PODS by PEI

As economies worldwide look to bounce back from the unforeseen setback created by COVID-19 pandemic, most of them are faced with rising inflationary pressures caused by the Ukraine-Russia war. Nepal also seems to have hit a stumbling block in the recovery phase after 2 years of decent growth after facing a negative growth rate in NFY 19/20 for the first time in over 40 years. High inflation, liqui...

The November of last year saw a heated contention between the Kathmandu Metropolitan City and the slum-dwellers of Thapathali, as the yellow dozers of the first were confronted with the homemade weapons of the latter. This wasn’t the first time the squatter (or Basti) had garnered public concern, but it continues to struggle to reach a resolution as the State finds itself torn between its duties....

Nepal is one of the most vulnerable nations to the effects of climate change, such as floods, landslides, and droughts. Yet, the government and other stakeholders are struggling to usher in proper climate financing, which, when worsened by poor management of the received funds, is rendering the country’s chances to achieve its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) unfeasible. In this episode,...

There prevail challenges to financing Nepal's development and growth in the midst of its limited sources of funding available. In this current climate of limited funding, foreign aid, foreign direct investment, and domestic resources have played a crucial role to sustain Nepal’s economy. Nepal has received financial assistance from several countries, including the US, Japan, and the UK, as well as...

There prevail challenges to financing Nepal's development and growth in the midst of its limited sources of funding available. In this current climate of limited funding, foreign aid, foreign direct investment, and domestic resources have played a crucial role to sustain Nepal’s economy. Nepal has received financial assistance from several countries, including the US, Japan, and the UK, as well as...

गाँउ गाँउमा सिंहदरबारको मनोकांक्षाले स्थापित सङ्घीय शासन प्रणालीमा तीनै तहका सरकारलाई हालसम्म पनि वार्षिक योजना तर्जुमा र बजेट परिचालन गर्दा सुशासनका मापदण्डहरुको परिपालना चूनौतिपूर्ण रहदै आएको देखिन्छ । तीन तहको सरकारको उपस्थिति रहेपनि आवश्यकतामा आधारित योजना तर्जुमा र योजनाको प्रभावकारी कार्यान्वयन अझैपनि कसरी गर्ने भन्ने सोचमै सीमित रहेको छ । तीनै तहको सरकारको वार्षिक कार्यक्रम र बजेट विगत पाँच...

In February 2020, just two months into the Covid-19 Pandemic, the World Health Organization announced another contagious threat to humans, an infodemic. They defined the phenomenon as ​​an excess of information, including false or misleading information, in digital and physical environments during a disease outbreak. Today, almost a year after the pandemic ceased, the infodemic persists. The globa...

From being a food net exporter, Nepal became a food net importer in a matter of a few decades. Whilst agriculture is the mainstay for the majority of the Nepali population, the markets are flooded with imported agricultural commodities. Only recently, farmers in Chitwan staged a protest against the unfair market price for local production due to high imports of goods from India. In today’s episode...

With the rapid de-escalation of the cost of solar PV technologies, and the conversations surrounding climate change, coupled with research suggesting climate change will indeed have an adverse impact on the flow, hydrology, and therefore, the overall electricity generation output of Nepali rivers, discussions about the uptake of other-than-hydro renewables have started to pick up momentum. To furt...

America's foreign policy has undergone significant evolution since its founding. After World War II, the country embraced a policy of containment towards the Soviet Union, leading to increased involvement in international affairs. The collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War marked a shift towards a more interventionist foreign policy, as seen in the Gulf War and post-9/11 conflict...

२०७२ सालमा संविधान निर्माण भए पश्चात, संघीय लोकत्रान्तिक गणतन्त्र नेपालको सरकारले आफ्नो पहिलो ५ वर्षको कार्यकाल समापन गरि, हालै सम्पन्न तिनै तहको निर्वाचन पछाडि, दोस्रो सरकार गठन र सञ्चालनको प्रक्रिया अगाडि बढेको स्थिति छ | यसै परिप्रेक्षमा, आज हामी देशमा भैरहेको राजनीतिक खिचातानी र हारजितको अन्तरङ्गमा रहेर, आजका हाम्रा अतिथि प्रा. डा. विद्यानाथ कोइरालाको कान्तिपुर दैनिकमा गत पुष ७ गते प्रकाशित ले...

In today's episode, PEI colleague Shreeya talks with Subina Shrestha about Nepal’s transportation sector and connects it to the global discourse on climate change. They discuss the direct and indirect impacts of Nepal’s reliance on fossil fuels for transportation, its contribution to global emissions, and speaking from the angle of climate justice. They argue whether or not Nepal needs to make the...

India has been seeking to expand its global influence and has set ambitious goals for itself in this regard. For example, last December, India assumed the presidency of the G20, a group of the world's largest economies that aims to promote international economic cooperation. This has been presented as a significant opportunity for India to showcase its leadership and advance its economic and forei...

Ep. Br#010 In 2026, Nepal will be graduating from the LDC status after meeting the graduation criteria for three consecutive UN triennials (2015, 2018, 2021) reviews conducted by the Committee for Development Policy (CDP). Nepal has been granted an additional two years to the 3-year transition period generally given by the UN, therefore, making graduation effective from 2026. However, questions ha...

Ep. Co#010 Sri Lanka is currently facing an economic crisis. The crisis can be traced back to a number of factors, including the country's high levels of debt, a decline in tourism due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and a lack of foreign investment. These issues have led to a sharp depreciation of the Sri Lankan rupee, high inflation, and a decrease in living standards for many people.   In this e...

Ep. Co#009 Nepal and Bangladesh have gone through similar tribulations and upheavals in their quest for affordable, secure, reliable, and sustainable electricity in the past. As we discussed in our previous episode of PODS by PEI, the principal factor behind Nepal overcoming its substantial load shedding was completing the cross-border transmission line that allowed for electricity trade between N...

EP. Br#009 To get an in-depth understanding of the Political Settlements Framework mentioned in this episode, please listen to EP. Br#008 - The Brief: Mushtaq Khan on Madhesh and the Challenge of Inclusive Federalism in Nepal - A Political Settlements Framework Analysis . In collaboration with SoAS school of London, PEI conducted a targeted survey of 352 SMEs in the tourism, agriculture, and light...

EP. Br#008 Contemporary economics and policy studies struggled with two main paradoxes: while on one hand policies previously successful in some countries remain futile in others, on the other hand, different approaches were capable of solving the same issues in different contexts. A Political Settlement Framework tackles this paradox by acknowledging the need to tailor policies to the idiosyncras...

Ep. Co#008 The 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference, commonly referred to as COP27, took place this November in Egypt. One major achievement of this round of dialogue, which went down to the wire, was to establish a loss and damage fund, particularly for nations vulnerable to the climate crisis. While this may have been “ a historic decision ,” it raises more questions than answers, espec...

Ep. Co#007 The 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference, commonly referred to as COP27, took place this November in Egypt. One major achievement of this round of dialogue, which went down to the wire, was to establish a loss and damage fund, particularly for nations vulnerable to the climate crisis. While this may have been “ a historic decision ,” it raises more questions than answers, espec...

EP. Br#007 This episode is part of PEI's coverage of the 2022 General Elections. For our pre-election analyses, please read our policy brief and/or listen to EP. BR#005 - The Brief: Anurag Acharya and Avinash Karna on Inclusion, Coalitions, and the Power Dynamics behind General Elections 2022 As the results of the 2022 General Elections slowly trickle in, there are some interesting trends that are...

Ep. Br#006 In 2018, the Supreme Court of Nepal, in response to public interest litigation filed by a group of human rights lawyers, issued a verdict to grant “external voting rights” to the Nepali diaspora. Today’s episode is a discussion between Anuj Tiwari, Senior Researcher at PEI, and Anurag Devkota, one of the lawyers responsible for that public interest litigation, about the issue of voting...

Ep. Br#005 PEI, in collaboration with SoAS, University of London, has been undertaking a research project that examines how federalism is being operationalized in Nepal. As part of this research, PEI followed the municipal elections held earlier this year in May and produced an election brief highlighting the concerns regarding candidacy selection by political parties and its implications on the p...

Ep. Br#004 Nepal and India do not only share borders but also relationships with rivers. More than 6000 rivers flow from Nepal to the Bay of Bengal through India. Koshi, Gandak, and Karnali river systems are the three most important river ecosystems that feed and foster the Ganges river ecosystem. Annually these rivers swell up during monsoon season and flood the downstream area in the southern pa...

Ep. Br#003 As the world gathers in Egypt for COP 27 this week, the discussion on climate change, its global impact, and the need to curb dependency on carbon-intensive sources of energy take center stage. Joining this spirit of climate consciousness and innovative rethinking, PEI colleagues - Saurab Lama and Nirjan Rai - discuss PEI’s 2021 paper “The Political Economy of Mainstreaming Renewable En...