Nepali Poverty rate 2010 ---- which one is it ........

Varying statistical information on Nepal’s poverty has been made public in less than one year. For example, Nepal Living Standard Survey II, 2003/04 states 31 percent poverty incidence; National Planning Commission estimates 25.4 percent, ADB Outlook 2010 shows the percent of population living on less than $1.25 a day is 55.1 and Multidimensional Poverty Index estimates Nepal’s poverty at 64.7 percent......

Monday chat with development moghul Vineet Rai

Recently,through the online platform idea exchange,I got an opportunity(or rather got lucky) to ask Vineet Rai (CEO,AAvishkar micro equity fund ) about his views on the ongoing Micro finance crisis in India

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Here is his reply:

Dear Shabda

http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2010/11/indias_microfinance_crisis_is.html

here are my views
vineet

Impact investment -

Bob Patillo,CEO of GrayGhost Venture (GGV) came to our management class as a guest speaker. It was very interested to learn about the investments GGV has made all over the developing world (especially in India )

Gray Ghost Ventures (GGV) is an impact investment firm dedicated to providing market-based capital solutions to entrepreneurs who are addressing the needs of low-income communities in emerging markets. Depending upon the need and opportunity, we serve as creator and manager, sole funder, lead investor, co-investor, general partner or limited partner in operating companies or investment funds. GGV’s focus areas include: microfinance, social venture investment and affordable private schools.

In GGV "First Light Venture -Portfolio " there are couple of projects which I think if replicated in Nepal will have a great impact in the life of the rural population & unquestionably the demand for these kind of ideas and technologies is huge in our country...

1) Promethean Power - Solar Powered refrigerators to cool milk at the remote collection centers ( www.coolectrica.com)

2) Under the Mango tree trains and Porivde market access in India (www.utmt.in)

Getting global impact investors to inject equity in couple of Nepali project will be great !!!

Cardamom Price Nepal Vs India

NEw highest paying Bank ceo in Nepal

1. Cap CEO salaries and allowances to below 5% percent of employees´ pay bill or 0.025% of total assets, whichever is less ( See the Graphs above and crunch some number to figure out,who is making how much money) (number ON GRAPH IN 000) .
2. Vehicle to CEO must not exceed 50% of annual salary and allowances
3. Cap not applicable to banks in trouble, branches of foreign banks, banks having govt.

So,Mr Anil k Shah will be the lowest paid CEO? Irony is Nabil Bank CEO will be the highest paid banker in the country ..

Reading the headline “Central bank caps CEO perks and benefits” in this news paper ,forced me to revisit an op-ed written in 2009 by Paul Krugman, Noble Laureate in Economics. The op-ed was titled “Making Banking Boring”. In the piece Professor Krugman argues stronger regulation and salary cap in the financial industry could have prevented the ongoing great global financial debacle. He further adds caping compensation will force nation’s best and brightest people to leave the financial sector and join other sector of the economy.

Despite agreeing with Professor Krugman and also endorsing the move of the capping the salary , I strongly believe that it is not the role of the Central bank to cap the executive pay. If not the invisible hand (market forces), capping should have been left on the hands of Ministry of Finance. Instead of wasting time on unrelated issues, our very bright monetary economist and his team should utilize their intellectual capital on addressing domestic and international monetary issues. At the national level lots need to be done for the democratization of access to finance and taming down inflation. In the international front ,the central bank need to worry about how to prepare the Financial Institutions of Nepal to align their capital in accordance to the recently pass Basel III. Much talked about overvalue of the Nepali currency is still needed to be address. I can’t resist asking myself few questions. Did Rastra Bank independently decided to make banking boring to the few or was it because of the loan received from International Monterey Fund -Rapid Credit Facility ? Is “Washington Consensus” really dead??

Where fruits reap no benefit for growers

1. Nepal produces 250,000 tons of oranges annually, but only 10 percent of this output reaches the market due to inadequate transportation facilities, poor market access and dismal export performance.
2. Apart from poor transport facilities, ineffective collection, inadequate cold storage facilities, poor market access and low prices have prevented producers from getting the real value of their production...

Price of the orange juice in the future market is sky rocking ...............

CLICK HERE TO READ

Three mistakes by the development mafia

For longevity and sustainability of a development project, it is necessary to respect the locals.To develop a relation in the community representative of the developing agencies need to

1. stay longer
2. Be patient
3. Come back for feed back

Dollar Kisans should not view the poor as supplicants,pupils and constituents.instead,rhey neef to treat them as colleagues,teacher,and advisors.

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Public and the Private sector in Nepal

Capitalist Communist oF Nepal

In reality, with decades of hindsight it can be said that the much-maligned Rana feudal Juddha Sumshere as well as the Panchayat system were more serious about taking Nepal down the industrialization path and job creation for its youth. The former’s first industrial exhibition in Nepal in 1938 and his letter to Churchill seeking the Raj’s support for tariff concessions for products to come out of Nepal’s industries are proof enough. The Panchayat under King Mahendra did set up production factories that the Kangress was quick to close down after 1990 in the guise of privatization. By the 1980s, the feudal aspect of the Nepali economy had dwindled to insignificance and the country’s state apparatus had slipped into the hands of the trading class comprador bourgeoisie, a fact that seems to be appreciated, among the current political class, only by the marginal ‘Third Current’ group within the UML. It is also corroborated by the main parties, socialists and communists both, nominating scions of trading houses to the Constituent Assembly. How could they not, since the bulk of their unaccounted party funding comes from this source and not transparent levies.

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A new idea in banking for the poor

By teaming up with retail outlets in low-income, often hard-to-reach areas, financial institutions can create value both for themselves and their new customers.

Click here to read

Prince Al-Waleed expresses interest to invest in Nepal

http://www.nepalnews.com/main/index.php/news-archive/19-general/10804-saudi-prince-meets-president-expresses-interest-to-invest.html

Government Vs Private sector -flighting for its share at the bop

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Dr Ranjan making a case for Small Banks

1. Expanding physical bank branches to the rural community is not the only option to to achieve financial inclusion..
2. Why Big business houses shouldn't be commercial bank promoters ...
3. Commercial bank in Nepal should adopt business correspondent style banking method ...

Here is a good article on the issues raised above ..

Click here to read