of inverters by the government has compelled the consumers to be dependent on generators. The Ministry of Energy had restricted imports of inverters in 2066 with the aim of decreasing loadshedding in Nepal.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Loadshedding directly affects the sales of low capacity generators. According to Gadia, the sale of generators with a capacity of 20 KVA is increasing because of long hours of loadshedding. If the loadshedding hours were less, &nbsp;consumers would have used lower capacity generators. This could decrease the sales of generators below 20 KVA capacity.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:16px;"><strong>Market Competition</strong></span></div>
<div>
	&ldquo;The generators with 1 to 20 KVA capacity make up 75 per cent of the market share&rdquo;, says Gadia. In comparsion to big generators, small ones are demanded more because of their relatively low price. The market competition is based on the features of the generators. As such, the competition between companies is based on fuel consumption, operation cost, customer service, availability of spare parts and price of the generators. Consumers&rsquo; awareness about low quality generators has created competition based on service, incentives and quality. This has led to the downfall of the non-branded generators as consumers are being aware about their pitfalls.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:16px;"><strong>Brands sold in Nepal</strong></span></div>
<div>
	There are one hundred generator distributors in Kathmandu alone. Some of the recognized generators in Nepal are- Honda, Yamaha, Kirloskar, Kohler, SDS and Greaves. 80 per cent of the branded generators are used in Kathmandu, Pokhara and Narayanghat while the remaining 20 per cent is used in other cities. &nbsp;As there is no basis to expect reduction in loadhshedding hours for the next 5 years, energy experts have said that generators are the best alternative to meet the energy crisis.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:16px;"><strong>Types of generator engines</strong></span></div>
<div>
	There are basically two types of generators available in the market-water cooled engines and air cooled engines. Many entrepreneurs believe that water cooled generators are more effective in comparison to air cooled ones. Water cooled are relatively cheaper and have a longer life span.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	In the recent times, the generators that are assembled in Nepal are gaining popularity. But, entrepreneurs suggest consumers to opt for branded generators because these come with warranty and other facilities. Similarly, the engines of branded generators are covered. These generators are safe to use and are sound proof. In India, generators lacking &lsquo;sound proof&rsquo; facility are banned.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<img alt="Generators" src="/userfiles/images/fc1%20(Copy)(5).jpg" style="width: 550px; height: 166px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px;" /></div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:16px;"><strong>Generators everywhere</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Though branded generators require huge amount of investment, customers&rsquo; preference for them &nbsp;have made them dominent in the market. Likewise, entrepreneurs believe that some of the latest Chinese generators available in the market are also good in terms of quality. Due to lack of domestic production of generators, many entrepreneurs have established themselves as authorized distributors of foreign branded generators.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:16px;"><strong>Problems</strong></span></div>
<div>
	For the imports of small generators of 10 KVA capacity, 25 per cent custom duty has to be paid. But, for importing generators with more capacity, only 1 per cent custom duty has to be paid. This is creating a big problem for the entrepreneurs. Because of the increasing loadshedding hours generators are demanded in every sector now . So, the government has to reduce custom in small generators because they are high in demand. If done so many people can afford generators.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:16px;"><strong>Things to be considered</strong></span></div>
<div>
	After every hundred hours of use, generators must be given for servicing. Generators, being a matter of one time investment, have to be used carefully. Generators have to be kept safely and out of reach of children. Similarly, their engine oil has to be checked time and again.</div>',
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			'title' => 'Visual Edit Vol 4 Issue 6',
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			'content' => '<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Tourism Minister hopes EU will remove Nepali Airlines from Blacklist&nbsp;</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation, Ram Kumar Shrestha has expressed hope that the Nepali airlines would soon be removed from European Commission (EC)&rsquo;s blacklist that bans all airlines from Nepal from flying into the 28-nation bloc. He was confident that EU will remove the Nepali carriers from the list of unsafe carriers if the team from the EC, which arrived in Nepal on Feb 3 to conduct an on-site inspection of six airlines, prepares a factual report after thoroughly looking into the air safety measures adopted by them including areas like airworthiness of their aircraft and flight operation. The EC team has started visiting offices of state-owned Nepal Airlines, Buddha Air, Tara Air, Yeti Air, Shree Air and Sita Air from February 3. The team is also visiting the office of Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal to look into areas like flight operation, personal licensing and accident investigation. Minister Shrestha, who was speaking at a programme organised in the capital, also made it clear that EU&rsquo;s decision to put Nepal in the blacklist was not in any way influenced by the government&rsquo;s decision to buy Chinese aircraft.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Pokhara Fair Concludes with Rs 80.5 m Transaction</strong></span></div>
<div>
	The National Industrial Trade Fair that kicked off in Pokhara on January 23 concluded on February 3 with transactions of around Rs 80.5 million. &lsquo;Protection of Investment, Promotion of Business&rsquo; was the theme of the fair organised by Pokhara Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI). According to PCCI General Secretary Narayan Koirala, the fair that ran for 12 days saw over 120,000 visitors. It showcased 270 stalls related to different goods including handicrafts, agro-products, auto mobiles, information technology and garments. The fair was aimed at promoting local products and exploring their market, according to the organizers.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>WB Team Inspects Upper Arun Project Site</strong></span></div>
<div>
	A team from the World Bank (WB) on February 5 visited the project site of the 335MW Upper Arun Hydropower Project located some 10 kilometres away from Nepal-China border in Sankhuwasabha district. The WB team arrived in Nepal after a request from Nepal government to provide funds for the construction of the project. On February 4, officials from the Ministry of Energy (MoE) and Nepal Electricity Authority held talks with the WB team regarding the construction of the project, said Keshab Dhwoj Adhikari, spokesperson for the MoE. According to him, the WB is positive about providing soft loan for the construction of the project. The estimated cost of the project is around USD 450 million.</div>',
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			'description' => 'The National Industrial Trade Fair that kicked off in Pokhara on January 23 concluded on February 3 with transactions of around Rs 80.5 million. ‘Protection of Investment, Promotion of Business’ was the theme of the fair organised by Pokhara Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI).',
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			'title' => 'Employee Commitment  & Organizational Performance',
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			'content' => '<div>
	<strong>--By Amit Sharma</strong></div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Imagine that you are the line manager of a very young guy in your IT department who has been repeatedly complaining of having to work even on holidays. You thought that the introduction of overtime allowance that the company introduced for the last three months will address the issues raised by the IT staff. He, however, has been very hard working. He is always interested to learn the new systems and comes forward to volunteer whenever a new technology is being tested. You consider him a very committed employee until one fine morning he submits his resignation only to tell you that he has joined a competitor who has just brought the same &lsquo;technology&rsquo; your company had been using for the last six months. And, this guy was quite interested to learn this technology and has fairly mastered the new system. After he leaves, you don&rsquo;t have an immediate replacement which will hamper your support service that you are providing to your customer. You had thought this employee was committed!</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Then you have a branch manager at Biratnagar who is considered to be a very good sales staff. He manages a team of 10 people and most of these people are quite productive. However, one thing that really worries the management is the turnover in the branch. When you analyse the exit interview reports, you can clearly see that the branch manager is not a very good team player. His subordinates are quite dissatisfied with his behaviour. When you talk to these employees informally, they point out his weaknesses like he often scolds them in front of the customer even for small mistakes. Strangely, the branch manager used to report positive things about these employees and would come strong when recommending rewards and recognition to his subordinates. You thought his subordinates were very lucky to have a supervisor like him. You try to counsel the branch manager but things wouldn&rsquo;t improve and you cannot let go the branch manager because of his high sales achievement. You had earlier assumed that the loyal staff wouldn&rsquo;t leave your reputed company even if they had some &lsquo;petty&rsquo; issues with their supervisor.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	And, the third employee who has worked with you for last five years at your customer service department has been very vocal about how good she feels about your company. She is very good at handling customers and has been receiving very good ratings in her performance appraisals. However, one thing you don&rsquo;t understand is that her co-workers have been struggling with their performance. Your rational thinking is that the other people would learn from her or even she should be aware of the lower quality of work her team members perform. You once talk to her informally on the issue and seek her advice on what can be done to improve their performance. She, however, doesn&rsquo;t want to be involved in &lsquo;improving&rsquo; their performance. She says that&rsquo;s not her job. You used to think that she was quite committed to the company and would go &lsquo;that extra mile&rsquo; to improve her co-workers. You were wrong.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	So, what is missing in the employees you thought were committed? You realise that some visible aspects of commitment do not bind them with your company. These people were not engaged with your company!</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>From Commitment to Engagement</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Employee commitment has different dimensions. Basically, it has three aspects: Emotional Commitment (Feeling), Cognitive Commitment (Thinking) and Behavioural Commitment (Doing). When we have all three dimensions of the employee commitment, we can say that the employees are engaged with the organisation. Thus, by using the term employee engagement, we will be covering the employee commitment in its holistic form.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	As illustrated in the three staff issues in the beginning, presence of only one dimension doesn&rsquo;t work. As in the first case, employees can be engaged with their job (Job Engagement) but may not be engaged with their organisation (Organisational Engagement). Similarly, some employees may be emotionally committed because of the reputation of the organisation but only emotional commitment does not work.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The third case was that of behavioural commitment. Engaged employees not only give their best productivity, but also &lsquo;go the extra mile&rsquo; to improve the quality of work of their co-workers even if their role doesn&rsquo;t demand such kind of responsibilities. Such employees not only feel and think for the organisation; their action (doing) is towards the betterment of the organisation.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Link between employee engagement and organisational performance</strong></span></div>
<div>
	The general philosophy of employee engagement is that engaged employees contribute more, help in crating positive work environment, stay with the organisation longer and have higher commitment to quality. These &lsquo;traits&rsquo; of engaged employees lead to increased customer satisfaction that ultimately helps in achieving business outcomes.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Several researches show a relationship between employee engagement and financial performance of the organisations. Internationally known consulting frims like Gallup and Aon Hewitt have a long history of measuring employee engagement and its effects in business organisations. Aon Hewitt uses a term called &ldquo;Engage-O-Meter&rdquo; for showing the engagement level and the organisational performance.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	A research carried out by Aon Hewitt covering data from 2008-2010 found that organisations with high levels of engagement (65% or greater) continue to outperform the total stock market index and posted total shareholder returns 22% higher than average in 2010. On the other hand, companies with low engagement (45% or less) had a total shareholder return that was 28% lower than the average. As there was a global recession during that period, the correlation was still valid in times of financial crisis.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Engagement Level in Nepali Organisations</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Though we haven&rsquo;t heard much of such scientific research on employee engagement done in Nepali organisations, some of the organisations conduct annual engagement survey of their employees and the organisational climate surveys. The results of these surveys are only for internal consumption.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Officially, Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) group annually conducts an engagement survey in association with Gallup. Thus, the SCB Nepal, as a part of the group, has been conducting the annual survey. However, one more bank uses the same survey questionnaire but uses its own resources to conduct the survey and analyse the results. Some multinational companies like Coca Cola (Bottlers Nepal) use employee surveys prescribed by their parent company.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<em>(Sharma is the Head of the Human Resource Department of Janata Bank Nepal Ltd. The article is adapted from a paper he presented at the HR Conclave organized by the School of Management, Tribhuvan University on January 10, 2014.)</em></div>',
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			'title' => 'New Accountant',
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			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	A Nepali businessman tells his friend that his company is looking for the new accountant.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	His friend asks, &ldquo;Didn&rsquo;t your company hire a new accountant a few weeks ago?&rdquo;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The businessman replies, &ldquo;That&rsquo;s the accountant we&rsquo;re looking for!&rdquo; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; <strong>&nbsp;-ML</strong></div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>',
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			'description' => 'A Nepali businessman tells his friend that his company is looking for the new accountant.',
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	(int) 5 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '2557',
			'article_category_id' => '144',
			'title' => 'Manning MAN With Right Men & Women',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	Management Association of Nepal (MAN) is holding its 33rd National Management Convention and Annual General Meeting (AGM) today. The AGM will elect a new executive committee of the Association. The executive committee, in turn, will elect the new office bearers for the next two years. Established some 35 years ago, MAN claims to be the apex body of management professionals in Nepal. The Association also claims to have a strong membership base of over 2000 individuals and 250 institutions from different disciplines and sectors of the Nepali economy and society.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Ideally, almost all MAN members and its top leadership are supposed to be management professionals. However, going by the lists of persons elected in the executive committees of MAN so far, it appears that the Association is by and large dominated by existing and former bureaucrats. The presence of private sector managers in the top leadership of MAN is very low. This is really unfortunate. Going by the very name of the organization, it would be no exaggeration to say that MAN should have been led and moved forward by private sector managers who have proved to be better managers than their public sector counterparts.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Similar organizations in other countries are led by the corporate people or private sector managers. Two examples of such organizations with whom MAN has close links are the American Management Association (AMA) and All India Management Association (AIMA). The management teams or office bearers of Both AMA and AIMA are all representatives of the American and Indian corporate sector, respectively. But this is not the case with MAN.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Bureaucrats are bureaucrats and they remain so as long as they hold their government positions. We are not questioning their capabilities. But the true talent of many bureaucrats is seen only after they are retired; as long as they are serving, they cannot function to the fullest of their capacity as MAN leaders because of various reasons. For example, they cannot criticize the government or raise issues with the government as strongly as private sector managers can. Also, when it comes to management, the Nepali experience has shown that private sector managers are more efficient than the public sector managers or bureaucrats.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Therefore, manning the top management of MAN with the right men and women (read corporate sector managers and leaders) is the first and foremost challenge that MAN faces at present. MAN can never achieve the success or triumph it deserves without addressing this challenge first. In this context, the 33rd AGM of MAN should become a turning point. It should elect as many private sector managers and leaders as possible as its leaders.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	MAN is an organization with immense potential. It can become as strong as organizations like the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) and Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI). But MAN has not been able to become so because of the weak presence of the corporate sector in its leadership. Therefore, the Nepali corporate sector, on its part, should come forward to hold the reins of MAN and steer it to the right direction.</div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2014-02-09',
			'modified' => '2014-02-10',
			'keywords' => 'the corporate weekly from Nepal, nepali corporate events – news – interviews – reviews, nepali corporate focus, nepali corporate status and news, news from nepali corporate industry, corporate happenings – events – news from nepal',
			'description' => 'Management Association of Nepal (MAN) is holding its 33rd National Management Convention and Annual General Meeting (AGM) today. The AGM will elect a new executive committee of the Association. The executive committee, in turn, will elect the new office bearers for the next two years. Established some 35 years ago, MAN claims to be the apex body of management professionals in Nepal.',
			'sortorder' => '2401',
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	),
	(int) 6 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '2556',
			'article_category_id' => '141',
			'title' => 'Nepal Political News In Brief (3 - 6 February 2014)',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>President&rsquo;s Call for Majority Govt</strong></span></div>
<div>
	<img alt="President Dr Ram Baran Yadav" src="/userfiles/images/7.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px;width: 75px; height: 83px;" />After efforts to install a consensus government failed, President Dr Ram Baran Yadav on February 3 called on the parties represented in the Legislature Parliament to start the process of forming a majority government. In a statement issued by the Office of the President, the President cited Article 38 (2) of Interim Constitution 2063 in support of his announcement.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Unification still Possible with UCPN (M): Baidya</strong></span></div>
<div>
	<img alt="CPN-Maoist Chairman Mohan Baidya" src="/userfiles/images/8.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px;width: 75px; height: 82px;" />CPN-Maoist Chairman Mohan Baidya has said that party unification with the UCPN (Maoist) was still possible provided that the latter amended the political line it took after party&rsquo;s Hetauda General Convention. Speaking at a press conference organised in the Capital to make public the decisions made by the party&rsquo;s politburo meeting, Baidya, however, ruled out the possibility of immediate unification. He reaffirmed his party&rsquo;s stance for an all-side political conference for forging national consensus.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Oli Elected UML&rsquo;s PP Leader</strong></span></div>
<div>
	<img alt=" KP Sharma Oli" src="/userfiles/images/9.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px;width: 75px; height: 80px;" />Senior leader of the CPN-UML, KP Sharma Oli has been elected the party&rsquo;s Parliamentary Party leader. Oli who got 98 votes defeated party Chairman Jhala Nath Khanal who could secure only 75 votes in the election that was held at the second largest party&rsquo;s parliamentary party office in Singha Durbar&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	on February 4.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>PM election on Feb 10</strong></span></div>
<div>
	The House Business Advisory Committee has recommended to Pro-tem Speaker Surya Bahadur Thapa to hold an election to the post of Prime Minister at 11 a.m. on Monday. With this new development, the political parties are expected to step up parleys for power-sharing.&nbsp;</div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2014-02-09',
			'modified' => '2014-02-09',
			'keywords' => 'the corporate weekly from Nepal, nepali corporate events – news – interviews – reviews, nepali corporate focus, nepali corporate status and news, news from nepali corporate industry, corporate happenings – events – news from nepal',
			'description' => 'The House Business Advisory Committee has recommended to Pro-tem Speaker Surya Bahadur Thapa to hold an election to the post of Prime Minister at 11 a.m. on Monday. With this new development, the political parties are expected to step up parleys for power-sharing.',
			'sortorder' => '2400',
			'image' => null,
			'article_date' => '0000-00-00 00:00:00',
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	(int) 7 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '2552',
			'article_category_id' => '138',
			'title' => 'How New CEO Nadella Will Affect Microsoft Products, Consumers',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Microsoft&rsquo;s decision to name Satya Nadella as its third CEO in 39 years has some tech insiders wondering if the company is quietly moving away from its consumer business and refocusing its attention on corporate clients. Nadella, a 22-year veteran of Microsoft, has been in charge of the tech behemoth&rsquo;s server and cloud computing division, a staid but profitable segment of the company.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Microsoft has struggled with its consumer-based products, spreading itself too thin and falling behind the tech gadget curve, says Yahoo Finance&rsquo;s Jeff Macke.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&ldquo;Microsoft has made a lot of noise about becoming a consumer company,&rdquo; argues Macke in the above video clip. But the company has been &ldquo;trying to be a little bit of all things to all people for too long...it can&rsquo;t satisfy both the enterprise (business) and everyday customer.&rdquo;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Microsoft&rsquo;s business products -- Excel and Office -- are still in high demand with small businesses and Fortune 500 companies. But the company has failed with tablets and smartphones, devices that are deeply popular with consumers. For example, Microsoft sold $893 million worth of its &ldquo;Surface&rdquo; tablets in the holiday quarter -- a blip compared to Apple&rsquo;s $11.5 billion worth of iPads. Consumers purchased about a million Surface tablets last quarter versus Apple&rsquo;s 26 million.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Nadella told employees in a letter Tuesday that the company is &ldquo;headed for greater places&rdquo; and it&rsquo;s their duty to make sure &ldquo;that Microsoft thrives in a mobile and cloud-first world.&rdquo; He continues:</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&ldquo;The opportunity ahead will require us to reimagine a lot of what we have done in the past for a mobile and cloud-first world, and do new things,&rdquo; he writes &ldquo;Our industry does not respect tradition -- it only respects innovation. This is a critical time for the industry and for Microsoft. Make no mistake, we are headed for greater places -- as technology evolves and we evolve with and ahead of it. Our job is to ensure that Microsoft thrives in a mobile and cloud-first world.&rdquo;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Nadella replaces Steve Ballmer, who announced his retirement last August. Ballmer took over as CEO for Microsoft co-founder Bll Gates in 2000. Gates has officially stepped down as chairman of Microsoft&rsquo;s board; he will now advise Nadella on technology-related issues.</div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2014-02-09',
			'modified' => '2014-02-09',
			'keywords' => 'the corporate weekly from Nepal, nepali corporate events – news – interviews – reviews, nepali corporate focus, nepali corporate status and news, news from nepali corporate industry, corporate happenings – events – news from nepal',
			'description' => 'Microsoft’s decision to name Satya Nadella as its third CEO in 39 years has some tech insiders wondering if the company is quietly moving away from its consumer business and refocusing its attention on corporate clients. Nadella, a 22-year veteran of Microsoft, has been in charge of the tech behemoth’s server and cloud computing division, a staid but profitable segment of the company.',
			'sortorder' => '2399',
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	(int) 8 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '2550',
			'article_category_id' => '122',
			'title' => 'Sneha Group: For Hospitality And More',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<strong>--By Gaurav Aryal</strong></div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<table align="right" style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 10px;" width="25">
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>
				<img alt="Bhawani Rana, Chairperson, Sneha Group" src="/userfiles/images/3%20(Copy)(2).jpg" style="border-width: 0px; border-style: solid; width: 200px; height: 203px;" /></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td bgcolor="#FFFFFF">
				<div align="center">
					<div style="text-align: center;">
						<div>
							<div>
								<strong>Bhawani Rana</strong></div>
							<div>
								Chairperson, Sneha Group</div>
						</div>
					</div>
				</div>
			</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>
<div>
	The journey of Sneha Group of Companies began with the Nepalgunj based one star hotel - Sneha Hotel, as a family business of Asit SJB Rana. The hotel later expanded under the leadership of Bhawani Rana, Chairperson of Sneha Group. &nbsp; The hotel that started with 10 rooms has now grown into three star property with 65 rooms.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Rana says that the hotel is now the group&rsquo;s flagship company. Later, new companies in freight business, travel and tourism and agriculture were also named after Sneha as the name turned out to be a lucky charm for the group. The name is used as brand in the group&rsquo;s solo ventures. She reveals that the hotel is being upgraded to four-star category hotel with 75 rooms within a year. Likewise, the group is establishing a resort at Motipur of Bardiya district, near the Bardiya National Park. The resort will offer tourism packages including jungle safari and rafting. &nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The group has another ambitious resort project up its sleeves for Rara National Park as well. Rana says that land acquisition process is undergoing for this project and informed that the group will begin developing the project once the government gives green signal to its proposal. This eco-resort will have no concrete buildings thereby making it a truly eco-friendly resort. Rana says that the group plans to invest Rs 30 to 50 million in the project named as Sneha Eco Resort. The resort will have 20 to 25 rooms only.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Similarly, the group is establishing Sneha Culture and Entertainment in Kathmandu soon that will present various cultural shows for international tourists. . However, Rana did not disclose details of this project. Likewise, the group is also expanding its agro processing and production business that is running under the name Sneha Agro. The group is planning to enter herb processing and expand &nbsp;fisheries and banana farming . At present, the group&rsquo;s banana farm spreads across 15 bighas of Bardiya. According to Rana, the group, as of now has invested Rs 20 million in the agriculture and herbs, Rs 250 million in the hotels and registers around Rs 150 million annual turnover from its various businesses.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The group is interested in developing cable car as medium of public transport in Kathmandu in partnership with other investors. The French expert has undertaken the responsibility to conduct feasibility study of the project. Rana says that the estimated investment has increased to around Rs 25 billion and the viability of the project will be known while the Detailed Project Report (DPR) is prepared.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Focus on Mid and Far West</strong></span></div>
<div>
	The Sneha Group has focused its hospitality and tourism business away from oft-beaten destinations such as Kathmandu, Pokhara and Chitwan. Rana says, &ldquo;There were options for us to establish a project in Kathmandu Valley. But we decided to take the development out of the valley.&rdquo; The group had thought of developing Sanepa Tower Hotel at Sanepa of Lalitpur in a land spread over eight ropanis. However, the group concluded to offer tourists with services in off the beaten routes and destinations. She believes that the new resort project in Rara would open up new possibilities to explore the surrounding areas that have remained virgin as of now. She says that Nepalgunj is developing as a transit point for visiting numerous areas in the region such as Kailash-Mansarovar, Khaptad National Park and Swargadwari. She feels that the lack of promotion of Bardiya national park is holding off the possibility of developing tourism in the area in similar ways as that of Chitwan.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Tourism Specialisation</strong></span></div>
<div>
	It is not only the tourism and hospitality that the group has put its hands into. It was also operating Bardiya Sugar Mill that was closed down during the armed conflict. The group now is making plans to reopen this factory. However, the company&rsquo;s main focus is on the service industry. . Rana says that this decision was made based on her and family&rsquo;s interests. She recalls numerous instances when she was advised to invest in the hydropower sector.&rdquo;But they could not lure me into that,&rdquo; she says. &nbsp;&ldquo;Tourism and service industry is where my interests and experiences are. So, we are expanding in this area and the soon to be established entertainment and cultural centre will be another addition to it.&rdquo;&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Serving the Right Market</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Nepalgunj has become a transit point for visiting numerous tourist destinations in the Mid and Far Western Nepal. Be it domestic destinations like Dolpa, Jumla, Surkhet, Bardiya &nbsp;or &nbsp;few destinations located in Tibet like Kailash and Mansarovar. Nepalgunj is the point from where the journey begins. According to Rana, during the peak seasons, majority of clients residing at Sneha Hotel are the ones hailing from USA and Europe. She says that if tourism infrastructures can be developed and destinations in the region are promoted, the tourism industry can benefit the entire region. Recently, the number of Indian tourist is also significantly increasing, says Rana.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;Apart from pleasure seeking tourists, the major clientele of Sneha Group&rsquo;s hotel is made up of government officials and I/NGO and development workers. . Government and non-government institutions have set Mid and Far-Western region&rsquo;s development as their priority. Consequently, their activities in the region have spiked over the years. Nepalgunj is the base for these institutions where numerous conferences and conventions are organised every month thereby contributing a large chunk of sales and revenue to the hotel business.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Unlike Pokhara and Chitwan, Nepalgunj offers little tourist attraction within the city. So, it has been acting as a one night transit. Rana feels that there are some religiously important places like Bageshwori temple within the city that can be promoted&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	to visitors.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Being one of the oldest hotels in Nepalgunj, Sneha Hotel has remained strong throughout its operation despite the increasing competition. Responding to the changing market scenario, the group plans to rename the hotel as Hotel Sneha: Rana Boutique Hotel. Rana says, &ldquo;The region lacks boutique hotels. Hence this idea.&rdquo;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<table border="0" cellpadding="10" width="99%">
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td bgcolor="#E5E4E2">
				<div>
					<div>
						<div>
							<span style="font-size:16px;"><strong>Turning Point</strong></span></div>
						<div>
							During the decade long conflict, the business of Sneha Group was also affected as Nepalgunj happened to be in the close vicinity of the conflict area. While the sugar mill was closed down, Sneha Hotel was also forced to close for two months. Bhawani Rana, Chairperson of the group recalls those days as terrorising for entrepreneurs in the area. However, her group, with the hope of better situation, did not hesitate in making additional investments. She recalls that most difficult days during the conflict period were when the group had borrowed loan from banks and the conflict immediately escalated to its peak.</div>
						<div>
							&nbsp;</div>
						<div>
							<span style="font-size:16px;"><strong>Managing the Business</strong></span></div>
						<div>
							Rana, who is also Vice President of Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), says she has been able to dedicate very little time to her business, as she has to spend most of her working hours at FNCCI. In her absence, businesspersons in the family and company&rsquo;s managers look after the business. &nbsp;The group has employed 200 people in its hotel, agriculture and travel businesses. Rana says that staff of the group are sincere and hardworking and she recalls the incident where they worked at half their salaries when the hotel remained closed during the conflict period. The group has always treated its employees as family members and &nbsp;motivated them by listening and understanding their problems, by treating them professionally and by providing incentives.</div>
						<div>
							&nbsp;</div>
						<div>
							<span style="font-size:16px;"><strong>CSR</strong></span></div>
						<div>
							The group is carrying out its social responsibilities through an organisation named Saathi Sanstha. The organisation has established a shelter for victims of women trafficking. Women in the shelter are provided with hotel management and other skill oriented trainings. Rana says that the organisation also tries offering them job placements. She shares that 15 women are trained annually by this organization. Similarly, the group also provides scholarships to needy children every year.&nbsp;</div>
					</div>
				</div>
			</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>
<p>
	&nbsp;</p>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2014-02-09',
			'modified' => '2014-02-18',
			'keywords' => 'the corporate weekly from Nepal, nepali corporate events – news – interviews – reviews, nepali corporate focus, nepali corporate status and news, news from nepali corporate industry, corporate happenings – events – news from nepal',
			'description' => 'Sneha Group of Companies, a business house based in the mid-western region of Nepal, is expanding its business roots into agriculture and tourism industry.',
			'sortorder' => '2398',
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	(int) 9 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '2554',
			'article_category_id' => '140',
			'title' => 'ADB’s USD 50 Mn Loan For Gautam Buddha Airport',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	<strong>--By TC Correspondent</strong></div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The Asian Development Bank has agreed to provide a soft loan of USD 50 million for the upgrading of the Gautam Budhha Airport in Bhairahawa. &ldquo;ADB has already decided to provide the loan assistance. What remains now is the formalization of the decision by the ADB Board,&rdquo; said Madhu Kumar Marasini, chief of the International Economic Cooperation Coordination Division under the Ministry of Finance (MoF). &ldquo;The Bank seems positive to provide an additional loan of USD 30 million later,&rdquo; he informed The Corporate, adding that the upgrading of the airport will be completed by the end of 2018.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Towards the end of the year 2012, ADB had agreed to provide a soft loan of USD 36 million for the project. Back then, it was estimated that a total amount of USD 42 million would be required to complete the upgrading of the airport. However, the project became uncertain after a Korean consultant put the estimated amount at USD 77 million for the project.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The latest estimate has put the total amount at USD 95.05 million, according to Ratish Chandra Lal Suman, director general of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN). &ldquo;CAAN will invest USD 22 million for the upgrading of the airport,&rdquo; he said. CAAN has already announced an international competitive bidding in accordance with ADB&rsquo;s guidelines for the construction of necessary infrastructure at the airport.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	According to CAAN, the upgrading of the airport will be done in two phases &ndash; civil work and installation of electronic devices and other equipment. In the first phase of the upgradation work, a 3000-metre runway, control tower, international terminal building, taxi way, fire brigade building, maintenance building, air cargo building and security posts etc will be constructed. Construction of these necessary infrastructures will begin by mid-2014.</div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2014-02-09',
			'modified' => '2014-02-09',
			'keywords' => 'the corporate weekly from Nepal, nepali corporate events – news – interviews – reviews, nepali corporate focus, nepali corporate status and news, news from nepali corporate industry, corporate happenings – events – news from nepal',
			'description' => 'The Asian Development Bank has agreed to provide a soft loan of USD 50 million for the upgrading of the Gautam Budhha Airport in Bhairahawa. “ADB has already decided to provide the loan assistance. What remains now is the formalization of the decision by the ADB Board,” said Madhu Kumar Marasini, chief of the International Economic Cooperation Coordination Division under the Ministry of Finance (MoF).',
			'sortorder' => '2397',
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	(int) 10 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '2549',
			'article_category_id' => '91',
			'title' => 'Women A Minority In MAN',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	<strong>--By Eliza Tuladhar</strong></div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<table align="right" style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 10px;" width="25">
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>
				<img alt="Shanti Laxmi Shakya, Treasurer, MAN" src="/userfiles/images/2(4).jpg" style="border-width: 0px; border-style: solid; width: 200px; height: 239px;" /></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td bgcolor="#FFFFFF">
				<div align="center">
					<div style="text-align: center;">
						<div>
							<strong>Shanti Laxmi Shakya</strong></div>
						<div>
							Treasurer, MAN</div>
					</div>
				</div>
			</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>
<div>
	Despite the widespread rhetoric on increasing women&rsquo;s participation in the management sector, the Management Association of Nepal (MAN), the only association of management professionals from various fields in the country lacks such participation. Though 40 per cent of its members are woman, their participation in the association&rsquo;s activities is quite low. &ldquo;The number of women members is increasing gradually but we still need their active participation and representation in the association&rsquo;s activities,&rdquo; said Treasurer of MAN Shanti Laxmi Shakya who has been working as acting director of legal department of Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) since 2045. Shakya is however, in the executive committee for the last 20 years.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	According to her, the number of women members and their participation in the association is still not satisfactory. &ldquo;Women should not remain passive, they should come forward with their views and ideas. If they don&rsquo;t they will be always deprived from every opportunity,&rdquo; said Shakya and further stressed on the need for women to struggle and move ahead. &ldquo;Since its establishment there has been only one female president, Dr. Arzu Rana Deuba,&rdquo; said Shakya.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	In 2002the association started awarding best women managers with the &ldquo;Women Manager Recognition Award.&rdquo;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	So far, nine women have received this award. Meera Bhattarai is the first to receive the &lsquo;Woman Manager Recognition Award&rsquo; in 2002, while she was serving as the executive director of Association for Craft Producers. Later in 2004 Hajuri Bista, managing director of H.K Food Products received the award. Other outstanding women managers to receive this award are Saraswati Shrestha, executive chairman of Women Cooperative Society Limited (2004), Lily Thapa, executive chairman of WHR, Single Women Group (2006), Sangita Nirola, executive director of SWATI (2007), Rama Pokharel Dahal, assistant general manager of Everest Insurance Limited (2009), Barsha Shrestha, general manager of Clean Energy Development Bank (2010), Pramila Rijal, executive chairman of SAARC Chamber Women Entrepreneurs Council (2011) and Indira Maiya Shrestha chief executive officer of Shtrii Shakti (S2)(2012).&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	In 2008 Anuradha Koirala, executive chairperson of Maiti Nepal was presented the &lsquo;Outstanding Management Award&rsquo; of MAN and she is the only women to receive this award so far.</div>',
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			'created' => '2014-02-08',
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			'keywords' => 'the corporate weekly from Nepal, nepali corporate events – news – interviews – reviews, nepali corporate focus, nepali corporate status and news, news from nepali corporate industry, corporate happenings – events – news from nepal',
			'description' => 'Despite the widespread rhetoric on increasing women’s participation in the management sector, the Management Association of Nepal (MAN), the only association of management professionals from various fields in the country lacks such participation. Though 40 per cent of its members are woman, their participation in the association’s activities is quite low',
			'sortorder' => '2396',
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	(int) 11 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '2553',
			'article_category_id' => '139',
			'title' => 'Nepal And The World News In Brief (7 - 16 February 2014)',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Market Cap of Global Exchanges Hits 10-Year High</strong></span></div>
<div>
	The overall market capitalisation of bourses worldwide crossed $64 trillion last year, the highest level in more than a decade, on the back of improving investor sentiment. Latest data from the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE) show that market valuation of 53 stock exchanges across the globe stood at $64 trillion last year compared to $54.5 trillion in 2012. The level touched in 2013 is also the highest since the 2008 Lehman Brothers crisis that had pushed the global financial system into a tizzy.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Morgan Stanley to pay out $1.25bn&nbsp;</strong></span></div>
<div>
	US banking giant Morgan Stanley has agreed to pay USD 1.25 bn to settle a lawsuit over the sale of mortgage-backed securities. The money will be paid to the US regulator that oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage guarantee firms. US taxpayers had to rescue the two firms in 2008 in a bailout worth $187 bn during the financial crisis.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Panasonic Posts Profit in First Nine Months</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Japanese electronics firm Panasonic Corp posted a net profit for the first nine months of the current fiscal year, the firm said on Tuesday, thanks in part to a weaker yen and restructuring efforts. The company said it had made a profit of &yen;243 billion ($ 2.4 billion) in the period April to December last year. The figure compares to a loss of &yen;623.8 billion for the corresponding period of the previous year.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Investors Flee Emerging Market&nbsp;</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Investors yanked more than $6.3 billion from emerging market equity funds last week, the largest outflow on record in dollar terms. Boston-based fund tracker EPFR Global said the outflow was broad based and the biggest in three years as a percentage of assets under management. Institutional investors accounted for $5 billion of the redemptions.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>US Debt Default by &lsquo;End of Month&rsquo;</strong></span></div>
<div>
	US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew has warned the US may default on its debt by the end of the month if Congress does not raise its borrowing limit. Lew said he could rely on emergency measures to pay US debts after the limit is reinstated on 7 February. But he anticipated the treasury&rsquo;s reserves would quickly be exhausted as it issues annual income tax refunds. The $16.7 tn cap will be reinstated on Friday.</div>',
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			'keywords' => 'the corporate weekly from Nepal, nepali corporate events – news – interviews – reviews, nepali corporate focus, nepali corporate status and news, news from nepali corporate industry, corporate happenings – events – news from nepal',
			'description' => 'The overall market capitalisation of bourses worldwide crossed $64 trillion last year, the highest level in more than a decade, on the back of improving investor sentiment. Latest data from the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE) show that market valuation of 53 stock exchanges across the globe stood at $64 trillion last year compared to $54.5 trillion in 2012. The level touched in 2013 is also the highest since the 2008 Lehman Brothers crisis that had pushed the global financial system into a tizzy.',
			'sortorder' => '2395',
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	(int) 12 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '2544',
			'article_category_id' => '137',
			'title' => 'Nepal Ranks Better Than India & Pakistan In Environmental Performance',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	<strong>--By TC correspondent</strong></div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Nepal has improved its environmental performance in the past decade, a latest report by the Yale University shows. According to the 2014 Environmental Performance Index (EPI), Nepal witnessed a progress of 4.96 per cent from 2000 to 2012, achieving a rank of 139th out of 178 countries. &nbsp;The country&rsquo;s overall score was 37 with noticeable improvements being marked in agriculture and forest. The index comprises of nine key indicators reflecting the performance of individual countries. The indicators include Health Impact, Air Quality, Water and Sanitation, Water resources, Agriculture, Forests, Fisheries, Biodiversity and Habit and Climate and Energy along with 20 sub-indicators. With a score of 100, Nepal ranked 1st in the world in agriculture subsidy-sub indicator. Similarly, the country also ranked 66th in pesticide regulation with a score of 84. Likewise, Nepal ranked 26th in forests sub-index with score of 63.12.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	However, in terms of air quality, Nepal performed poorly (ranked at 177), according to the report. Over the past decade, Nepal saw its air quality dropping by 42.75 per cent with all three sub-indicators showing degradation due to rising air pollution. The country&rsquo;s sub-indicator for household air quality declined 18.18 per cent whereas, average exposure to PM 2.5 air particulate decreased 33.5 per cent and PM 2.5 exceedance changed by 100 per cent over the past decade.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	In South Asia region, Sri Lanka is the highest ranking country (69), followed by Bhutan (103), Nepal (139), Pakistan (148), India (155) and Bangladesh (169). Afghanistan is the worst performer in the region (174). India ranked much lower than its emerging economies peers like Brazil (77), Russia (73) and South Africa at 72nd position. Meanwhile, China ranked 118th in the index. Switzerland topped the ranking followed by Luxembourg, Australia, Singapore, and Czech Republic. Among countries with the largest economies, Germany ranked the highest in the sixth spot followed by the United Kingdom in 12th, Canada 24th, Japan 26th, France 27th, and the United States in 33rd. &nbsp;In the 2014 EPI, Somalia was the poorest performer (178) accompanied by Mali (177), Haiti (176), Lesotho (175).&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The EPI report urged policymakers across the world to introduce and implement effective policies to protect the global environment. &ldquo;The EPI documents the tangible benefits that arise when policymakers pursue strong environmental performance and the damage that manifests when they do not,&rdquo; it said. The authors of the report hoped 2014 EPI results would initiate meaningful conversation among countries to understand how they perform on a range of high-priority environmental issues. First published in 2002, EPI was developed from the Pilot Environmental Performance Index, and designed to supplement the environmental targets set forth in the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). &nbsp;</div>',
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			'description' => 'Nepal has improved its environmental performance in the past decade, a latest report by the Yale University shows. According to the 2014 Environmental Performance Index (EPI), Nepal witnessed a progress of 4.96 per cent from 2000 to 2012, achieving a rank of 139th out of 178 countries.  The country’s overall score was 37 with noticeable improvements being marked in agriculture and forest.',
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	(int) 13 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '2504',
			'article_category_id' => '134',
			'title' => '“DANIDA Is Striving To Improve An Enabling Environment For The Business Sector”',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:16px;">Nepal became a priority country for Denmark in 1989 and a long-term partnership was established. Through this partnership, Denmark aims to contribute to poverty reduction, political stability and to strengthen inclusive economic growth and access to renewable energy. In an interview with The Corporate&rsquo;s <strong>Gaurav Aryal</strong> and <strong>Sanjeev Sharma</strong>, the Ambassador of Denmark to Nepal, <strong>Kirsten Geelan</strong>, talked about DANIDA&rsquo;s projects in Nepal. She also talked about Danish development policy paper for Nepal for the years 2013-2017. <strong>Excerpts:</strong></span></div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>It has been 45 years since Denmark-Nepal bilateral relationship has been established. How do you evaluate this friendly relationship?</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Denmark and Nepal have been in a mutually beneficial and cordial bilateral relation for almost half a century. The Danish engagement in Nepal over these years has developed and matured considerably. We now increasingly work with Nepali national partners. We see much higher degree of national ownership and involvement in our development activities and considerable improvement of national skills and competences when compared to the early days of our collaboration.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Denmark has a quite a few successful examples of Business to Business (B2B) Cooperation like Carlsberg. How do you think such partnerships can be enhanced in the days to come?</strong></span></div>
<div>
	We hope that the match making event between Danish and Nepali businesses scheduled for March, will assist in finding new ways of increasing business collaboration between Danish companies and Nepali partners. We have identified six sectors as potential ones, namely agriculture, tourism, handicraft, IT, waste management and health. The idea of the business partnership is to create jobs, strengthen competitiveness and promote corporate social responsibility in developing countries. The initiative aims for that sort of overarching objectives while providing Danish companies with new markets and opportunities to save costs, hire human resources at cheap salaries and provide access to raw materials. We have seen some success stories in Nepal. Wehave a very well known Danish fruit and juice producing company teaming up with a Nepali company in Bhaktapur to produce organic juice and ice cream.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>How do you view the progress of DANIDA projects in Nepal?</strong></span></div>
<div>
	There are no shortcuts or blueprint solutions to long-term sustainable development. Nevertheless, there are some lessons learnt. We have seen thatprojects and programmes developed through long-term partnership, even in a preparatory phase, is an important prerequisite for long term and sustainable outcome. Working with national partners and having their involvement throughout projects is another important aspect for national ownership.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	We are not an implementing agency. We work with local co-partners in order to strengthen capacity of local partners and local government institutions to pave the way for sustainable development. We have done so in the past and will continue it in the future. We work very closely with the local government,which is an important partner in the development of Nepal.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Another lesson learned is on monitoring and resource management system, where we have developed considerably in our approach. We need to focus on constant monitoring of output, activities and impact, not just on the list of activities. Development has moved from a very simple straightforward project to big complicated phenomenon, covering numerous sectors and programmes. Another important lesson is we have to be working not only with national partners but also with other donors. We are constantly looking at the possibilities of basket funding, strengthening equal operation with other bilateral and international donors.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Private sector&rsquo;s role in the development programmes has tremendously increased over the years. How is DANIDA recognising this role in its new 2013-2017 programme?</strong></span></div>
<div>
	In this new inclusive growth programme, we will be focusing on developing agriculture with priorities in three key sectors namely tea, ginger and dairy in seven districts of eastern Nepal. We will increase value added chain, enhance infrastructure and work closely with district authorities in improving the enabling environment for the&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	business sector.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Some of the important programmes of DANIDA such as Education Programme, Human Rights and Good Governance Programme and Peace Support Programme concluded in 2013. How do you assess the achievements of these programmes?</strong></span></div>
<div>
	We have been working in the education sector in Nepal closely with the government for 20 years. Over these years, we have seen impressive gains in the education sector. We are very pleased to be part of that development. We have seen literacy rate rising from very low to significantly high. More importantly, we have seen an increase in female literacy rate and enrolment of girls in school. It is fair to say that with our assistance, Nepal has moved from fragmented and limited education sector to much more comprehensive and coordinated approach. So, that is some achievement we are very proud to be part of.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	In terms of human rights and governance, we have been very active key player in peace building process. We have supported Nepal Peace Trust, UN Peace Fund and have been instrumental in the successful integration of Maoist combatants into the Nepali Army. We have established a long-term partnership with Election Commission. We were very supportive to the recent elections. We have also worked very closely with the National Human Rights Commission and supported their important task in handling various complaints of human rights abuses. We have worked and will continue to work with civil society organisation particularly with regards to human rights. We have seen improvement in gender rights and situation of marginalised groups, particularly Dalits.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>DANIDA had been supporting the Government School Sector Reform Program (SSRP). However, some of the targets of this programme are yet to be met and thus, it is extended for another two years. Why did DANIDA decide to stop supporting the education sector?</strong></span></div>
<div>
	We have two priorities in our development assistance programmes: human rights and inclusive and green growth. That is in one of the reasons why the decision was taken in Copenhagen not to continue our engagement in education sector. Having said that let&rsquo;s not forget Denmark as EU member country is continuing to support education sector in Nepal through the activities of EU.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	We have been criticized for shifting our engagement in Nepal from the education sector but it is important to remind ourselves that this is a decision that has been taken in Copenhagen by the Ministry for Development Cooperation. It was a slight policy shift when we had a new government in Denmark, a couple of years ago.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>DANIDA has shifted its focus to renewal energy sector in Nepal. What is the progress so far?&nbsp;</strong></span></div>
<div>
	More than a million households have been benefitted from our efforts to accelerate access to renewable energy technologies in Nepal. We have worked for quite a number of years since late 1990s in Nepal&rsquo;s energy sector. We have delivered concrete results with our long-term partners, Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment and Alternative Energy Promotion Centre. We have seen improved technologies in terms of improved cooking stoves, solar systems and small hydropower plants changing the lives of millions of people. We also hope to be able to do so in our new inclusive growth programme to create even stronger synergy with renewable energy programme in tapping the experiences gained already.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>DANIDA in its policy paper for 2013-2017 has prioritised poverty reduction through support on green and inclusive economic growth. How easy or difficult you find meeting this target as green economic growth is still a challenge for developed countries?</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Apart from the renewable energy programme, we will be embarking on a new inclusive growth programme. It is a programme that will run over five years and has a huge budget of 400 million Danish Kroner. Green growth is a challenge for all countries. In a country like Nepal, challenge is to reconcile the country&rsquo;s need for rapid growth and poverty alleviation while avoiding damage to the environment. This is where we see the new programme making a difference to local communities. It is not a very big programme. The approach is to support local programme that is implemented by local districts and with specific poverty alleviation dimension. Over the years, the programme will be able to support the value added chain in conjunction with supply and finance and improved infrastructure.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
	<span style="font-size:16px;"><strong>Trade/Investment</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Nepal&rsquo;s exports to Denmark include handicrafts, silver products, ready-made garments, woolen goods, paper and paper products, etc. and major imports are machinery and parts, medicine and medical equipment, industrial raw materials, food and edible items, etc. from Denmark. The following figure shows that Nepal&rsquo;s balance of trade with Denmark is negative, except for the year 2012:</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<img alt="TRADE / INVESTMENT" src="/userfiles/images/inter%20(Copy)(1).jpg" style="width: 550px; height: 155px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px;" /></div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<div>
		Under Danish investment, a total of 21 joint ventures were established until July 2012 which had an FDI of Rs. 198 million and created 969 jobs.</div>
	<div style="text-align: right;">
		(Source: Ministry of Finance, Nepal)</div>
</div>
<p>
	&nbsp;</p>',
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	(int) 14 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '2528',
			'article_category_id' => '153',
			'title' => 'Generators: A Biz Thriving Under Loadshedding',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<strong>--By Madan Lamichhane</strong></div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The increase in load shedding hours and dip in temperature have created double whammy for generators market. In the past years, non-branded generators with low capacity were high on demand. But, now, people are inclined towards branded generators. Thus, the demand for branded generators is increasing day by day.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The generator market is on rise mainly because of the rise in the loadshedding hours. Prior to loadshedding, generators were used for backup only. But, due to current energy crisis, generators are being used as an alternative source of energy. The present Nepali market consists of four kinds of generators that run on deisel, petrol, gas and kerosene.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:16px;"><strong>Branded Vs Non-Branded generators</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Previously, customers prefered non-branded generators due to its low cost. However, in the recent days, people are aware about the quality of the generators which is one of the main reason for the increasing demand for generators. According to Vishal Gadia, Executive Director of Morang Auto Works Engineering Pvt Ltd., increasing awareness among people about the &nbsp;lifespan of the generators, fuel consumption, servicing and facilities of branded generators has caused a decline in the sales of non-branded generators. However, the share of low capacity generators in the Nepali market in the non-branded segment is also significant. &nbsp;Gadia estimates the market share of the non-branded generators with a capacity between one to &nbsp;20 KVA to be around fifty per cent. However, in comparison to the fast few years, the use of such generators has been decreasing, he adds.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&ldquo;Even though branded generators require huge amount of investment, because of its quality it is highly demanded,&rdquo; says Nirmal Bogati, Director of Subha Kamal Global Business Hub Pvt Ltd.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	In the recent years, generators have become compulsion in housing, departmental stores, offices and factories. Due to its increasing demand, there are varieties of generators available in the market from various brands of different capacities. However, in the past three years, the market of generator has remained stable because of its long lifespan. &ldquo;Generators are equipments that need not be bought time and again and thus the market is stable,&rdquo; says Bogati.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The market consists of different sized generators, ranging from portable generators to big heavy generators. &ldquo;Generators of different sizes are brought in the market depending on the customer&rsquo;s demand,&rdquo; says Bandhan Karki, Manager of Syakar Company Ltd. &nbsp;Syakar Company recently launched portable Honda generators. &ldquo;Such portable generators are useful for trekkers,&rdquo; adds Karki.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The increasing load shedding hours and the restriction on imports of inverters by the government has compelled the consumers to be dependent on generators. The Ministry of Energy had restricted imports of inverters in 2066 with the aim of decreasing loadshedding in Nepal.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Loadshedding directly affects the sales of low capacity generators. According to Gadia, the sale of generators with a capacity of 20 KVA is increasing because of long hours of loadshedding. If the loadshedding hours were less, &nbsp;consumers would have used lower capacity generators. This could decrease the sales of generators below 20 KVA capacity.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:16px;"><strong>Market Competition</strong></span></div>
<div>
	&ldquo;The generators with 1 to 20 KVA capacity make up 75 per cent of the market share&rdquo;, says Gadia. In comparsion to big generators, small ones are demanded more because of their relatively low price. The market competition is based on the features of the generators. As such, the competition between companies is based on fuel consumption, operation cost, customer service, availability of spare parts and price of the generators. Consumers&rsquo; awareness about low quality generators has created competition based on service, incentives and quality. This has led to the downfall of the non-branded generators as consumers are being aware about their pitfalls.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:16px;"><strong>Brands sold in Nepal</strong></span></div>
<div>
	There are one hundred generator distributors in Kathmandu alone. Some of the recognized generators in Nepal are- Honda, Yamaha, Kirloskar, Kohler, SDS and Greaves. 80 per cent of the branded generators are used in Kathmandu, Pokhara and Narayanghat while the remaining 20 per cent is used in other cities. &nbsp;As there is no basis to expect reduction in loadhshedding hours for the next 5 years, energy experts have said that generators are the best alternative to meet the energy crisis.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:16px;"><strong>Types of generator engines</strong></span></div>
<div>
	There are basically two types of generators available in the market-water cooled engines and air cooled engines. Many entrepreneurs believe that water cooled generators are more effective in comparison to air cooled ones. Water cooled are relatively cheaper and have a longer life span.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	In the recent times, the generators that are assembled in Nepal are gaining popularity. But, entrepreneurs suggest consumers to opt for branded generators because these come with warranty and other facilities. Similarly, the engines of branded generators are covered. These generators are safe to use and are sound proof. In India, generators lacking &lsquo;sound proof&rsquo; facility are banned.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<img alt="Generators" src="/userfiles/images/fc1%20(Copy)(5).jpg" style="width: 550px; height: 166px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px;" /></div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:16px;"><strong>Generators everywhere</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Though branded generators require huge amount of investment, customers&rsquo; preference for them &nbsp;have made them dominent in the market. Likewise, entrepreneurs believe that some of the latest Chinese generators available in the market are also good in terms of quality. Due to lack of domestic production of generators, many entrepreneurs have established themselves as authorized distributors of foreign branded generators.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:16px;"><strong>Problems</strong></span></div>
<div>
	For the imports of small generators of 10 KVA capacity, 25 per cent custom duty has to be paid. But, for importing generators with more capacity, only 1 per cent custom duty has to be paid. This is creating a big problem for the entrepreneurs. Because of the increasing loadshedding hours generators are demanded in every sector now . So, the government has to reduce custom in small generators because they are high in demand. If done so many people can afford generators.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:16px;"><strong>Things to be considered</strong></span></div>
<div>
	After every hundred hours of use, generators must be given for servicing. Generators, being a matter of one time investment, have to be used carefully. Generators have to be kept safely and out of reach of children. Similarly, their engine oil has to be checked time and again.</div>',
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			'description' => 'The increase in load shedding hours and dip in temperature have created double whammy for generators market. In the past years, non-branded generators with low capacity were high on demand. But, now, people are inclined towards branded generators. Thus, the demand for branded generators is increasing day by day.',
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			'title' => 'Visual Edit Vol 4 Issue 6',
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			'description' => 'Visual Edit',
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			'article_category_id' => '140',
			'title' => 'Weekly Round Up (3 - 6 February 2014)',
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			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Tourism Minister hopes EU will remove Nepali Airlines from Blacklist&nbsp;</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation, Ram Kumar Shrestha has expressed hope that the Nepali airlines would soon be removed from European Commission (EC)&rsquo;s blacklist that bans all airlines from Nepal from flying into the 28-nation bloc. He was confident that EU will remove the Nepali carriers from the list of unsafe carriers if the team from the EC, which arrived in Nepal on Feb 3 to conduct an on-site inspection of six airlines, prepares a factual report after thoroughly looking into the air safety measures adopted by them including areas like airworthiness of their aircraft and flight operation. The EC team has started visiting offices of state-owned Nepal Airlines, Buddha Air, Tara Air, Yeti Air, Shree Air and Sita Air from February 3. The team is also visiting the office of Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal to look into areas like flight operation, personal licensing and accident investigation. Minister Shrestha, who was speaking at a programme organised in the capital, also made it clear that EU&rsquo;s decision to put Nepal in the blacklist was not in any way influenced by the government&rsquo;s decision to buy Chinese aircraft.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Pokhara Fair Concludes with Rs 80.5 m Transaction</strong></span></div>
<div>
	The National Industrial Trade Fair that kicked off in Pokhara on January 23 concluded on February 3 with transactions of around Rs 80.5 million. &lsquo;Protection of Investment, Promotion of Business&rsquo; was the theme of the fair organised by Pokhara Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI). According to PCCI General Secretary Narayan Koirala, the fair that ran for 12 days saw over 120,000 visitors. It showcased 270 stalls related to different goods including handicrafts, agro-products, auto mobiles, information technology and garments. The fair was aimed at promoting local products and exploring their market, according to the organizers.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>WB Team Inspects Upper Arun Project Site</strong></span></div>
<div>
	A team from the World Bank (WB) on February 5 visited the project site of the 335MW Upper Arun Hydropower Project located some 10 kilometres away from Nepal-China border in Sankhuwasabha district. The WB team arrived in Nepal after a request from Nepal government to provide funds for the construction of the project. On February 4, officials from the Ministry of Energy (MoE) and Nepal Electricity Authority held talks with the WB team regarding the construction of the project, said Keshab Dhwoj Adhikari, spokesperson for the MoE. According to him, the WB is positive about providing soft loan for the construction of the project. The estimated cost of the project is around USD 450 million.</div>',
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			'description' => 'The National Industrial Trade Fair that kicked off in Pokhara on January 23 concluded on February 3 with transactions of around Rs 80.5 million. ‘Protection of Investment, Promotion of Business’ was the theme of the fair organised by Pokhara Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI).',
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '2558',
			'article_category_id' => '145',
			'title' => 'Employee Commitment  & Organizational Performance',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	<strong>--By Amit Sharma</strong></div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Imagine that you are the line manager of a very young guy in your IT department who has been repeatedly complaining of having to work even on holidays. You thought that the introduction of overtime allowance that the company introduced for the last three months will address the issues raised by the IT staff. He, however, has been very hard working. He is always interested to learn the new systems and comes forward to volunteer whenever a new technology is being tested. You consider him a very committed employee until one fine morning he submits his resignation only to tell you that he has joined a competitor who has just brought the same &lsquo;technology&rsquo; your company had been using for the last six months. And, this guy was quite interested to learn this technology and has fairly mastered the new system. After he leaves, you don&rsquo;t have an immediate replacement which will hamper your support service that you are providing to your customer. You had thought this employee was committed!</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Then you have a branch manager at Biratnagar who is considered to be a very good sales staff. He manages a team of 10 people and most of these people are quite productive. However, one thing that really worries the management is the turnover in the branch. When you analyse the exit interview reports, you can clearly see that the branch manager is not a very good team player. His subordinates are quite dissatisfied with his behaviour. When you talk to these employees informally, they point out his weaknesses like he often scolds them in front of the customer even for small mistakes. Strangely, the branch manager used to report positive things about these employees and would come strong when recommending rewards and recognition to his subordinates. You thought his subordinates were very lucky to have a supervisor like him. You try to counsel the branch manager but things wouldn&rsquo;t improve and you cannot let go the branch manager because of his high sales achievement. You had earlier assumed that the loyal staff wouldn&rsquo;t leave your reputed company even if they had some &lsquo;petty&rsquo; issues with their supervisor.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	And, the third employee who has worked with you for last five years at your customer service department has been very vocal about how good she feels about your company. She is very good at handling customers and has been receiving very good ratings in her performance appraisals. However, one thing you don&rsquo;t understand is that her co-workers have been struggling with their performance. Your rational thinking is that the other people would learn from her or even she should be aware of the lower quality of work her team members perform. You once talk to her informally on the issue and seek her advice on what can be done to improve their performance. She, however, doesn&rsquo;t want to be involved in &lsquo;improving&rsquo; their performance. She says that&rsquo;s not her job. You used to think that she was quite committed to the company and would go &lsquo;that extra mile&rsquo; to improve her co-workers. You were wrong.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	So, what is missing in the employees you thought were committed? You realise that some visible aspects of commitment do not bind them with your company. These people were not engaged with your company!</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>From Commitment to Engagement</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Employee commitment has different dimensions. Basically, it has three aspects: Emotional Commitment (Feeling), Cognitive Commitment (Thinking) and Behavioural Commitment (Doing). When we have all three dimensions of the employee commitment, we can say that the employees are engaged with the organisation. Thus, by using the term employee engagement, we will be covering the employee commitment in its holistic form.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	As illustrated in the three staff issues in the beginning, presence of only one dimension doesn&rsquo;t work. As in the first case, employees can be engaged with their job (Job Engagement) but may not be engaged with their organisation (Organisational Engagement). Similarly, some employees may be emotionally committed because of the reputation of the organisation but only emotional commitment does not work.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The third case was that of behavioural commitment. Engaged employees not only give their best productivity, but also &lsquo;go the extra mile&rsquo; to improve the quality of work of their co-workers even if their role doesn&rsquo;t demand such kind of responsibilities. Such employees not only feel and think for the organisation; their action (doing) is towards the betterment of the organisation.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Link between employee engagement and organisational performance</strong></span></div>
<div>
	The general philosophy of employee engagement is that engaged employees contribute more, help in crating positive work environment, stay with the organisation longer and have higher commitment to quality. These &lsquo;traits&rsquo; of engaged employees lead to increased customer satisfaction that ultimately helps in achieving business outcomes.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Several researches show a relationship between employee engagement and financial performance of the organisations. Internationally known consulting frims like Gallup and Aon Hewitt have a long history of measuring employee engagement and its effects in business organisations. Aon Hewitt uses a term called &ldquo;Engage-O-Meter&rdquo; for showing the engagement level and the organisational performance.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	A research carried out by Aon Hewitt covering data from 2008-2010 found that organisations with high levels of engagement (65% or greater) continue to outperform the total stock market index and posted total shareholder returns 22% higher than average in 2010. On the other hand, companies with low engagement (45% or less) had a total shareholder return that was 28% lower than the average. As there was a global recession during that period, the correlation was still valid in times of financial crisis.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Engagement Level in Nepali Organisations</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Though we haven&rsquo;t heard much of such scientific research on employee engagement done in Nepali organisations, some of the organisations conduct annual engagement survey of their employees and the organisational climate surveys. The results of these surveys are only for internal consumption.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Officially, Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) group annually conducts an engagement survey in association with Gallup. Thus, the SCB Nepal, as a part of the group, has been conducting the annual survey. However, one more bank uses the same survey questionnaire but uses its own resources to conduct the survey and analyse the results. Some multinational companies like Coca Cola (Bottlers Nepal) use employee surveys prescribed by their parent company.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<em>(Sharma is the Head of the Human Resource Department of Janata Bank Nepal Ltd. The article is adapted from a paper he presented at the HR Conclave organized by the School of Management, Tribhuvan University on January 10, 2014.)</em></div>',
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			'description' => 'Employee commitment has different dimensions. Basically, it has three aspects: Emotional Commitment (Feeling), Cognitive Commitment (Thinking) and Behavioural Commitment (Doing).',
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			'id' => '2559',
			'article_category_id' => '86',
			'title' => 'New Accountant',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	A Nepali businessman tells his friend that his company is looking for the new accountant.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	His friend asks, &ldquo;Didn&rsquo;t your company hire a new accountant a few weeks ago?&rdquo;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The businessman replies, &ldquo;That&rsquo;s the accountant we&rsquo;re looking for!&rdquo; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; <strong>&nbsp;-ML</strong></div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>',
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			'created' => '2014-02-09',
			'modified' => '2014-02-09',
			'keywords' => 'the corporate weekly from Nepal, nepali corporate events – news – interviews – reviews, nepali corporate focus, nepali corporate status and news, news from nepali corporate industry, corporate happenings – events – news from nepal',
			'description' => 'A Nepali businessman tells his friend that his company is looking for the new accountant.',
			'sortorder' => '2402',
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			'id' => '2557',
			'article_category_id' => '144',
			'title' => 'Manning MAN With Right Men & Women',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	Management Association of Nepal (MAN) is holding its 33rd National Management Convention and Annual General Meeting (AGM) today. The AGM will elect a new executive committee of the Association. The executive committee, in turn, will elect the new office bearers for the next two years. Established some 35 years ago, MAN claims to be the apex body of management professionals in Nepal. The Association also claims to have a strong membership base of over 2000 individuals and 250 institutions from different disciplines and sectors of the Nepali economy and society.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Ideally, almost all MAN members and its top leadership are supposed to be management professionals. However, going by the lists of persons elected in the executive committees of MAN so far, it appears that the Association is by and large dominated by existing and former bureaucrats. The presence of private sector managers in the top leadership of MAN is very low. This is really unfortunate. Going by the very name of the organization, it would be no exaggeration to say that MAN should have been led and moved forward by private sector managers who have proved to be better managers than their public sector counterparts.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Similar organizations in other countries are led by the corporate people or private sector managers. Two examples of such organizations with whom MAN has close links are the American Management Association (AMA) and All India Management Association (AIMA). The management teams or office bearers of Both AMA and AIMA are all representatives of the American and Indian corporate sector, respectively. But this is not the case with MAN.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Bureaucrats are bureaucrats and they remain so as long as they hold their government positions. We are not questioning their capabilities. But the true talent of many bureaucrats is seen only after they are retired; as long as they are serving, they cannot function to the fullest of their capacity as MAN leaders because of various reasons. For example, they cannot criticize the government or raise issues with the government as strongly as private sector managers can. Also, when it comes to management, the Nepali experience has shown that private sector managers are more efficient than the public sector managers or bureaucrats.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Therefore, manning the top management of MAN with the right men and women (read corporate sector managers and leaders) is the first and foremost challenge that MAN faces at present. MAN can never achieve the success or triumph it deserves without addressing this challenge first. In this context, the 33rd AGM of MAN should become a turning point. It should elect as many private sector managers and leaders as possible as its leaders.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	MAN is an organization with immense potential. It can become as strong as organizations like the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) and Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI). But MAN has not been able to become so because of the weak presence of the corporate sector in its leadership. Therefore, the Nepali corporate sector, on its part, should come forward to hold the reins of MAN and steer it to the right direction.</div>',
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			'description' => 'Management Association of Nepal (MAN) is holding its 33rd National Management Convention and Annual General Meeting (AGM) today. The AGM will elect a new executive committee of the Association. The executive committee, in turn, will elect the new office bearers for the next two years. Established some 35 years ago, MAN claims to be the apex body of management professionals in Nepal.',
			'sortorder' => '2401',
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			'id' => '2556',
			'article_category_id' => '141',
			'title' => 'Nepal Political News In Brief (3 - 6 February 2014)',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>President&rsquo;s Call for Majority Govt</strong></span></div>
<div>
	<img alt="President Dr Ram Baran Yadav" src="/userfiles/images/7.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px;width: 75px; height: 83px;" />After efforts to install a consensus government failed, President Dr Ram Baran Yadav on February 3 called on the parties represented in the Legislature Parliament to start the process of forming a majority government. In a statement issued by the Office of the President, the President cited Article 38 (2) of Interim Constitution 2063 in support of his announcement.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Unification still Possible with UCPN (M): Baidya</strong></span></div>
<div>
	<img alt="CPN-Maoist Chairman Mohan Baidya" src="/userfiles/images/8.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px;width: 75px; height: 82px;" />CPN-Maoist Chairman Mohan Baidya has said that party unification with the UCPN (Maoist) was still possible provided that the latter amended the political line it took after party&rsquo;s Hetauda General Convention. Speaking at a press conference organised in the Capital to make public the decisions made by the party&rsquo;s politburo meeting, Baidya, however, ruled out the possibility of immediate unification. He reaffirmed his party&rsquo;s stance for an all-side political conference for forging national consensus.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Oli Elected UML&rsquo;s PP Leader</strong></span></div>
<div>
	<img alt=" KP Sharma Oli" src="/userfiles/images/9.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px;width: 75px; height: 80px;" />Senior leader of the CPN-UML, KP Sharma Oli has been elected the party&rsquo;s Parliamentary Party leader. Oli who got 98 votes defeated party Chairman Jhala Nath Khanal who could secure only 75 votes in the election that was held at the second largest party&rsquo;s parliamentary party office in Singha Durbar&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	on February 4.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>PM election on Feb 10</strong></span></div>
<div>
	The House Business Advisory Committee has recommended to Pro-tem Speaker Surya Bahadur Thapa to hold an election to the post of Prime Minister at 11 a.m. on Monday. With this new development, the political parties are expected to step up parleys for power-sharing.&nbsp;</div>',
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			'description' => 'The House Business Advisory Committee has recommended to Pro-tem Speaker Surya Bahadur Thapa to hold an election to the post of Prime Minister at 11 a.m. on Monday. With this new development, the political parties are expected to step up parleys for power-sharing.',
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			'id' => '2552',
			'article_category_id' => '138',
			'title' => 'How New CEO Nadella Will Affect Microsoft Products, Consumers',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Microsoft&rsquo;s decision to name Satya Nadella as its third CEO in 39 years has some tech insiders wondering if the company is quietly moving away from its consumer business and refocusing its attention on corporate clients. Nadella, a 22-year veteran of Microsoft, has been in charge of the tech behemoth&rsquo;s server and cloud computing division, a staid but profitable segment of the company.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Microsoft has struggled with its consumer-based products, spreading itself too thin and falling behind the tech gadget curve, says Yahoo Finance&rsquo;s Jeff Macke.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&ldquo;Microsoft has made a lot of noise about becoming a consumer company,&rdquo; argues Macke in the above video clip. But the company has been &ldquo;trying to be a little bit of all things to all people for too long...it can&rsquo;t satisfy both the enterprise (business) and everyday customer.&rdquo;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Microsoft&rsquo;s business products -- Excel and Office -- are still in high demand with small businesses and Fortune 500 companies. But the company has failed with tablets and smartphones, devices that are deeply popular with consumers. For example, Microsoft sold $893 million worth of its &ldquo;Surface&rdquo; tablets in the holiday quarter -- a blip compared to Apple&rsquo;s $11.5 billion worth of iPads. Consumers purchased about a million Surface tablets last quarter versus Apple&rsquo;s 26 million.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Nadella told employees in a letter Tuesday that the company is &ldquo;headed for greater places&rdquo; and it&rsquo;s their duty to make sure &ldquo;that Microsoft thrives in a mobile and cloud-first world.&rdquo; He continues:</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&ldquo;The opportunity ahead will require us to reimagine a lot of what we have done in the past for a mobile and cloud-first world, and do new things,&rdquo; he writes &ldquo;Our industry does not respect tradition -- it only respects innovation. This is a critical time for the industry and for Microsoft. Make no mistake, we are headed for greater places -- as technology evolves and we evolve with and ahead of it. Our job is to ensure that Microsoft thrives in a mobile and cloud-first world.&rdquo;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Nadella replaces Steve Ballmer, who announced his retirement last August. Ballmer took over as CEO for Microsoft co-founder Bll Gates in 2000. Gates has officially stepped down as chairman of Microsoft&rsquo;s board; he will now advise Nadella on technology-related issues.</div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2014-02-09',
			'modified' => '2014-02-09',
			'keywords' => 'the corporate weekly from Nepal, nepali corporate events – news – interviews – reviews, nepali corporate focus, nepali corporate status and news, news from nepali corporate industry, corporate happenings – events – news from nepal',
			'description' => 'Microsoft’s decision to name Satya Nadella as its third CEO in 39 years has some tech insiders wondering if the company is quietly moving away from its consumer business and refocusing its attention on corporate clients. Nadella, a 22-year veteran of Microsoft, has been in charge of the tech behemoth’s server and cloud computing division, a staid but profitable segment of the company.',
			'sortorder' => '2399',
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	(int) 8 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '2550',
			'article_category_id' => '122',
			'title' => 'Sneha Group: For Hospitality And More',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<strong>--By Gaurav Aryal</strong></div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<table align="right" style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 10px;" width="25">
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>
				<img alt="Bhawani Rana, Chairperson, Sneha Group" src="/userfiles/images/3%20(Copy)(2).jpg" style="border-width: 0px; border-style: solid; width: 200px; height: 203px;" /></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td bgcolor="#FFFFFF">
				<div align="center">
					<div style="text-align: center;">
						<div>
							<div>
								<strong>Bhawani Rana</strong></div>
							<div>
								Chairperson, Sneha Group</div>
						</div>
					</div>
				</div>
			</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>
<div>
	The journey of Sneha Group of Companies began with the Nepalgunj based one star hotel - Sneha Hotel, as a family business of Asit SJB Rana. The hotel later expanded under the leadership of Bhawani Rana, Chairperson of Sneha Group. &nbsp; The hotel that started with 10 rooms has now grown into three star property with 65 rooms.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Rana says that the hotel is now the group&rsquo;s flagship company. Later, new companies in freight business, travel and tourism and agriculture were also named after Sneha as the name turned out to be a lucky charm for the group. The name is used as brand in the group&rsquo;s solo ventures. She reveals that the hotel is being upgraded to four-star category hotel with 75 rooms within a year. Likewise, the group is establishing a resort at Motipur of Bardiya district, near the Bardiya National Park. The resort will offer tourism packages including jungle safari and rafting. &nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The group has another ambitious resort project up its sleeves for Rara National Park as well. Rana says that land acquisition process is undergoing for this project and informed that the group will begin developing the project once the government gives green signal to its proposal. This eco-resort will have no concrete buildings thereby making it a truly eco-friendly resort. Rana says that the group plans to invest Rs 30 to 50 million in the project named as Sneha Eco Resort. The resort will have 20 to 25 rooms only.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Similarly, the group is establishing Sneha Culture and Entertainment in Kathmandu soon that will present various cultural shows for international tourists. . However, Rana did not disclose details of this project. Likewise, the group is also expanding its agro processing and production business that is running under the name Sneha Agro. The group is planning to enter herb processing and expand &nbsp;fisheries and banana farming . At present, the group&rsquo;s banana farm spreads across 15 bighas of Bardiya. According to Rana, the group, as of now has invested Rs 20 million in the agriculture and herbs, Rs 250 million in the hotels and registers around Rs 150 million annual turnover from its various businesses.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The group is interested in developing cable car as medium of public transport in Kathmandu in partnership with other investors. The French expert has undertaken the responsibility to conduct feasibility study of the project. Rana says that the estimated investment has increased to around Rs 25 billion and the viability of the project will be known while the Detailed Project Report (DPR) is prepared.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Focus on Mid and Far West</strong></span></div>
<div>
	The Sneha Group has focused its hospitality and tourism business away from oft-beaten destinations such as Kathmandu, Pokhara and Chitwan. Rana says, &ldquo;There were options for us to establish a project in Kathmandu Valley. But we decided to take the development out of the valley.&rdquo; The group had thought of developing Sanepa Tower Hotel at Sanepa of Lalitpur in a land spread over eight ropanis. However, the group concluded to offer tourists with services in off the beaten routes and destinations. She believes that the new resort project in Rara would open up new possibilities to explore the surrounding areas that have remained virgin as of now. She says that Nepalgunj is developing as a transit point for visiting numerous areas in the region such as Kailash-Mansarovar, Khaptad National Park and Swargadwari. She feels that the lack of promotion of Bardiya national park is holding off the possibility of developing tourism in the area in similar ways as that of Chitwan.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Tourism Specialisation</strong></span></div>
<div>
	It is not only the tourism and hospitality that the group has put its hands into. It was also operating Bardiya Sugar Mill that was closed down during the armed conflict. The group now is making plans to reopen this factory. However, the company&rsquo;s main focus is on the service industry. . Rana says that this decision was made based on her and family&rsquo;s interests. She recalls numerous instances when she was advised to invest in the hydropower sector.&rdquo;But they could not lure me into that,&rdquo; she says. &nbsp;&ldquo;Tourism and service industry is where my interests and experiences are. So, we are expanding in this area and the soon to be established entertainment and cultural centre will be another addition to it.&rdquo;&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Serving the Right Market</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Nepalgunj has become a transit point for visiting numerous tourist destinations in the Mid and Far Western Nepal. Be it domestic destinations like Dolpa, Jumla, Surkhet, Bardiya &nbsp;or &nbsp;few destinations located in Tibet like Kailash and Mansarovar. Nepalgunj is the point from where the journey begins. According to Rana, during the peak seasons, majority of clients residing at Sneha Hotel are the ones hailing from USA and Europe. She says that if tourism infrastructures can be developed and destinations in the region are promoted, the tourism industry can benefit the entire region. Recently, the number of Indian tourist is also significantly increasing, says Rana.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;Apart from pleasure seeking tourists, the major clientele of Sneha Group&rsquo;s hotel is made up of government officials and I/NGO and development workers. . Government and non-government institutions have set Mid and Far-Western region&rsquo;s development as their priority. Consequently, their activities in the region have spiked over the years. Nepalgunj is the base for these institutions where numerous conferences and conventions are organised every month thereby contributing a large chunk of sales and revenue to the hotel business.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Unlike Pokhara and Chitwan, Nepalgunj offers little tourist attraction within the city. So, it has been acting as a one night transit. Rana feels that there are some religiously important places like Bageshwori temple within the city that can be promoted&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	to visitors.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Being one of the oldest hotels in Nepalgunj, Sneha Hotel has remained strong throughout its operation despite the increasing competition. Responding to the changing market scenario, the group plans to rename the hotel as Hotel Sneha: Rana Boutique Hotel. Rana says, &ldquo;The region lacks boutique hotels. Hence this idea.&rdquo;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<table border="0" cellpadding="10" width="99%">
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td bgcolor="#E5E4E2">
				<div>
					<div>
						<div>
							<span style="font-size:16px;"><strong>Turning Point</strong></span></div>
						<div>
							During the decade long conflict, the business of Sneha Group was also affected as Nepalgunj happened to be in the close vicinity of the conflict area. While the sugar mill was closed down, Sneha Hotel was also forced to close for two months. Bhawani Rana, Chairperson of the group recalls those days as terrorising for entrepreneurs in the area. However, her group, with the hope of better situation, did not hesitate in making additional investments. She recalls that most difficult days during the conflict period were when the group had borrowed loan from banks and the conflict immediately escalated to its peak.</div>
						<div>
							&nbsp;</div>
						<div>
							<span style="font-size:16px;"><strong>Managing the Business</strong></span></div>
						<div>
							Rana, who is also Vice President of Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), says she has been able to dedicate very little time to her business, as she has to spend most of her working hours at FNCCI. In her absence, businesspersons in the family and company&rsquo;s managers look after the business. &nbsp;The group has employed 200 people in its hotel, agriculture and travel businesses. Rana says that staff of the group are sincere and hardworking and she recalls the incident where they worked at half their salaries when the hotel remained closed during the conflict period. The group has always treated its employees as family members and &nbsp;motivated them by listening and understanding their problems, by treating them professionally and by providing incentives.</div>
						<div>
							&nbsp;</div>
						<div>
							<span style="font-size:16px;"><strong>CSR</strong></span></div>
						<div>
							The group is carrying out its social responsibilities through an organisation named Saathi Sanstha. The organisation has established a shelter for victims of women trafficking. Women in the shelter are provided with hotel management and other skill oriented trainings. Rana says that the organisation also tries offering them job placements. She shares that 15 women are trained annually by this organization. Similarly, the group also provides scholarships to needy children every year.&nbsp;</div>
					</div>
				</div>
			</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>
<p>
	&nbsp;</p>',
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			'description' => 'Sneha Group of Companies, a business house based in the mid-western region of Nepal, is expanding its business roots into agriculture and tourism industry.',
			'sortorder' => '2398',
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	(int) 9 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '2554',
			'article_category_id' => '140',
			'title' => 'ADB’s USD 50 Mn Loan For Gautam Buddha Airport',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	<strong>--By TC Correspondent</strong></div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The Asian Development Bank has agreed to provide a soft loan of USD 50 million for the upgrading of the Gautam Budhha Airport in Bhairahawa. &ldquo;ADB has already decided to provide the loan assistance. What remains now is the formalization of the decision by the ADB Board,&rdquo; said Madhu Kumar Marasini, chief of the International Economic Cooperation Coordination Division under the Ministry of Finance (MoF). &ldquo;The Bank seems positive to provide an additional loan of USD 30 million later,&rdquo; he informed The Corporate, adding that the upgrading of the airport will be completed by the end of 2018.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Towards the end of the year 2012, ADB had agreed to provide a soft loan of USD 36 million for the project. Back then, it was estimated that a total amount of USD 42 million would be required to complete the upgrading of the airport. However, the project became uncertain after a Korean consultant put the estimated amount at USD 77 million for the project.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The latest estimate has put the total amount at USD 95.05 million, according to Ratish Chandra Lal Suman, director general of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN). &ldquo;CAAN will invest USD 22 million for the upgrading of the airport,&rdquo; he said. CAAN has already announced an international competitive bidding in accordance with ADB&rsquo;s guidelines for the construction of necessary infrastructure at the airport.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	According to CAAN, the upgrading of the airport will be done in two phases &ndash; civil work and installation of electronic devices and other equipment. In the first phase of the upgradation work, a 3000-metre runway, control tower, international terminal building, taxi way, fire brigade building, maintenance building, air cargo building and security posts etc will be constructed. Construction of these necessary infrastructures will begin by mid-2014.</div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2014-02-09',
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			'keywords' => 'the corporate weekly from Nepal, nepali corporate events – news – interviews – reviews, nepali corporate focus, nepali corporate status and news, news from nepali corporate industry, corporate happenings – events – news from nepal',
			'description' => 'The Asian Development Bank has agreed to provide a soft loan of USD 50 million for the upgrading of the Gautam Budhha Airport in Bhairahawa. “ADB has already decided to provide the loan assistance. What remains now is the formalization of the decision by the ADB Board,” said Madhu Kumar Marasini, chief of the International Economic Cooperation Coordination Division under the Ministry of Finance (MoF).',
			'sortorder' => '2397',
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	(int) 10 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '2549',
			'article_category_id' => '91',
			'title' => 'Women A Minority In MAN',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	<strong>--By Eliza Tuladhar</strong></div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<table align="right" style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 10px;" width="25">
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>
				<img alt="Shanti Laxmi Shakya, Treasurer, MAN" src="/userfiles/images/2(4).jpg" style="border-width: 0px; border-style: solid; width: 200px; height: 239px;" /></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td bgcolor="#FFFFFF">
				<div align="center">
					<div style="text-align: center;">
						<div>
							<strong>Shanti Laxmi Shakya</strong></div>
						<div>
							Treasurer, MAN</div>
					</div>
				</div>
			</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>
<div>
	Despite the widespread rhetoric on increasing women&rsquo;s participation in the management sector, the Management Association of Nepal (MAN), the only association of management professionals from various fields in the country lacks such participation. Though 40 per cent of its members are woman, their participation in the association&rsquo;s activities is quite low. &ldquo;The number of women members is increasing gradually but we still need their active participation and representation in the association&rsquo;s activities,&rdquo; said Treasurer of MAN Shanti Laxmi Shakya who has been working as acting director of legal department of Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) since 2045. Shakya is however, in the executive committee for the last 20 years.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	According to her, the number of women members and their participation in the association is still not satisfactory. &ldquo;Women should not remain passive, they should come forward with their views and ideas. If they don&rsquo;t they will be always deprived from every opportunity,&rdquo; said Shakya and further stressed on the need for women to struggle and move ahead. &ldquo;Since its establishment there has been only one female president, Dr. Arzu Rana Deuba,&rdquo; said Shakya.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	In 2002the association started awarding best women managers with the &ldquo;Women Manager Recognition Award.&rdquo;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	So far, nine women have received this award. Meera Bhattarai is the first to receive the &lsquo;Woman Manager Recognition Award&rsquo; in 2002, while she was serving as the executive director of Association for Craft Producers. Later in 2004 Hajuri Bista, managing director of H.K Food Products received the award. Other outstanding women managers to receive this award are Saraswati Shrestha, executive chairman of Women Cooperative Society Limited (2004), Lily Thapa, executive chairman of WHR, Single Women Group (2006), Sangita Nirola, executive director of SWATI (2007), Rama Pokharel Dahal, assistant general manager of Everest Insurance Limited (2009), Barsha Shrestha, general manager of Clean Energy Development Bank (2010), Pramila Rijal, executive chairman of SAARC Chamber Women Entrepreneurs Council (2011) and Indira Maiya Shrestha chief executive officer of Shtrii Shakti (S2)(2012).&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	In 2008 Anuradha Koirala, executive chairperson of Maiti Nepal was presented the &lsquo;Outstanding Management Award&rsquo; of MAN and she is the only women to receive this award so far.</div>',
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			'description' => 'Despite the widespread rhetoric on increasing women’s participation in the management sector, the Management Association of Nepal (MAN), the only association of management professionals from various fields in the country lacks such participation. Though 40 per cent of its members are woman, their participation in the association’s activities is quite low',
			'sortorder' => '2396',
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	(int) 11 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '2553',
			'article_category_id' => '139',
			'title' => 'Nepal And The World News In Brief (7 - 16 February 2014)',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Market Cap of Global Exchanges Hits 10-Year High</strong></span></div>
<div>
	The overall market capitalisation of bourses worldwide crossed $64 trillion last year, the highest level in more than a decade, on the back of improving investor sentiment. Latest data from the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE) show that market valuation of 53 stock exchanges across the globe stood at $64 trillion last year compared to $54.5 trillion in 2012. The level touched in 2013 is also the highest since the 2008 Lehman Brothers crisis that had pushed the global financial system into a tizzy.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Morgan Stanley to pay out $1.25bn&nbsp;</strong></span></div>
<div>
	US banking giant Morgan Stanley has agreed to pay USD 1.25 bn to settle a lawsuit over the sale of mortgage-backed securities. The money will be paid to the US regulator that oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage guarantee firms. US taxpayers had to rescue the two firms in 2008 in a bailout worth $187 bn during the financial crisis.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Panasonic Posts Profit in First Nine Months</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Japanese electronics firm Panasonic Corp posted a net profit for the first nine months of the current fiscal year, the firm said on Tuesday, thanks in part to a weaker yen and restructuring efforts. The company said it had made a profit of &yen;243 billion ($ 2.4 billion) in the period April to December last year. The figure compares to a loss of &yen;623.8 billion for the corresponding period of the previous year.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Investors Flee Emerging Market&nbsp;</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Investors yanked more than $6.3 billion from emerging market equity funds last week, the largest outflow on record in dollar terms. Boston-based fund tracker EPFR Global said the outflow was broad based and the biggest in three years as a percentage of assets under management. Institutional investors accounted for $5 billion of the redemptions.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>US Debt Default by &lsquo;End of Month&rsquo;</strong></span></div>
<div>
	US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew has warned the US may default on its debt by the end of the month if Congress does not raise its borrowing limit. Lew said he could rely on emergency measures to pay US debts after the limit is reinstated on 7 February. But he anticipated the treasury&rsquo;s reserves would quickly be exhausted as it issues annual income tax refunds. The $16.7 tn cap will be reinstated on Friday.</div>',
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			'keywords' => 'the corporate weekly from Nepal, nepali corporate events – news – interviews – reviews, nepali corporate focus, nepali corporate status and news, news from nepali corporate industry, corporate happenings – events – news from nepal',
			'description' => 'The overall market capitalisation of bourses worldwide crossed $64 trillion last year, the highest level in more than a decade, on the back of improving investor sentiment. Latest data from the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE) show that market valuation of 53 stock exchanges across the globe stood at $64 trillion last year compared to $54.5 trillion in 2012. The level touched in 2013 is also the highest since the 2008 Lehman Brothers crisis that had pushed the global financial system into a tizzy.',
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	(int) 12 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '2544',
			'article_category_id' => '137',
			'title' => 'Nepal Ranks Better Than India & Pakistan In Environmental Performance',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	<strong>--By TC correspondent</strong></div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Nepal has improved its environmental performance in the past decade, a latest report by the Yale University shows. According to the 2014 Environmental Performance Index (EPI), Nepal witnessed a progress of 4.96 per cent from 2000 to 2012, achieving a rank of 139th out of 178 countries. &nbsp;The country&rsquo;s overall score was 37 with noticeable improvements being marked in agriculture and forest. The index comprises of nine key indicators reflecting the performance of individual countries. The indicators include Health Impact, Air Quality, Water and Sanitation, Water resources, Agriculture, Forests, Fisheries, Biodiversity and Habit and Climate and Energy along with 20 sub-indicators. With a score of 100, Nepal ranked 1st in the world in agriculture subsidy-sub indicator. Similarly, the country also ranked 66th in pesticide regulation with a score of 84. Likewise, Nepal ranked 26th in forests sub-index with score of 63.12.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	However, in terms of air quality, Nepal performed poorly (ranked at 177), according to the report. Over the past decade, Nepal saw its air quality dropping by 42.75 per cent with all three sub-indicators showing degradation due to rising air pollution. The country&rsquo;s sub-indicator for household air quality declined 18.18 per cent whereas, average exposure to PM 2.5 air particulate decreased 33.5 per cent and PM 2.5 exceedance changed by 100 per cent over the past decade.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	In South Asia region, Sri Lanka is the highest ranking country (69), followed by Bhutan (103), Nepal (139), Pakistan (148), India (155) and Bangladesh (169). Afghanistan is the worst performer in the region (174). India ranked much lower than its emerging economies peers like Brazil (77), Russia (73) and South Africa at 72nd position. Meanwhile, China ranked 118th in the index. Switzerland topped the ranking followed by Luxembourg, Australia, Singapore, and Czech Republic. Among countries with the largest economies, Germany ranked the highest in the sixth spot followed by the United Kingdom in 12th, Canada 24th, Japan 26th, France 27th, and the United States in 33rd. &nbsp;In the 2014 EPI, Somalia was the poorest performer (178) accompanied by Mali (177), Haiti (176), Lesotho (175).&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The EPI report urged policymakers across the world to introduce and implement effective policies to protect the global environment. &ldquo;The EPI documents the tangible benefits that arise when policymakers pursue strong environmental performance and the damage that manifests when they do not,&rdquo; it said. The authors of the report hoped 2014 EPI results would initiate meaningful conversation among countries to understand how they perform on a range of high-priority environmental issues. First published in 2002, EPI was developed from the Pilot Environmental Performance Index, and designed to supplement the environmental targets set forth in the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). &nbsp;</div>',
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			'keywords' => 'the corporate weekly from Nepal, nepali corporate events – news – interviews – reviews, nepali corporate focus, nepali corporate status and news, news from nepali corporate industry, corporate happenings – events – news from nepal',
			'description' => 'Nepal has improved its environmental performance in the past decade, a latest report by the Yale University shows. According to the 2014 Environmental Performance Index (EPI), Nepal witnessed a progress of 4.96 per cent from 2000 to 2012, achieving a rank of 139th out of 178 countries.  The country’s overall score was 37 with noticeable improvements being marked in agriculture and forest.',
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	(int) 13 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '2504',
			'article_category_id' => '134',
			'title' => '“DANIDA Is Striving To Improve An Enabling Environment For The Business Sector”',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:16px;">Nepal became a priority country for Denmark in 1989 and a long-term partnership was established. Through this partnership, Denmark aims to contribute to poverty reduction, political stability and to strengthen inclusive economic growth and access to renewable energy. In an interview with The Corporate&rsquo;s <strong>Gaurav Aryal</strong> and <strong>Sanjeev Sharma</strong>, the Ambassador of Denmark to Nepal, <strong>Kirsten Geelan</strong>, talked about DANIDA&rsquo;s projects in Nepal. She also talked about Danish development policy paper for Nepal for the years 2013-2017. <strong>Excerpts:</strong></span></div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>It has been 45 years since Denmark-Nepal bilateral relationship has been established. How do you evaluate this friendly relationship?</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Denmark and Nepal have been in a mutually beneficial and cordial bilateral relation for almost half a century. The Danish engagement in Nepal over these years has developed and matured considerably. We now increasingly work with Nepali national partners. We see much higher degree of national ownership and involvement in our development activities and considerable improvement of national skills and competences when compared to the early days of our collaboration.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Denmark has a quite a few successful examples of Business to Business (B2B) Cooperation like Carlsberg. How do you think such partnerships can be enhanced in the days to come?</strong></span></div>
<div>
	We hope that the match making event between Danish and Nepali businesses scheduled for March, will assist in finding new ways of increasing business collaboration between Danish companies and Nepali partners. We have identified six sectors as potential ones, namely agriculture, tourism, handicraft, IT, waste management and health. The idea of the business partnership is to create jobs, strengthen competitiveness and promote corporate social responsibility in developing countries. The initiative aims for that sort of overarching objectives while providing Danish companies with new markets and opportunities to save costs, hire human resources at cheap salaries and provide access to raw materials. We have seen some success stories in Nepal. Wehave a very well known Danish fruit and juice producing company teaming up with a Nepali company in Bhaktapur to produce organic juice and ice cream.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>How do you view the progress of DANIDA projects in Nepal?</strong></span></div>
<div>
	There are no shortcuts or blueprint solutions to long-term sustainable development. Nevertheless, there are some lessons learnt. We have seen thatprojects and programmes developed through long-term partnership, even in a preparatory phase, is an important prerequisite for long term and sustainable outcome. Working with national partners and having their involvement throughout projects is another important aspect for national ownership.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	We are not an implementing agency. We work with local co-partners in order to strengthen capacity of local partners and local government institutions to pave the way for sustainable development. We have done so in the past and will continue it in the future. We work very closely with the local government,which is an important partner in the development of Nepal.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Another lesson learned is on monitoring and resource management system, where we have developed considerably in our approach. We need to focus on constant monitoring of output, activities and impact, not just on the list of activities. Development has moved from a very simple straightforward project to big complicated phenomenon, covering numerous sectors and programmes. Another important lesson is we have to be working not only with national partners but also with other donors. We are constantly looking at the possibilities of basket funding, strengthening equal operation with other bilateral and international donors.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Private sector&rsquo;s role in the development programmes has tremendously increased over the years. How is DANIDA recognising this role in its new 2013-2017 programme?</strong></span></div>
<div>
	In this new inclusive growth programme, we will be focusing on developing agriculture with priorities in three key sectors namely tea, ginger and dairy in seven districts of eastern Nepal. We will increase value added chain, enhance infrastructure and work closely with district authorities in improving the enabling environment for the&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	business sector.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Some of the important programmes of DANIDA such as Education Programme, Human Rights and Good Governance Programme and Peace Support Programme concluded in 2013. How do you assess the achievements of these programmes?</strong></span></div>
<div>
	We have been working in the education sector in Nepal closely with the government for 20 years. Over these years, we have seen impressive gains in the education sector. We are very pleased to be part of that development. We have seen literacy rate rising from very low to significantly high. More importantly, we have seen an increase in female literacy rate and enrolment of girls in school. It is fair to say that with our assistance, Nepal has moved from fragmented and limited education sector to much more comprehensive and coordinated approach. So, that is some achievement we are very proud to be part of.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	In terms of human rights and governance, we have been very active key player in peace building process. We have supported Nepal Peace Trust, UN Peace Fund and have been instrumental in the successful integration of Maoist combatants into the Nepali Army. We have established a long-term partnership with Election Commission. We were very supportive to the recent elections. We have also worked very closely with the National Human Rights Commission and supported their important task in handling various complaints of human rights abuses. We have worked and will continue to work with civil society organisation particularly with regards to human rights. We have seen improvement in gender rights and situation of marginalised groups, particularly Dalits.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>DANIDA had been supporting the Government School Sector Reform Program (SSRP). However, some of the targets of this programme are yet to be met and thus, it is extended for another two years. Why did DANIDA decide to stop supporting the education sector?</strong></span></div>
<div>
	We have two priorities in our development assistance programmes: human rights and inclusive and green growth. That is in one of the reasons why the decision was taken in Copenhagen not to continue our engagement in education sector. Having said that let&rsquo;s not forget Denmark as EU member country is continuing to support education sector in Nepal through the activities of EU.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	We have been criticized for shifting our engagement in Nepal from the education sector but it is important to remind ourselves that this is a decision that has been taken in Copenhagen by the Ministry for Development Cooperation. It was a slight policy shift when we had a new government in Denmark, a couple of years ago.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>DANIDA has shifted its focus to renewal energy sector in Nepal. What is the progress so far?&nbsp;</strong></span></div>
<div>
	More than a million households have been benefitted from our efforts to accelerate access to renewable energy technologies in Nepal. We have worked for quite a number of years since late 1990s in Nepal&rsquo;s energy sector. We have delivered concrete results with our long-term partners, Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment and Alternative Energy Promotion Centre. We have seen improved technologies in terms of improved cooking stoves, solar systems and small hydropower plants changing the lives of millions of people. We also hope to be able to do so in our new inclusive growth programme to create even stronger synergy with renewable energy programme in tapping the experiences gained already.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>DANIDA in its policy paper for 2013-2017 has prioritised poverty reduction through support on green and inclusive economic growth. How easy or difficult you find meeting this target as green economic growth is still a challenge for developed countries?</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Apart from the renewable energy programme, we will be embarking on a new inclusive growth programme. It is a programme that will run over five years and has a huge budget of 400 million Danish Kroner. Green growth is a challenge for all countries. In a country like Nepal, challenge is to reconcile the country&rsquo;s need for rapid growth and poverty alleviation while avoiding damage to the environment. This is where we see the new programme making a difference to local communities. It is not a very big programme. The approach is to support local programme that is implemented by local districts and with specific poverty alleviation dimension. Over the years, the programme will be able to support the value added chain in conjunction with supply and finance and improved infrastructure.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
	<span style="font-size:16px;"><strong>Trade/Investment</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Nepal&rsquo;s exports to Denmark include handicrafts, silver products, ready-made garments, woolen goods, paper and paper products, etc. and major imports are machinery and parts, medicine and medical equipment, industrial raw materials, food and edible items, etc. from Denmark. The following figure shows that Nepal&rsquo;s balance of trade with Denmark is negative, except for the year 2012:</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<img alt="TRADE / INVESTMENT" src="/userfiles/images/inter%20(Copy)(1).jpg" style="width: 550px; height: 155px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px;" /></div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<div>
		Under Danish investment, a total of 21 joint ventures were established until July 2012 which had an FDI of Rs. 198 million and created 969 jobs.</div>
	<div style="text-align: right;">
		(Source: Ministry of Finance, Nepal)</div>
</div>
<p>
	&nbsp;</p>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2014-01-26',
			'modified' => '2014-02-09',
			'keywords' => 'the corporate weekly from Nepal, nepali corporate events – news – interviews – reviews, nepali corporate focus, nepali corporate status and news, news from nepali corporate industry, corporate happenings – events – news from nepal',
			'description' => 'Nepal became a priority country for Denmark in 1989 and a long-term partnership was established. Through this partnership, Denmark aims to contribute to poverty reduction, political stability and to strengthen inclusive economic growth and access to renewable energy. In an interview with The Corporate’s Gaurav Aryal and Sanjeev Sharma, the Ambassador of Denmark to Nepal, Kirsten Geelan, talked about DANIDA’s projects in Nepal.',
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	(int) 14 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '2528',
			'article_category_id' => '153',
			'title' => 'Generators: A Biz Thriving Under Loadshedding',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<strong>--By Madan Lamichhane</strong></div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The increase in load shedding hours and dip in temperature have created double whammy for generators market. In the past years, non-branded generators with low capacity were high on demand. But, now, people are inclined towards branded generators. Thus, the demand for branded generators is increasing day by day.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The generator market is on rise mainly because of the rise in the loadshedding hours. Prior to loadshedding, generators were used for backup only. But, due to current energy crisis, generators are being used as an alternative source of energy. The present Nepali market consists of four kinds of generators that run on deisel, petrol, gas and kerosene.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:16px;"><strong>Branded Vs Non-Branded generators</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Previously, customers prefered non-branded generators due to its low cost. However, in the recent days, people are aware about the quality of the generators which is one of the main reason for the increasing demand for generators. According to Vishal Gadia, Executive Director of Morang Auto Works Engineering Pvt Ltd., increasing awareness among people about the &nbsp;lifespan of the generators, fuel consumption, servicing and facilities of branded generators has caused a decline in the sales of non-branded generators. However, the share of low capacity generators in the Nepali market in the non-branded segment is also significant. &nbsp;Gadia estimates the market share of the non-branded generators with a capacity between one to &nbsp;20 KVA to be around fifty per cent. However, in comparison to the fast few years, the use of such generators has been decreasing, he adds.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&ldquo;Even though branded generators require huge amount of investment, because of its quality it is highly demanded,&rdquo; says Nirmal Bogati, Director of Subha Kamal Global Business Hub Pvt Ltd.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	In the recent years, generators have become compulsion in housing, departmental stores, offices and factories. Due to its increasing demand, there are varieties of generators available in the market from various brands of different capacities. However, in the past three years, the market of generator has remained stable because of its long lifespan. &ldquo;Generators are equipments that need not be bought time and again and thus the market is stable,&rdquo; says Bogati.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The market consists of different sized generators, ranging from portable generators to big heavy generators. &ldquo;Generators of different sizes are brought in the market depending on the customer&rsquo;s demand,&rdquo; says Bandhan Karki, Manager of Syakar Company Ltd. &nbsp;Syakar Company recently launched portable Honda generators. &ldquo;Such portable generators are useful for trekkers,&rdquo; adds Karki.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The increasing load shedding hours and the restriction on imports of inverters by the government has compelled the consumers to be dependent on generators. The Ministry of Energy had restricted imports of inverters in 2066 with the aim of decreasing loadshedding in Nepal.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Loadshedding directly affects the sales of low capacity generators. According to Gadia, the sale of generators with a capacity of 20 KVA is increasing because of long hours of loadshedding. If the loadshedding hours were less, &nbsp;consumers would have used lower capacity generators. This could decrease the sales of generators below 20 KVA capacity.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:16px;"><strong>Market Competition</strong></span></div>
<div>
	&ldquo;The generators with 1 to 20 KVA capacity make up 75 per cent of the market share&rdquo;, says Gadia. In comparsion to big generators, small ones are demanded more because of their relatively low price. The market competition is based on the features of the generators. As such, the competition between companies is based on fuel consumption, operation cost, customer service, availability of spare parts and price of the generators. Consumers&rsquo; awareness about low quality generators has created competition based on service, incentives and quality. This has led to the downfall of the non-branded generators as consumers are being aware about their pitfalls.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:16px;"><strong>Brands sold in Nepal</strong></span></div>
<div>
	There are one hundred generator distributors in Kathmandu alone. Some of the recognized generators in Nepal are- Honda, Yamaha, Kirloskar, Kohler, SDS and Greaves. 80 per cent of the branded generators are used in Kathmandu, Pokhara and Narayanghat while the remaining 20 per cent is used in other cities. &nbsp;As there is no basis to expect reduction in loadhshedding hours for the next 5 years, energy experts have said that generators are the best alternative to meet the energy crisis.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:16px;"><strong>Types of generator engines</strong></span></div>
<div>
	There are basically two types of generators available in the market-water cooled engines and air cooled engines. Many entrepreneurs believe that water cooled generators are more effective in comparison to air cooled ones. Water cooled are relatively cheaper and have a longer life span.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	In the recent times, the generators that are assembled in Nepal are gaining popularity. But, entrepreneurs suggest consumers to opt for branded generators because these come with warranty and other facilities. Similarly, the engines of branded generators are covered. These generators are safe to use and are sound proof. In India, generators lacking &lsquo;sound proof&rsquo; facility are banned.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<img alt="Generators" src="/userfiles/images/fc1%20(Copy)(5).jpg" style="width: 550px; height: 166px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px;" /></div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:16px;"><strong>Generators everywhere</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Though branded generators require huge amount of investment, customers&rsquo; preference for them &nbsp;have made them dominent in the market. Likewise, entrepreneurs believe that some of the latest Chinese generators available in the market are also good in terms of quality. Due to lack of domestic production of generators, many entrepreneurs have established themselves as authorized distributors of foreign branded generators.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:16px;"><strong>Problems</strong></span></div>
<div>
	For the imports of small generators of 10 KVA capacity, 25 per cent custom duty has to be paid. But, for importing generators with more capacity, only 1 per cent custom duty has to be paid. This is creating a big problem for the entrepreneurs. Because of the increasing loadshedding hours generators are demanded in every sector now . So, the government has to reduce custom in small generators because they are high in demand. If done so many people can afford generators.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:16px;"><strong>Things to be considered</strong></span></div>
<div>
	After every hundred hours of use, generators must be given for servicing. Generators, being a matter of one time investment, have to be used carefully. Generators have to be kept safely and out of reach of children. Similarly, their engine oil has to be checked time and again.</div>',
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			'modified' => '2014-02-13',
			'keywords' => 'the corporate weekly from Nepal, nepali corporate events – news – interviews – reviews, nepali corporate focus, nepali corporate status and news, news from nepali corporate industry, corporate happenings – events – news from nepal',
			'description' => 'The increase in load shedding hours and dip in temperature have created double whammy for generators market. In the past years, non-branded generators with low capacity were high on demand. But, now, people are inclined towards branded generators. Thus, the demand for branded generators is increasing day by day.',
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