Kathmandu. On the occasion, 10 development heroes have been honored for their significant contribution in 10 different sectors. A total of 10 development heroes were honored at the Vikas Bahas and Development Hero Award ceremony organized by Bikash Media. Finance Minister Rameshwor Khanal felicitated the development heroes on the occasion.

Mayor of Lalitpur Metropolitan City Chiribabu Maharjan from political culture, good governance and development sector, Shekhar Golchha, chairman of First Choice Foods Limited Krishna Prasad Poudel from agriculture sector, Krishna Acharya from energy sector and Dhulikhel Hospital’s executive director Dr. Pushpa Kamal Dahal have been selected for their contribution to nation building by earning prestige in the country and abroad. Founder of IME Group, Hemraj Dhakal, has been awarded with the ‘Bikash Nayak 2082’ for the contribution of Information Technology.

Likewise, Director of Sanima Group Jiba Lamichhane and Prof Dr. Pramod Kumar Shrestha have been awarded for creative and honest business. Actress Surakshya Panta and Arjun Karki were honored with the award for art and entertainment.

On the occasion, Finance Minister Khanal expressed the belief that the honour given by the development media would motivate and energize them to work further at a time when the morale of industrialists and entrepreneurs has been low in recent period. According to him, it is necessary to boost morale to create investment-friendly environment in the country.

On the occasion, Chairman of Bikash Media, Ram Krishna Poudel, said that the creative and motivational works that the media can do will further encourage the people. “We are always committed to disseminating constructive and positive messages through development media, and we have taken every possible step to infuse more energy on individuals and entrepreneurs,” he said.

Krishna Hari Baskota, coordinator of the Development Nayak Judging Committee, said that the people who have done excellent work in their respective fields were selected and honored in an impartial manner. According to him, the selection for ‘Development Hero, 2082’ was based on the evaluation of working in 10 areas that have a long-term impact.

Best move in the media sector: Finance Minister Khanal

On the occasion, Finance Minister Rameshwor Khanal lauded the contribution of the development heroes in the country’s development and said that the media has played a significant role in disseminating positive message by identifying the good deeds.

Stating that dissatisfaction was emerging among the youths in recent period, Finance Minister Khanal said that today’s leadership has the capacity to provide good governance and make maximum use of limited resources and assets. He also urged the citizens to exercise their constitutional rights to vote for the formation of a good government in the elections scheduled for March 4.

Similarly, Vice-Chairman of the National Planning Commission Dr. Speaking on the development debate, Prakash Kumar Shrestha said that there is disappointment in Nepal due to lack of development as per the expectation. “From a policy point of view, almost everything is perfect, but the problem is in implementation. There is confusion about who will implement it,” he said.

Deputy Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank Bam Bahadur Mishra expressed concern over the low demand for loans despite adequate liquidity in the banking system. According to him, the lack of security has been the main reason for the lack of demand for loans.

“It is difficult to understand why there is no demand for loans even when we are providing loans at the base rate and offering loans at a low premium rate,” he said. Deputy Governor Mishra said that the NRB has been seriously active in the incidents of assault on bankers in recent times.

Speaking at the development discussions, senior vice-president of Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) Anjan Shrestha said although there was enough capital to invest in the banking sector, the morale of the private sector has gone down. “The perception and behaviour of investment has changed in recent period,” he said.

On the occasion, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NIC Asia Bank Sujit Shakya said that no industry can run without investment of banks and financial institutions. He highlighted the role played by the banking sector in the development of entrepreneurship.

Bidushi Rana, executive director of Goldstar Pvt. Ltd., said, “Serious preparation is required before starting any business in Nepal. Speaking at the Development Debate Program, she stressed on the need of paying special attention not only to the establishment of industries but also to their continuity. According to him, policy hurdles and difficult financial situation have made the operation of the industry even more challenging.

ING Group Chairman Sulav Budhathoki said that there is a risk of students going abroad due to lack of timely implementation of education policy. According to him, it will be difficult to retain students in colleges and schools in the country if the education policy of 30 years ago is implemented even now. Budhathoki said that the attraction of students to colleges and schools would increase if the education policy was adopted in accordance with the time. “We have forwarded the education policy as per the time, which is why there is a crowd of students in the college,” he said.

In the program, economist Dr. Biswas Gauchan and Nepal University Registrar Dr. Surya Raj Acharya presented the working paper. Giving a presentation, Dr. Acharya said that big investment was necessary as all the necessary infrastructures should be constructed in a short period of time. Dr. According to Acharya, investment in infrastructure has a multiplier effect on the economy. “If you spend Rs 1 billion on infrastructure, it will contribute Rs 4-5 billion to GDP,” he said.

Dr. Gauchan said although the economic indicators were positive in recent period, investment has not increased as expected. According to him, although there is foreign exchange reserve of around Rs 21.5 trillion at present, private sector investment has not been encouraged.