KATHMANDU: The government on Wednesday launched its ambitious Prime Minister Employment Program, vowing to provide minimum employment of 100 days a year to all citizens, reported Republica daily.

“The government needs to create between 1,200 and 1,500 jobs per day to stop the exodus of Nepali workers but , in reality, it is not able to create even 1, 200 jobs per month,” Republica daily quoted Ganesh Gurung as saying.

However, analysts have commented that the program is short on ideas how to generate employment opportunities in the country.

KATHMANDU: Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli on Wednesday skipped a program the former Maoists observe on February 13 to commemorate their ‘People’s War’, hinting a message that the ideological differences still persist between the two communist parties, a report in The Kathmandu Post said.

UML leaders publicly said that marking ‘People’s War’ day was not the party’s official decision. The call was taken by Pushpa Kamal Dahal, the party’s co-chair.

They even objected to the idea of marking the day, report said.

KATHMANDU: The government is mulling to allot shares worth Rs 102.28 billion to the public to raise funds for building hydropower projects with the total capacity of 3,479 megawatts, reported The Himalayan Times.

It has planned to construct 19 hydropower projects under its program — Nepal’s Water, People’s Investment, according to the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation.

KATHMANDU: More than 50 percent of the central committee members of the Nepal Communist Party (NCP) are bereft of both the party and parliamentary duties, Annapurna daily reported.

According to the report, as many as 249 members in the 441-member Central Committee, have not been entrusted with party and parliamentary responsibilities.

The party has not yet been able to assign all the CC members with duties and responsibilities since the number is very large following the party unification, said the report.

KATHMANDU: The National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) has been in a Hamletian dilemma whether to award the contract to the company for Dharahara construction after it was found to have been indicted in a corruption charge, reported The Kathmandu Post.

A joint venture of ERMC (P) Ltd and East West Engineering Service  (P) Ltd had come first during the technical and financial evaluation carried out by the NRA recently.

On December 7 last year, the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) had field a corruption case against ERMC (P) Ltd over sub standard construction and repeated collapses of the main canal of the Sikta Irrigation Project, said the report.

KATHMANDU: Lawmakers from both the ruling and the opposition have criticized the proposed Federal and Provincial Police Bill for making the chief district officers more powerful than the chief ministers, a report in Republica daily said.

The draft bill is against the spirit of the federalism as it has curtailed the rights of the provinces, lawmakers said during deliberations in the House of Representatives on Tuesday, according to the report.

Lawmaker slammed the government saying that the bill has entrusted more powers to the CDOs than to the chief ministers and internal affairs minister of the provinces.

KATHMANDU: The Himalayan Times has reported that the Special Court on Tuesday released Gopal  Khadka, former managing director of Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC), on bail.

Khadka, who has been charged with misappropriating a huge sum during his tenure, has been released after he posted a bail of Rs 25 million.

Earlier on January 7, The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) had lodged a graft-case  against Khadka at the Special Court on the charge of embezzling property worth Rs 180.66 million.

KATHMANDU: Foreigner residing in Nepal and non-resident Nepalis (NRNs) living abroad will have the opportunity to get the special identity cards issued by the Nepal government.  According to a source at the Ministry of Home Affairs, the government is mulling to issue separate color-coded identity cards despite the bill related to national identity card does not have any such provision, according to THE HIMALAYAN TIMES.

ROLPA: Naya Patrika daily has reported that most of the schools in Rolpa are operating on the private resources. Of the total 407 government schools in the district, 232 schools are deprived of government quotas.

According to the report, most of the government schools are operating with teachers hired privately since they do not have enough government quotas.

Some of the schools have already reached a point of closure due to the lack of government quotas, bemoaned the school management committee members.

KATHMANDU: Nepal Communist Party Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal has assured the Madhesi people that he would do his level best to ensure their rights by amending the Constitution, reported Republica daily.

Addressing a gathering of party leaders  in Manahaur in Siraha on Monday, Dahal said that he is taking the initiative  to amend the constitution so as to address the concerns of Madhesi people.

Dahal’s fresh promise has been taken as an effort to woo Madhesi people for their votes, said the report.