By Kiran Chapagain

KATHMANDU, Dec 9 The Eighth and Ninth Five Year Plans may have given priority to it. The National Policy on Printing too may have accorded it prime importance. But the country is yet to set up its own security press. The Finance Ministry has a reason for it. The Ministry says it has not forwarded the funds to the Department of Printing (DoP) because it has doubts over the latter’s capability.

Meanwhile, the National Treasury is being drained off thousands of rupees every year in getting security materials printed abroad.

“The Government is ready to provide the needed funds for the establishment of the press, but first the Department of Printing ought to justify the need for such a press,” said a Finance Ministry official on condition of anonymity.

The officials at the Ministry of Information and Communications agree with the Finance Ministry stance. “Our Ministry has doubts over the capacity of the DoP in handling the press,” said an official at the Ministry of Information and Communications who did not want to be identified.

Giving his version, Narayan Prasad Lamsal, Director of the DoP, said that in the Ninth Five Year Plan (which is in its final year of completion), the government asked Japan, Germany and France for helping establish the press. However, the countries declined saying that it was an internal affair. “This is also one of the reasons behind the delay,” said the Director.

He said his department needs about Rs. 320 million for setting up the security press that will print all the security materials except bank notes. For the proposed press to print notes, it will require an additional Rs. 680 million.

Since 1998, Nepal has been toying with the idea of setting up the press, which was assigned top priority in the Eighth and Ninth Five Year Plans. Even the Media Policy of 1992 had given prime importance to the establishment of the press. But with the Department unable to get access to funds, nothing happened.

In the Eighth Plan, according to the Plan Evaluation report compiled in the Ninth Plan, “minimum progress took place in setting up the security press”. ‘In this Plan period nothing but repairing of the present building of the Department was done,” said the evaluation Report.

Nepal is printing its security materials—bank notes, passports, bank stationery, airlines stationery, stamps, question papers, answer papers, etc—in countries like England, Austria, Singapore, India, Bangladesh and Pakistan.

Though figures on how much money is going out from Nepal are not available, more than one billion rupees is going to India alone annually in the name of security printing, according to the draft of the Long Term Media Policy prepared by the Ministry of Information and Communications.

Besides, Nepal Rastra Bank is spending nearly Rs. 160 million annually in printing bank notes in Singapore and England. For instance, the central bank spent Rs. 156.194 million for the purpose in 1999, according to the Bank’s Annual Report 1999. Similarly, Rs. 24 million went last year to Vienna in printing postage stamps, according to the Red Book 2001/2002. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs spent US$ 253,750 in printing 250,000 copies of passport in last July alone, according to Protocol Section of the Ministry.

According to Director Lamsal, most countries in the world have their own security press as it is a matter of national pride and internal security. Among South Asian countries, Nepal, Bhutan and the Maldives do not have a press on their own. Sri Lanka has recently established its own security press.

“As security materials are being printed in foreign country, it is evident that Nepal is giving away its secrets,” said Director Lamsal. “For instance, India knows about our bank notes as they were printed in India till a couple of years ago,” he added, recalling his experience while he was in India to learn about the security press technology.

“We can print all security materials within the country itself by the completion of the next Five Year Plan if the government gives us the required budget,” said the Director. “We have now started to prepare the infrastructure and manpower needed for the security press from the money that the Ministry of Information and Communications gives us every year. This does not come directly from the Ministry of Finance.”