Kuda Karnalika
- Hriti Foundation has been organizing Karnali Utsav ..Kuda Karnalika (a policy festival) annually since 2020. The fourth edition of the festival has been held on February 17-19, 2023 in Birendranagar, Surkhet. Similarly, its fifth edition will be organized on February 17-19, 2024 in Birendranagar.
- Following the Karnali Utsav, several festivals have been observed in Karnali province. All the festivals aim at promoting the identity and culture of discussion that help contribute to building public policies. Sinja Rural Municipality has recently organized a food festival to promote organic cuisines. Likewise, Karnali Youth Festival has been observed in Birendranagar Municipality. Moreover, the Money Festival has been organized in Birendranagar to help promote investment and entrepreneurship in Karnali Province.
- Karnali Province Government is presenting its annual budget for the fiscal year 2023-024 on June 16, 2023. Hon. Bedraj Singh, Minister of Economic Affairs and Planning, has shown his firm commitment to extending the role of the private sector, developing entrepreneurship, promote effective service delivery and good governance while presenting the Appropriation Bill to the Karnali Provincial Assembly.
- Herbal export from Humla has decreased by 300 percent for the last 10 months compared to the previous fiscal year 2022-023.
- The economic growth of Karnali is expected to be 1.9 percent in the ongoing fiscal 2022-23. Publishing the province-level accounting report, the National Statistics Office has projected the contribution of Karnali Province to the total GDP is estimated at 4 percent (Rs 221 billion). According to the data the per capita income of Karnali is estimated $997 in the current fiscal year which is the lowest among other provinces.
Parliament watch
- The second session of the second inning of the Karnali Provincial Assembly has held on May 24. This budget session will present and approve the policy, programs, and budget of the Karnali Province Government.
- Almost five months after its establishment, four parliamentary committees of the Karnali Provincial Assembly elected their chair on May 28, 2023.
What we are doing
- Hriti Foundation has started a weekly update series named ‘Karnali Landscape‘. Karnali Landscape is the weekly media update of Hriti Foundation on the issues of Karnali Province. It is published through Hriti Foundation’s website and social media handles.
- Hriti Foundation has organized Youth in Policy and Governance (YPG) Alumni Meet Up on May 9 at Birendranagar, Surkhet. Five fellows (among 12) of the YPG and the representatives of Hriti Foundation were present at the meeting. All the fellows who participated in the meeting shared their observations on current political affairs in Karnali.
- Hriti Foundation has organized a Pre-Budget Discussion on May 31, 2023, Surkhet. The discussion program has been considered a crucial forum for the policymakers and civil society organizations to interact on the budgetary issues of the Karnali Provincial Government. Minister of Economic Affairs and Planning of Karnali province Hon. Bedraj Singh, members of Karnali Provincial Assembly Hon. Devendra Bahadur Shahi and Hon. Ranasingh Pariyar, representatives from private sectors and CSOs were present at the program. During the program, Minister Singh had shown a firm commitment to including the comments and suggestions provided by the participants into the upcoming budget. Hriti Foundation, based on the issues that have been raised during Karnali Utsav and other policy research, has submitted policy recommendations to the Karnali Province Government. The policy recommendations are expected to be reflected in the upcoming policy, programs, and budget of the provincial government.
See you next month
Dinesh Gautam
Executive Director
Hriti Foundation
