PODS by PEI

Last month, in January, several stolen cultural heritage were returned to Nepal from the United States. Among them were sacred idols of the Hindu god Uma-Maheshwar that were stolen almost 50 years ago from Chyasal, Patan. They were identified recently in the storage facilities of the Brooklyn Museum, which began repariation, after the efforts of Newa Guthi New York.   Locals welcomed their Gods wi...

#Ep.082 Laxman Datt Pant  is the chairperson of Media Action Nepal and an elected co-chair of the Media Freedom Coalition-Consultative Network (MFC-CN) . He is also an adjunct Professor of Media Ethics & Journalism at the Tbilisi State University  and the University of Georgia . He currently serves as the AMIC Country Representative for Nepal. Pant started his career as a journalist more than...

#Ep.081 Bhupesh Adhikary is the Senior Air Quality Specialist at the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) , Kathmandu. He is working on understanding the science and mitigation aspects of air pollution in the Hindukush Himalaya region using chemical transport models, in-situ, and satellite-based observations. He previously worked for the EvK2CNR Committee as their resi...

#Ep.080 Padma Sundar Joshi is the Vice President of Madan Bhandari University of Science and Technology . He has more than a decade of experience in. urban planning and environment. He has worked with the city office on projects like. the Municipal Infrastructure Improvement Project and the Kathmandu Valley mapping program. He has published books and a series of articles on urban development, incl...

#Ep.079 आजको भागमा पी. ई. आई. का अनुराग आचार्य, पत्रकार हरी थापा सँग नेपालको शासकीय व्यवस्था, प्रणाली र अभ्यास बारे संवादमा बस्दै हुनुहुन्छ | यो एपिसोडमा उहाँहरु नेपालको बिगत पाँच दशकको शासन व्यवस्थाको नालीबेली बारे कुरा गर्दै हुनुहुन्छ | हरि थापा बिगत तिन दशक देखि सुशासन बारे कलम चलाउने पत्रकार हुनुहुन्छ। उहाले नेपालको बर्तमान शासन र प्रशासनलाई न्यूज-रुम भित्रबाट नियाल्नु मात्र भएको छैन कि बिगतमा...

#Ep.078 Introducing and directing agendas in the policy sphere is a challenging task. Additionally, when the agenda in question is pushed to the margins with shame, stigma, and taboo, the pursuit becomes ever more demanding. Menstruation is one such topic repressed by societal norms of the global south, the stigma of which causes detrimental effects on the lives of innumerable individuals. How doe...

#Ep.077 In this episode, Khushi and Preeti discuss strategic peacebuilding and the role of Dialogue in it. The two explore the core principles of dialogue as a conflict-solving tool and the wide scope of issues it has helped tackle professionals like Preeti in inviting resolution. They place the significance of dialogue & peacebuilding in the specific context of Nepal and highlight how underly...

Last week, Nepal and India signed a power trade deal during the Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishanker's visit. The agreement consolidates the bilateral understanding of electricity exports pushed during the PM's visit to India in 2023.  Given the Indian government’s conditions on cross-border electricity trade, which recognizes electricity as a strategic commodity of interest, the...

Ep#075 On the second of this month, Prime Minister Dahal hosted a high-level side event at COP 28 entitled “Call of the Mountain: Who Saves Us from the Climate Crisis?”. Nepal, from its first pavilion ever at COP, spoke of the disproportionate impact on its ecosystem and local inhabitants despite having near-zero emissions -finally gathering the world’s attention for an agenda it heralded for more...

Ep#074 In this episode, PEI colleague Aslesh Shrestha sits with Kalpana Khanal to discuss Nepal's heavy reliance on remittances, analyzing their pivotal role in driving economic growth while also scrutinizing the associated risks and vulnerabilities. Exploring the historical trajectory of this dependency, they uncover the factors behind the reliance and examine their impact across sectors rang...

#Ep.073 Despite once being gripped by patriarchy, Nepali society has come a long way in terms of gender equality and equity, and gender policy efforts have played an undeniable role in reshaping the reality of women in Nepal. Today, women’s representation and participation is incentivized in different development sectors, including education, health, workforce, and politics.  However, the strides...

#Ep.072 The human pursuit of purging corruption in its social systems has perhaps been as old as the problem of corruption itself. Regardless, the problem persists and grows rampant, accentuating development challenges.  While some have given up in the face of corruption’s seeming invincibility, others have mobilized to reimagine anti-corruption strategies to encompass diverse aspects and stakehol...

#Ep.071 आजको भागमा, पि. ई. आई. का जनक पोख्रेल, पत्रकार रमेश कुमार न्यौपानेसँग नेपाली समाजमा न कानुनले न त आम जनमानसले नै बढी ध्यान दिएको बिषय,  'स्वार्थको द्वन्द्व' बारे संवादमा बस्दैछन् | वहाँहरू न्यौपानेको गत साउन २१ गते, हिमाल खबर पत्रिकामा प्रकाशित “एकै घरानाको सर्वत्र लगानी, जताततै स्वार्थको द्वन्द्व” नामक खोजमुलक लेखमा आधारित भई, स्वार्थको द्वन्द्वको अवधारणा र यो कसरी भ्रष्टाचारसँग स...

#Ep.070 Nepal's water sector is experiencing significant shifts due to its transition to a federal system, prompting a reevaluation of legal and policy frameworks to clarify roles across government levels. A major proposal under consideration is adopting a river-basin-based framework for improved governance and management. While aimed at enhancing operations and Integrated Water Resource Manag...

#069 Despite its prevalence across cultures and timelines, corruption is still a painstakingly elusive phenomenon to define, measure, capture, and address. And its impacts fuel some of the most significant socio-economic challenges of our time, including poverty, social exclusion, and climate change.    In Curbing Corruption, PEI colleagues sit in candid conversations with experts, practitioners,...

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Ep#068 The judiciary often deals with cases that involve both political and legal aspects, and the political question doctrine helps maintain the separation of powers by determining which issues are for political bodies to address and which fall within the  jurisdiction of the judiciary. In Nepal, however, there are no predefined norms or tick boxes within the language of the law for distinguishin...

#Ep.067 Kathmandu is a city famous for plenty of its charms but its capacity urban planning isn’t one of them. In fact the city struggles with overwhelmed roads, lack of open spaces, mismanaged waste and other problems which often outspill into vulnerable communities. However, urban planning has been institutionalized in Nepal for more than a decade. This begs the question, what’s holding Kathmand...

#Ep.066 This episode was recorded as a special episode prior to PM Dahal’s official visit to China. In this special release, PEI colleagues Saumitra and Anurag are joining Shreeya to discuss the evolving Nepal-China relationship amidst a rapidly changing geopolitical landscape. Saumitra is the Executive director at PEI . He leads projects on infrastructure, bilateral investments, and aid. He has b...

#Ep.065 The National Identity Card Project, an effort to digitize nationality through the distribution of a biometric-informed electronic card, began as part of Nepal’s e-Governance mission back in 2008. After years of delay, the NID is now in full swing, with almost 10.3 million individual data collected so far. Although the government initially touted the project for upholding Good Governance, m...

#Ep.064 Nepal has come a long way from its dismal past of power shortage and routine load sheddings. Today as more hydropower projects come online and supply is beginning seasonally to exceed demand there is an optimistic anticipation for power trade within the energy fraternity in Nepal. In this episode, Satish and Bishal evaluate the scope of the electricity trade between Nepal and its regional...

#Ep.063 Thanks to its youthful workforce and cost-effective labor, Nepal's appeal as an emerging tech destination is evident. The country harbors aspirations of becoming a global IT hub but faces a formidable obstacle course. Various policy roadblocks and a dearth of state support have held back the tech industry from ascending beyond its infancy, preventing it from evolving into a research-ba...

#Ep.062 २०७९ आषाढ देखी काठमाडौँमा शुरु भएको मिटर ब्याज तथा ठगी विरुद्धको किसानहरुको आन्दोलन काठमाडौँमा शुरु हुदा यसलाई कसैले गम्भीरताले लिएकै थिएनन् | पछि देशभरिबाटै मीटर ब्याजबाट पीडितहरु जुट्दै गएपछि बल्ल यसलाई सार्वजनिक सरोकारको मुद्दाको रुपमा हेरियो | आषाढमा शुरु भएको यो आन्दोलनका पिडितहरुसंग आश्विन २, २०७९ मा सरकारले ५ बुँदे सहमति गरेपछि मिटर ब्याज तथा ठगीविरुद्ध किसान मजदुर संघर्ष समितिले आन...

#Ep.061 An Environmental Assessment (EA) is a recognized mechanism to assess and predict an infrastructure project's potential environmental, social, and economic impacts. In the context of hydropower development, EAs are conducted to identify, evaluate, and mitigate the project's impact on both the natural environment and the communities. Nepal started EAs in 1997. However, their effectiv...

#Ep.060 Nepal is a multi-linguistic country with over 130 national languages recognized by the State. However, debates on multilingualism keep resurfacing, particularly concerning the State’s preference for khas kura (Nepali), a remnant of the Panchayat regime’s monolingual ‘Ek Desh, Ek Bhasa’ policy. The country has multilingual provisions, but the gaps within such provisions are quite visible; f...