Season 1

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 Kathm...

#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....

#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 regi...

#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...

#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...

#Ep.61 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 effect...

#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...

#Ep.059 Nepal's energy discourse has largely been centered around its immense hydropower potential. However, experts are now talking about Nepal's potential for green hydrogen and its role in the country's commitment to sustainable energy. With International collaborations, such as the partnership between the Green Hydrogen Lab, Kathmandu University , Nepal Team Hydrogen, and NTNU, ...