As soon as she was appointed as a minister of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation 14 months ago, the first declaration of MinisterPAMPHA BHUSAL was to reduce the use of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), petroleum products encouraging electricity in kitchens and vehicles. She also announced to the provision of free electricity to poor and marginal people. With the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the prices of petroleum products went almost 100 percent higher, and her agenda of electric cooking and electric vehicles took pace. With a big surplus of electricity at hand, electric vehicles and electric cooking have received a high priority and Nepal has even started to export a huge volume of surplus electricity to India, which some Nepalis always describe as a myth and impossible agenda. Minister Bhusal, who has engineering, spoke to KESHAB POUDEL at her residence in Minister Quarter on the issue of energy transition in Nepal. Excerpts of the interview:
By Keshab Poudel Sep 03, 2022
Having been involved in the Dalit moments, DEVRAJ BISHWOKARMA, chairperson of the National Dalit Commission, has his own way to work to uplift the life and Dalits and end all kinds of discrimination against them. Chairperson Bishwokarma, a young and dynamic, talked to KESHAB POUDEL about various activities and the role of the National Dalit Commission. Excerpts:
By Keshab Poudel Aug 28, 2022
At a time when there are growing complains on the apathy of Tharu Commission in dealing with Tharu related issues, Chairman of Tharu Commission Bishnu Prasad Chaudhari spoke to Keshab Poudel on various issues related to Tharu commission and its accountability issues. Excerpts:
By Keshab Poudel May 30, 2022
Having invested in tourism infrastructures including cable cars in Butwal, CHANDRA PRASAD DHAKAL, Senior vice president Of the Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, see the opening of Gautam Buddha International Airport (GBIA) is going to be a major game-changer in tourism promotion and other activities in Nepal. Came to attend the inauguration of the GIBA, Dhakal spoke to New Spotlight on various issues related to GBIA and its implication for the Nepalese economy. Excerpts
By NEW SPOTLIGHT ONLINE May 20, 2022
Nepal’s tourism industry has been facing the most difficult time in its history due to the effect of Covid-19. However, the government is yet to come up with a recovery package. BINAYAK SHAH, the senior vice president of Hotel Association Nepal, spoke to KESHAB POUDEL on the issues related to the state of tourism and the hotel industry in Nepal. Having been involved for over 30 years in the construction of the Nepali Pavilion in Expo, Shah also spoke on the ongoing Expo 200 Dubai, UAE and Nepal’s participation in it. Excerpts of the interview:
By Keshab Poudel Apr 10, 2022
Like all other 10 commissions, Muslim Commission has also presented three annual reports to President and the government has already tabled them to the House of Representatives. However, it is yet to be debated in the Committee of House of Representatives. Given such a situation, SAMIM MIYA ANSARI, chairperson, Muslim Commission, Nepal, spoke to KESHAB POUDEL on various issues regarding the role, accountability and effectiveness of the commission to raise the voices of minority Muslim community of Nepal. Excerpts:
By Keshab Poudel Mar 28, 2022
Ms. Veronique Riotton, the President of the France-Nepal Friendship Group in the French National Assembly (the Lower House) since 2017, has recently paid a six-day visit to Nepal. She was accompanied by Mr. Nicolas Forissier and Ms.Graziella Melchior (both of them Vice Presidents). Ms. Riotton has specialized in human resource management and has been active in the field for the last 20 years. She works with associations operating in the fields of sustainable development, education, sport and social issues. In France, Ms. Riotton is a Member of Parliament from the Haute-Savoie department under the French President Emmanuel Macron’s political party, La République En Marche. On the 11th of March, Riotton agreed to an interview with Keshab Poudel and Fanny Jonckeau of New Spotlight Magazine at the French Embassy in Kathmandu to explain what took place during the meetings and the purpose of this trip. Excerpts
By Keshab Poudel Mar 24, 2022
At a time when there is a growing concern over the efficiency and effectiveness of constitutional commissions to address the issues under their jurisdiction, Chairperson of Madheshi Commission DR.VIJAY KUMAR DATTA has shown a way to make the commission effective and accountable to the people. Having completed his PhD in English and Masters in Maithili and English literature, Dr. Datta spoke to KESHAB POUDEL on various issues. Excerpts of the interview taken at his office in Jwagal.
By Keshab Poudel Mar 04, 2022
At a time when there are questions over the role of Parliamentary committees to make constitutional commissions accountable to people, KRISHNA PRASAD DAHAL, Chairperson of Finance Committee and BALANANDA PAUDEL, chairperson of National Natural Resource and Fiscal Commission, spoke to spoke to Keshab Poudel. Excerpts
By Keshab Poudel Feb 21, 2022
Having served different parts of the world, Yutaka Kikuta, a carreir diplomat of Japan, is the newly-appointed ambassador of Japan for Nepal. Ambassador Kikuta, who has been serving at Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, had worked as part of a Japanese mission in several countries including Thailand, the Netherlands, India and Bhutan. He was the ambassador for Nigeria prior to the appointment of ambassador to Nepal. Newly appointed ambassador spoke to Senior Executive Editor Somnath Lamichhane and Executive Editor Yekraj Pathak of RSS. Excerpts
By Agencies Apr 04, 2021
Professor Tomohiko TANIGUCHI, who works at the Graduate School of System Design and Management, Keio University, was also a Special Advisor to the Cabinet of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Doctorate in national security,20 years in business journalism, a stint for 3 years in London and one-time President at the Foreign Press Association in London, he also spent sabbaticals at Princeton University (Fulbright visiting fellow), Shanghai Institute for International Studies, and at the Brookings Institution as a CNAPS Fellow before joining the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as Deputy Press Secretary. Since August 2008, he held professorships at Keio and Meiji and taught international political economy and media studies. Professor Taniguchi spoke to Keshab Poudel through zoom. Excerpts:
By Keshab Poudel Feb 25, 2021
Having extensive knowledge of disaster mitigation, Professor Satoru Nishikawa, University of Nagoya, Disaster Mitigation Research Center (DMRC), has visited seven times in Nepal after the earthquake 2015. He is a widely respected expert on disaster reduction in Japan. He spoke to Keshab Poudel via zoom meeting.
By Keshab Poudel Feb 24, 2021
The philosopher and author of "Learning from the Germans" talk about what she calls Donald Trump's "fascist tactics" and how large social movements, like Black Lives Matter, provide hope. Philosopher Susan Neiman studied philosophy in the US and in Berlin and has lectured around the world, spoke on recent Presidential elections in the US with DW. It's been two weeks since the presidential election in the US, in which Donald Trump's Democratic challenger, Joe Biden, emerged victorious. Nevertheless, Trump still received more total votes than he did four years ago — and he has refused to recognize his opponent's lawful victory.
By Agencies Nov 18, 2020
Having almost four decades in Nepali Congress politics, Arjun Narshing KC, who has never compromised for democracy and ideals of the Nepali Congress, has seen many ups and downs at the party. One of the senior-most leaders as par with president Sher Bahadur Deuba and Ram Chandra Poudel, leader KC does not mind to say spade is a spade. This is the reason he disagreed with the decision of Girija Prasad Koirala to dissolve the Nepal Student Union and Sushil Koirala on party issues. He is now against the decision taken by president Deuba. As Nepali Congress is convening its General Convention, senior leader KC writes why is he against president Deuba’s policy.
By Arjun Narasingha KC Sep 28, 2020
As the country bordering China and India, Nepal is said by some foreign media outlets to be caught between the two powers. Some said Nepal is now walking a tightrope between China and India, especially amid the current border tensions. In India's media outlets, many reports tarnished China-Nepal relations and accused the good development of bilateral relations as harming India's national security. How does the new Nepalese ambassador to China, Mahendra Bahadur Pandey (Pandey) view these claims? How does he assess the development of China-Nepal cooperation? What's the latest development of Nepal-India border tensions? Global Times reporter Xie Wenting and Bai Yunyi (GT) interviewed the ambassador on these topics.
By Agencies Sep 28, 2020