Nepali troubled transition: Some broader patterns

The end of the CA has amplified Nepal’s political uncertainties. The question that looms large is whether Nepal’s political parties will continue to work together to deliver a constitution that regularizes democratic process or whether they will drift further apart and endanger the gains already achieved. My paper argues that the basic dynamics underlying Nepal’s current political transformations remains unchanged. Cooperation among Nepal’s political parties has been the most crucial factor in this transformation. Interparty cooperation among Nepal’s political parties and the critical role of Nepal’s neighbors are the two linchpins of this dynamics. How will these internal and external factors impact Nepali politics in the new context of CA dissolution? In the following sections, I identify five broader patterns that have set the contours of Nepal’s current political transition and then I follow up with brief explanations of the same

Understanding Nepal’s Madhesi movement and its future trajectory

How definitive is the success of the Madhesi movement and how does one explain its course? What was the nature of the Madhesi uprising? Has there been a real shift in the attitude of Nepali elites toward the Madhesi issues? Are the Madhesi issues likely to be resolved peacefully? Many such questions about the Madhesi movement remain still unanswered. During my field study in Nepal in July-August 2010, I posed some of these questions to numerous Madhesi politicians, civil society leaders and ordinary citizens. My paper combines my field study observations with scholarly research to examine the dynamics of Madhesi movement

India’s role in Nepal’s political transition and the peace process: help or hindrance?

The election of Maoist leader Baburam Bhattrai as Nepal’s Prime Minister on August 29 ,2011 marked a clear deviation from India’s recent policy of rallying anti Maoist forces to keep Nepal’s Maoists from returning to power. Bhattrai was elected with the support of the Terai or plain region parties which represent Nepal’s Madhesi population. Most Madhesi parties, since their rise into national prominence in 2007, were known to have calibrated their moves with India. The formation of Mr. Bhattarai’s government raises many questions. Does the return of Maoist led government in Kathmandu signal a real shift in New Delhi’s policy towards Nepal’s major political actors? Is the formation of Maoist- Madhesi coalition a sign of India’s waning influence on the principals of Nepali politics? Have Nepal’s traditional political parties, the Nepali Congress (NC), and the Communist Party of Nepal (CPN-UML), lost India’s confidence in their ability to achieve a breakthrough with the Maoists in completing the peace process or to effectively encounter the Maoist challenge? This paper examines these questions in order to understand if recent developments in Nepal signal a fundamental recalibration of India-Nepal relations and how India’s policies in Nepal have helped or hindered Nepal’s peace process

Foreign Direct Investment in Indian Insurance Industry-An Analytical Study

FDI plays a key role in the globalisation process in terms of financing, transferring of skills, knowledge and technology between countries. The economic reforms initiated in India in the early 90s paved the way for the growth and opening up of the financial sector. Insurance and banking are the main components of finance sector. The reforms in insurance sector started in the year 2000 with the implementation of recommendations made by the Malhotra committee. Indian insurance industry was opened up for private players in the year 2000 with the enactment of IRDA Act. However to meet the capital requirement of private insurance companies the Government approved to enhance the FDI cap from 26% to 49%. In the last fourteen years of period the insurance industry has moved forward on multiple fronts. At the same time the industry is faced with many challenges. On this backdrop an attempt is made to study the significance of FDI and the challenges and prospects of insurance sector during the post reforms period. It is find that liberalisation in insurance sector has brought many positive changes in the industry and at the same time it demands to strengthen CSR and Governance principles for sustainable growth in the industr

The effect of supplements of groundnut flour or groundnut protein isolate fortified with calcium salts and vitamins or of skim-milk powder on the digestibility coefficient, biological value and net utilization of the proteins of poor Indian diets given to undernourished children

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Role of catalytic function in the antiplatelet activity of phospholipase A(2) cobra (Naja naja naja) venom

Three acidic phospholipases A(2) from Indian cobra (Naja naja naja) venom inhibited platelet aggregation in platelet rich plasma induced separately by ADP, collagen and epinephrine with different potencies. The order of inhibition was epinephrine > collagen > ADP. They did not inhibit platelet aggregation induced by arachidonic acid (10 muM). The inhibition was dependent on concentration of the protein and the time of incubation of the phospholipases A(2) with platelet rich plasma. Parabromophenacyl bromide modified PLA(2) enzymes lost their enzymatic activity as well as platelet aggregation inhibition activity suggesting the involvement of catalytic function in platelet aggregation inhibitory activity

Purple non‐sulphur bacteria and plant production: benefits for fertilization, stress resistance and the environment

Purple non-sulphur bacteria (PNSB) are phototrophic microorganisms, which increasingly gain attention in plant production due to their ability to produce and accumulate high-value compounds that are benefi- cial for plant growth. Remarkable features of PNSB include the accumulation of polyphosphate, the pro- duction of pigments and vitamins and the production of plant growth-promoting substances (PGPSs). Scattered case studies on the application of PNSB for plant cultivation have been reported for decades, yet a comprehensive overview is lacking. This review highlights the potential of using PNSB in plant pro- duction, with emphasis on three key performanceindicators (KPIs): fertilization, resistance to stress (biotic and abiotic) and environmental benefits. PNSB have the potential to enhance plant growth performance, increase the yield and quality of edible plant biomass, boost the resistance to environmental stresses, bioremediate heavy metals and mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. Here, the mechanisms responsible for these attributes are discussed. A dis- tinction is made between the use of living and dead PNSB cells, where critical interpretation of existing literature revealed the better performance of living cells. Finally, this review presents research gaps that remain yet to be elucidated and proposes a roadmap for future research and implementation paving the way for a more sustainable crop production

Veto Players in Post-Conflict DDR Programs: Evidence from Nepal and the DRC

Under what conditions are Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) programs successfully implemented following intrastate conflict? Previous research is dominated by under-theorized case studies that lack the ability to detect the precise factors and mechanisms that lead to successful DDR. In this article, we draw on game theory and ask how the number of veto players, their policy distance, and their internal cohesion impact DDR implementation. Using empirical evidence from Nepal and the Democratic Republic of Congo, we show that the number of veto players, rather than their distance and cohesion, explains the (lack of) implementation of DDR