PODS by PEI

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 distinguishing political and legal questions. Instead, the judiciary exercises its discretion and relies on established legal practices, principles, and precedents to make these determinations, often blurring the lines between what constitutes a political or legal case.  In this episode, PEI colleague Saumitra Neupane sits down with Semanta Dahal to discuss political question doctrine in Nepal's judiciary. The two draw from Semanta's article, 'Political Questions, Your Honor,' published in the Kathmandu Post, to delve further into how the Nepali judiciary determines the application of the Political Questions doctrine, and navigates through the nuanced and complex process of adjudication. Semanta Dahal is an accomplished legal professional with a BA and LLB with Honors from the National Law School of India University, Bangalore, and an LLM in International Law from the University of Nottingham. Currently, Semanta is an Advocate and Partner at Abhinawa Law Chambers in Kathmandu, where he provides legal expertise across various aspects of Nepalese laws, regulations, policies, and market practices. His advisory work encompasses areas such as hydro concession, infrastructure finance, electricity laws and regulations, land matters, cross-border investment, and potential power trade with India.  If you liked the episode, hear more from us through our free newsletter services, PEI Substack: Of Policies and Politics ( https://policyentre.substack.com/welcome ), and click here ( https://patreon.com/podsbypei ) to support us on Patreon!!

#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 Kathmandu back from becoming a planned city? In todays episode, PEI’s Sudipa is in covnersation with Urban Planner Shrinkhala Khatiwada to discuss Kathmandu’s urban planning history, current state, unique challenges, and opportunities. The two explore the core principal behind how urban planning is approached in the city, as Shrinkhala’s own experiences working in the field. They evaluate the cities priorities as exemplified by its recent urban planning projects, and end with an exploration on potentials and possibilities. Shrinkhala is founder of Gaatha, an architecture and design firm. She completed her Masters in Urban Planning from Harvard University. She has led multiple national and international architectural and urban planning projects, where she collaborated with a range of stakeholders including local government bodies, development partners, technical experts and community.  She has a Masters in Urban Planning from Harvard University.  If you liked the episode, hear more from us through our free newsletter services, PEI Substack: Of Policies and Politics, and click here to support us on Patreon!!  

#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 been an integral part of key reforms in Nepal’s electricity sector and contributed to numerous researches on cross-border electricity trade and transboundary water resources. Anurag is the Director of Practice, he leads PEI in thematic areas of governance, politics, and foreign aid. Anurag is a well-known political commentator and has written extensively on Nepal and South Asia, for national and international publications. If you liked the episode, hear more from us through our free newsletter services, PEI Substack: Of Policies and Politics, and click here to support us on Patreon!! 

#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, many critics are now pointing out the gaps in implementation surrounding inclusion, data security, and more. In this episode, PEI’s Khushi Hang sits with researcher and activist Neha Gauchan to explore Nepal's National ID program within the context of digitization in governance. They trace the development of the project, highlighting key actors and events that have come under scrutiny. They then evaluate risks and vulnerabilities in the project and digitization of governance in general, with a particular focus on inclusion, data security, data justice, and tech solutionism. Neha Gauchan is a feminist indigenous human rights activist. She currently coordinates the Knowledge Generation program at Body & Data, where she is involved in research on Digitizing Identity in Nepal. Previously, she worked in the field of digital rights with a primary focus on children. Neha has a Master's in Human Rights and Democratization from Manila University. If you liked the episode, hear more from us through our free newsletter services, PEI Substack: Of Policies and Politics , and click here to support us on Patreon!!

Bishal Thapa, an energy trade expert in Nepal, joins the podcast to discuss the potential and pitfalls of energy trade for Nepal. They explore the scope of electricity trade between Nepal and its regional counterparts, including opportunities, risks, and implications on energy security, economy, and geopolitics. They also discuss accessing the energy market in India and the challenges and complexities of Nepal's energy trade.

#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-based powerhouse capable of pioneering new technological frontiers. In today’s episode, we have PEI's Hridesh Sapkota in conversation with Sixit Bhatta on Empowering Nepal’s Tech Revolution. Sixit Bhatta, the founder behind the ride-sharing platform "Tootle," established in 2017, shares his personal odyssey, recounting the challenges he confronted while navigating Nepal's nascent tech landscape. Bhatta paints a compelling vision for Nepal's tech future. He passionately advocates for a transformation from a service export-oriented industry to a research-driven one, poised to fuel groundbreaking technological innovations over the long term. Now more than ever with the rise of technologies like AI, he emphasizes that Nepal must embrace a long-term vision of becoming a research-based tech innovation hub. He underscores that Nepal has laid the foundation for tech innovation but needs to take the next step by focusing on integrated platforms in sectors like unified payment gateways, fostering robust funding avenues for startups, and addressing policy bottlenecks. If you liked the episode, hear more from us through our free newsletter services, PEI Substack: Of Policies and Politics, and click here to support us on Patreon!!

#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 आन्दोलनका कार्यक्रम स्थगित गरेको थियो । झट्ट हेर्दा मीटर ब्याजबाट गरिब किसानहरु पिडित रहेको देखिए पनि यसको अन्तर्यमा आम नागरिक र आर्थिक रुपमा विपन्न जनताहरुको वित्तीय पहुच अझै पनि हुन् नसकेको यथार्थलाई कतै बाट पनि सम्बोधन गर्न नसकेको देखिन्छ | तराई मधेसमा मिटर ब्याजी र ठगीको कारण र यसका समाधानका पहलहरुको सेरोफेरोमा आजको हाम्रो संवाद केन्द्रित रहने छ | If you liked the episode, hear more from us through our free newsletter services, PEI Substack: Of Policies and Politics , and click here to support us on Patreon!!  

#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 effectiveness has been in question. In almost all cases, EAs are conducted as a formality rather than to mitigate environmental impacts. Some have even highlighted that developers use political patronage. Similarly, others have argued that since EAs don’t have scientific and practical considerations, their actual implementation and monitoring fall short. Recently, in the new budget, the finance minister announced plans to expedite the EA processes, to speed the development of infrastructure projects for economic growth, potentially risking the effectiveness of the tool. In this episode, we have PEI Colleague Shreeya in conversation with Padmendra Shrestha on the intricacies of community engagement in Nepal’s Hydropower Development Projects. Shreeya and Padmendra discuss the community engagement processes undertaken by project proponents while developing hydropower projects, and they evaluate how they communicate the environmental, social, and financial risks, responsibilities, and opportunities to community stakeholders. Padmendra is currently pursuing his Ph.D in the School of Geography and Development at the University of Arizona. Padmendra is an urban and regional planner with expertise in community-based planning and conflict resolution with a concentration on natural resource, environment, and infrastructure-related disputes. If you liked the episode, hear more from us through our free newsletter services, PEI Substack: Of Policies and Politics , and click here to support us on Patreon!!

#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; for example, even with a multilingual policy like the first-language-based multilingual education (MLE) program, most schools in the country explicitly focus on using Nepali or English as the sole language as the medium of instruction. In this episode, PEI colleague Sonia Jimee sits in conversation with Prem Phyak to explore multilingualism and multilingual policies in Nepal with a specific focus on Nepal’s education sector. The two analyze the gap between constitutional provisions and their real-world implementation, exploring the potential cultural implications of multilingual policies in governance and education as well as the growing societal perception of the English language being correlated with ‘quality’ education. Prem Phyak is currently an Associate Professor at Columbia University, Faculty of International and Comparative Studies. Previously, he was an assistant professor and associate professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and Tribhuvan University, Nepal, respectively. His research focuses on social justice, critical pedagogy, multilingualism and multilingual education, decolonial turn and language policy. If you liked the episode, hear more from us through our free newsletter services, PEI Substack: Of Policies and Politics , and click here to support us on Patreon!!

#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, Norway, a significant interest in advancing green hydrogen research and development in Nepal is growing. In this episode, guest host Saurab Lama sits with Biraj Thapa to uncover the complexities and promises of Nepal's journey towards a sustainable energy future through green hydrogen. They navigate the recent collaborations among key institutions and explore the historical evolution of this green energy. They also discuss the global hydrogen landscape, its applications beyond mobility, challenges, and recent developments in Nepal. Biraj Singh Thapa is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Kathmandu University and is also the team leader of the Green Hydrogen Lab there. His area of specialization is hydropower and green hydrogen. At present, he is focusing on the energy ecosystem for the transition towards a low-carbon society in the Himalayan region. He is leading several projects to implement hydropower as the means for introducing green hydrogen as an alternative future fuel in Nepal. He holds a Ph.D. degree from NTNU, Norway. If you liked the episode, hear more from us through our free newsletter services, PEI Substack: Of Policies and Politics, and click here to support us on Patreon!!