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Girls lagging behind boys in math

Around the world, girls are falling behind boys in mathematics, with sexism and gender stereotypes among the root causes, according to a United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) report published on Wednesday.

The report finds that boys have up to 1.3 times the odds of obtaining mathematics skills than girls. Negative gender norms and stereotypes often held by teachers, parents, and peers regarding girls’ innate inability to understand mathematics are contributing to the disparity.

This also undermines girls’ self-confidence, setting them up for failure, says the report, “Solving the equation: Helping girls and boys learn mathematics,” which features new data analyses covering more than 100 countries and territories.

“Girls have an equal ability to learn mathematics as boys. What they lack is an equal opportunity to acquire these critical skills,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell in a press release concerning the report. “We need to dispel the gender stereotypes and norms that hold girls back, and do more to help every child learn the foundational skills they need to succeed in school and in life.”

An analysis of data from 34 low- and middle-income countries featured in the report shows that while girls lag behind boys, three quarters of schoolchildren in Grade 4 are not obtaining foundational numeracy skills. Data from 79 middle- and high-income countries show more than a third of 15-year-old schoolchildren have yet to achieve minimum proficiency in mathematics.

Household wealth is also a determining factor. The report notes that schoolchildren from the richest households have 1.8 times the odds of acquiring numeracy skills by the time they reach fourth grade than children from the poorest households. Children who attend early childhood education and care programs have up to 2.8 times the odds of achieving minimum proficiency in mathematics by the age of 15 than those who do not.

The report also notes the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has likely further exacerbated children’s mathematics abilities. Moreover, these analyses focus on girls and boys who are currently in school. In countries where girls are more likely to be out of school than boys, the overall disparities in mathematics proficiency are most likely even wider.

UNICEF calls on governments to commit to reaching all children with quality education. It calls for new effort and investment to re-enroll and retain all children in school, to increase access to remedial and catchup learning, to support teachers and give them the tools they need, and to make sure that schools provide a safe and supportive environment so all children are ready to learn.

“With the learning of an entire generation of children at risk, this is not the time for empty promises. To transform education for every child, we need action and we need it now,” said Russell.
– Xinhua

 

Nepal PM Deuba wishes Indian PM Modi on his 72nd birthday

KATHMANDU: Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba of Nepal has extended his greetings to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his 72nd birthday on Saturday.

“On the occasion of your birthday, best wishes for good health and long life, Prime Minister @narendramodi. May Shri Pashupatinath always protect you,” tweeted Deuba.

Recently in May, PM Modi made an official visit to Nepal where the two leaders held bilateral talks in Lumbini.

Both the leaders participated in the foundation stone laying ceremony for the construction of a Centre of Buddhist Culture and Heritage in Lumbini.

Prior to this, PM Modi visited the Maya Devi Temple. He was accompanied by PM Deuba and his spouse Arzu Rana Deuba.

The PMs paid their respects at the Marker Stone inside the temple premises, which pinpoints the exact birth spot of Lord Buddha. They attended the pooja conducted as per Buddhist rituals.

The two Prime Ministers also lit lamps near the Ashoka Pillar located adjacent to the temple.

Thereafter, the two Prime Ministers watered the Bodhi tree sapling from Bodh Gaya which was gifted by PM Modi to Lumbini in 2014 and also signed the temple’s visitor’s book.

As Prime Minister, this was his fifth visit to Nepal and first to Lumbini.

Prior to this, in April PM Modi and his Nepalese counterpart Sher Bahadur Deuba met in New Delhi to launch multiple initiatives as well as signing four crucial agreements in multiple domains.

The two countries signed agreements on Nepal becoming the 105th member of the International Solar Alliance (ISA), technical cooperation in railways, supply of petroleum products and sharing of technical expertise in the petroleum sector between Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. (IOCL) and Nepal Oil Corporation Ltd. (NOC).

The two Prime Ministers also witnessed the launch of the first passenger train service between India’s Jayanagar and Nepal’s Kurtha, the hand-over of the Solu corridor transmission project by India to Nepal and the progress of the construction of 132 health facilities across 10 districts in Nepal under a Government of India (GoI) grant.

The two countries announced the launch of the Indian RuPay card in Nepal, with the domestic variant of the RuPay card (roughly 83 per cent of all RuPay cards issued) to be functional on about 1400 Point of Sale (POS) machines in Nepal.

The move makes Nepal the fourth country outside India where RuPay is functional after Bhutan, Singapore and UAE.

The inaugurated Jaynagar-Kurtha railway section is part of the Jaynagar-Bijalpura-Bardibas rail link being constructed with grant assistance of INR 548 crore from the Government of India. It is a 35 km rail section, 3 km of which lies in the Indian state of Bihar and the rest in Nepal.

The project is the first broad-gauge passenger rail link between the two countries, opening an entirely new dimension for cross-border connectivity. Till 2014, this was an existing rail service on a metre-gauge rail link between Jaynagar and Janakpur.The Solu Corridor 132 kV power transmission line and substation project is one of the major projects in Nepal undertaken under the Government of India’s Line of Credit (LoC). The 90 km 132 kV Double Circuit line connects the remote Solukhumbu, Khotang and Okhaldhunga districts of North Eastern Nepal with Nepal’s national electricity grid.

After its operationalization, the transmission line will bring electricity from existing and upcoming hydro projects in the area into the national grid, and also supply power into the rural electrification networks of nearby districts. The project is expected to be crucial for the socio-economic development in the rural part of Nepal, in addition to contributing to Nepal’s overall economic and industrial development.

Nepalese Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba also held wide-ranging deliberations with PM Modi on various topics including cooperation in the power sector, railway projects, flood control programs, as well as the border dispute between the two countries.(ANI)

22 killed in Nepal landslides

Kathmandu —  At least 22 people were killed and five others missing in landslides overnight in Nepal’s Achham district, a local official said on Sunday.

Incessant rainfalls from Friday morning triggered landslides during the night, which swept away houses in three different parts of the district in far-western Nepal.

“The rescue teams have recovered the dead bodies of 17 people and rescued 11 injured people from the scenes,” Min Raj Acharya, an official from the district, told Xinhua.

“The search for five missing people is ongoing,” he added, noting that the army and the police have been mobilized for the rescue operations.

Of the injured, three were in serious condition and they have been airlifted for treatment in the neighboring province, Acharya said.

As a mountainous country, Nepal is prone to natural disasters like landslides and flash floods during the monsoon season.
UNI/XINHUA PRT

Nepal Foreign Minister Dr. Khadka arrived London to attend the State Funeral of the Queen

London — Minister for Foreign Affairs from Nepal Dr. Narayan Khadka has arrived in London on Saturday to attend the State Funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.

He was welcomed by Special Representative of the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, Ambassador of Nepal to the United Kingdom Gyan Chandra Acharya and Embassy officials welcomed him at VIP Suite of Heathrow Airport.

Foreign Minister Dr Khadka is scheduled to attend the Lying-in-State of Her Majesty the Queen at Westminster Hall, sign the Official Condolence Book at Lancaster House andattend His Majesty the King’s Reception at Buckingham Palace today.

One of the longest standing friendship between Nepal and Britain was established since in 1816. The British Gurkhas is an important feature of the friendship between the two countries.
The Gurkhas’ service in the British army officially started on 24 April 1815. The Royal Family, including the Queen, were present to celebrate 200 years of the Gurkhas’ service to the UK in London in 2015.

Government of Nepal has already declared three days of National mourning for the Queen.

The Queen’s funeral will take place on Monday at Westminster Abbey, with around 400 leaders from all over the world set to arrive in London to pay their respects.

As well as leaders and dignitaries, hundreds of key workers and volunteers have been invited to the proceedings, which will mark one of the most historic events to ever happen in many peoples’ lifetimes.

US President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron are among the most high-profile guests from overseas who have confirmed they will be attending.

Xi Jinping, Putin congratulates India on SCO presidency next year, extend full support

SAMARKAND — During the meeting of the expanded circle of the Heads of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, Chinese President Xi Jinping congratulated India for the SCO Presidency next year in 2023.

“I congratulate India for hosting the SCO next year,” Chinese President Xi Jinping said in a statement during the summit. He further extended his support towards India and it’s presidency of SCO next year.

“We will support India for its presidency next year” the Chinese president said in SCO.

Uzbekistan is the current chair of SCO 2022 whereas India will be the next chair of the SCO for the year 2023.

Meanwhile, Russian President, Vladimir Putin, also congratulated India for assuming the presidency for the following year.

Earlier, Uzbekistan’s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev welcomed PM Modi to the Congress Centre in Samarkand for the 22nd SCO Summit. T

his is the first in-person SCO Summit after the Covid pandemic hit the world.

The last in-person SCO Heads of State Summit was held in Bishkek in June 2019.

The SCO currently comprises eight Member States (China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan), four Observer States interested in acceding to full membership (Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran, and Mongolia) and six “Dialogue Partners” (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Turkey).

The Shanghai Five, formed in 1996, became the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in 2001 with the inclusion of Uzbekistan.

With India and Pakistan entering the grouping in 2017 and the decision to admit Tehran as a full member in 2021, SCO became one of the largest multilateral organizations, accounting for nearly 30 percent of the global GDP and 40 percent of the world’s population.

SCO has potential in various new sectors, wherein all the member-states could find converging interests.

India has already pushed hard for cooperation in Startups and Innovation, Science and Technology and Traditional Medicine.

From the time of its full membership, India made sincere efforts to encourage peace, prosperity, and stability of the whole Eurasian region in general and SCO member countries in particular. (ANI)

Nepal records 13K dengue cases so far

KATHMANDU: The number of people suffering from dengue has reached more than 13,000 in the country.

The bulletin of the Epidemiology and Diseases Control Division has said 13,700 persons had contracted dengue.

The country has recorded the death of 13 persons caused by dengue so far.

Dengue is caused by the bite of aedes aegypti and aedes albopictus species of mosquito which is active, especially at dawn and dusk.

Gautam Adani becomes second richest man in the world: Report

New Delhi — Billionaire tycoon Gautam Adani has now become the world’s second richest man, replacing Bernard Arnault by a whisker on the Forbes list. The Adani Group chairman’s net worth now stands at $155.5 billion ( ₹12.37 lakh crore).

According to the Forbes Real Time Billionaires List, Adani’s net worth rose by $5.2 billion, a hike of 3.49 per cent. He is narrowly ahead of French tycoon Bernard Arnault and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. Tesla founder Elon Musk continues to occupy the top position in the rich list.

In the top 10 list, Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani is the second Indian with a net worth of $92.2 billion. The other billionaires in the top ten list include Bill Gates, Larry Ellison, Warren Buffett, Larry Page and Sergey Brin.

On 30 August, Adani had surpassed Louis Vitton boss Arnault to become the world’s third richest man. It was the first instance when an Asian was ranked among the top three billionaires.

The Adani Group’s kitchen essentials firm Adani Wilmar Ltd is now scouting for local and overseas acquisition targets to boost its food operations business, Bloomberg reported. The company’s chief executive officer and managing director Angshu Mallick told Bloomberg that the company is looking to acquire brands in staple foods and distribution companies to boost its consumer goods offering and reach.

Adani Wilmar has earmarked ₹500 crore from its initial public offering for the purchases. The additional funding will be sourced from internal accruals and the 30 billion rupees of planned capital expenditure for next year starting April, he said. The food company’s shares have more than tripled since its $486 million debut in February.

The announcement comes after Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries announced its foray into FMCG business through its subsidiary Reliance Retail in August. ( From : The Hindustan Times )

Training mandatory for the Nepali workers going to the European countries as a caregiver

Kathmandu — The government has made training mandatory for the Nepali workers going to the European countries as domestic help.

The Department of Foreign Employment has made orientation training mandatory for such workers after it was found that some manpower companies were sending workers to Cyprus, Romania among other countries without imparting them the orientation.

The Guidelines on Sending Domestic Workers in Foreign Employment, 2072 has provisions requiring that the workers to be sent for this purpose should be imparted at least 30 days’ training before going abroad for employment.

The Department has also directed the listed manpower companies to make arrangements for sending the workers on foreign employment only after compulsorily providing them the training in accordance with the Work Procedures on Domestic Workers Orientation Training, 2070. (RSS)   

 

Sixteen children rescued from India

Kathmandu: As many as 16 Nepali children who were precariously taken to the Uttar Pradesh of India have been rescued.

Regional Coordinator of Shanti Rehabilitation Home in Nepalgunj, Bhumi Bhattarai informed that the boy children were rescued from child homes based in Gonda and Siddharthanagar of India and brought back to Nepal on Wednesday on collaborative efforts of Shanti Rehabilitation Home Nepal and Deharadun-based Help Cross Organization.

“The Indian security personnel had held the children, who were taken to India via interior entry point of Rupandehi risking their lives, from the Railway Station of Gorakhpur, India. 10 days ago”, coordinator Bhattarai shared.

Among the rescued were 10 from Nuwakot, five from Rasuwa and one from Kailali. Most of them are aged below 12. The rescued children were taken back to Nepal, he said, adding necessary legal process was arranged and consent was taken from the Child Welfare Committee Settlement in Uttar Pradesh.

The rescued children would be handed over to the parents in coordination with the Crime Investigation Bureau of Nepal. Though the children were rescued successfully, those involved in taking the children to India have yet to be identified, the police said. RSS

Kathmandu Metropolitan City to ban consumption of tobacco products in public places

Kathmandu: The Kathmandu Metropolitan City has decided to ban the consumption of tobacco products in public places within the city.

The new policy will come into effect from coming September 17.

The 11th session of the municipal assembly of the KMC passed the policy to effectively implement the provision on the ban on the consumption of tobacco products in public places, according to a notice issued by the KMC.

The banned tobacco products include cigarettes, cigars, bidis, chewing tobacco and gutkas among others.

Those flouting the rule will be booked as per the Tobacco Products (Control and Regulatory) Act, 2068, according to the KMC director and information officer, Basanta Acharya. ( Nepal live today )

Bangladesh to adopt market-based floating exchange rate to rein in foreign-exchange volatility

DHAKA  — Bangladesh is going to adopt the market-based floating exchange rate of the U.S. dollar against the Bangladeshi taka soon, said Bangladeshi Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal on Wednesday.

After a virtual meeting of a cabinet committee, he told journalists in Dhaka “We’re all set to introduce the market-based floating exchange rate soon.”

The latest decision came days after the central bank of Bangladesh asked the banks in the country to fix the maximum exchange rates of the U.S. dollar against the Bangladeshi taka for export-import bills and remittances, in a bid to ease pressure on foreign exchange reserves and end volatility in the forex market.

“We’ve to follow the global practice to set the exchange rate,” he said as the buying and selling rates of the each Greenback soared to 102.37 taka-106.90 taka in contrast to about 95 taka days earlier.

The minister expressed the hope that the move will help bring back stability in the country’s foreign exchange market.

In its bid to boost the shrinking forex reserves, the central bank of Bangladesh in recent months has taken various measures to discourage imports and woo more remittances from millions of Bangladeshi people living and working abroad.

Bangladesh’s forex reserves fell to over 37.0 billion dollars last Thursday after making a routine payment worth 1.73 billion dollars to the Asian Clearing Union against imports made during the July-August period.

The country’s forex reserves surpassed the 48-billion-dollars mark in August last year, the highest ever in history, due to a slowdown in imports and rising remittance and export earnings during the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • Xinhua

China to reopen its border with Nepal to facilitate trade

Kathmandu — China, which had unilaterally closed the border crossing under the pretext of COVID, is going to allow cargo containers stopped in transit to come to Nepal. China has closed the Tatopani and Rasuwagadhi crossings – two major trade points between the two countries – since last month.

In a meeting with President Bidya Devi Bhandari on Wednesday, Chinese People’s Congress Chairman Li Zhanshu assured that the border will reopen soon. Customs authorities have been informally informed that China is going to open the border from Thursday so that the goods stopped in transit can be sent.

In 2016, a transit agreement was signed between Nepal and China. Although Nepal has access to the sea through the Chinese road, it has not been able to fully utilize it. Due to the understanding that the “Free Tibet” activity will increase when the border crossing is opened, China has been making various excuses to tighten the border. China’s trade blockade, which started after the earthquake, has been happening under various pretexts until now.

Even though Nepal repaired the road on its side after the earthquake, China was not interested in opening the Tatopani crossing. After that, the gate that was opened was closed for a long time under the pretext of covid. It has been closed again since last month.

 

17 mn in Europe experienced long Covid; WHO urges nation to find solution

New Delhi — At least 17 million people in the World Health Organisation (WHO) European Region experienced the post-Covid-19 condition, or long Covid, in the first two years of the pandemic, said a statement from the United Nations health agency.

“Governments and health partners must collaborate to find solutions based on research and evidence,” said Hans Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe, in the statement on Tuesday.

With millions of people likely to be affected by the aftereffects of contracting Covid during the pandemic “for years to come,” WHO urged countries in the region to “take post Covid-19 condition seriously by urgently investing in research, recovery, and rehabilitation”.

The findings, which cover the years 2020 and 2021, come from a recent international “new modeling” study done for WHO Europe by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington’s School of Medicine in the US, Xinhua news agency reported.

It shows a “staggering 307-per cent increase in new long Covid cases identified between 2020 and 2021, driven by the rapid increase in confirmed Covid-19 cases from late 2020 and throughout 2021”.

According to the statement, the modeling also indicates that females are twice as likely as males to have long Covid.

Among severe Covid-19 cases requiring hospitalisation, one in three females and one in five males are likely to develop long Covid.

The WHO defines the long Covid as “a constellation of long-term symptoms that some people experience after having Covid-19, such as fatigue, breathlessness and cognitive dysfunction (for example, confusion, forgetfulness, or a lack of mental focus and clarity)”.

“For these goals to be achieved, we need all countries in the region to recognise that long Covid is a serious problem, with serious consequences and requires a serious response to stop the lives of those affected from getting any worse,” Kluge added.

–IANS

Nepal’s FM Narayan Khadka to attend British Queen Elizabeth’s funeral

Kathmandu — Minister for Foreign Affairs, Narayan Khadka, will go to London to be a part of the funeral of the deceased British Queen Elizabeth II.

Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba’s foreign affairs advisor Arun Subedi informed Khadka would be attending the funeral.

Khadka will fly to London on Saturday.

The funeral will take place in London on September 19. Elizabeth II died on September 8. She was 96 years old.

Nepal has already declared three days of national mourning over the demise of Queen Elizabeth II.

Nepal can be the Switzerland of Asia due to its purity and enormous possibilities – Sadguru

Kathmandu — The founder of Yogi and Isha Foundation Sadhguru has said that Nepal has the potential to become the Switzerland of Asia due to the purity and sweetness of Nepali culture.
 The Indian mystic Sadguru stated while addressing representatives of various media houses and businessmen in an event held at Battisputli, Kathmandu, Nepal. “The underdevelopment of any country is an opportunity so that we can make the nation we want,” he said.
He especially urged the youth and businessmen to come together to create a vision for the welfare of the nation and to present that vision to the leaders to decide the future of the nation before the next election.
 Stating that politics is not a game of discrimination but a means of making policies for the benefit of the nation.
Sadhguru said, “The beauty of democracy is that citizens have the right to choose their leaders, so this power should be used wisely to bring conscious people to the leadership level.”
In response to the question of one of the participants about what a country like Nepal can do to protect the soil, Sadhguru stressed on “policy change” to protect the soil and said that three things should be included in particular. Firstly, relief should be given to farmers, secondly, the process of carbon credit should be simplified and thirdly, food products with minimum organic content should be recognized in the market.
Sadhguru emphasized that it is possible to save the soil only by addressing the economic condition of the farmers.
Last March, Sadhguru launched the Global Soil Conservation Campaign to address the problem of soil desertification around the world.
So far, 3.9 billion people have expressed their support for the campaign, in which 81 countries including Nepal have officially joined.

Review of a Champion and International Expert in the Field of Energy and Environment

By Tim Reynolds Chartered Engineer, Chartered Environmentalist.

 

Energy is one of the basic requirements to sustain our civilization, yet also the greatest threat to carbonization, and global warming.  Secure and abundant electrical power is vital in developing industrialized nations in the 21st century. Climate change significantly affects many countries’ economic systems, ecological structures and social development.

 

Dr. Ramhari Poudyal is driving change for renewable energy and decarbonized industrial development in East Asia, Nepal has enormous hydropower resources, 330 days of sunny weather, and surrounded by many 12,000 meters tall mountains including Mount Everest, yet regularly suffers 18 hours long power outages.. Dr. Ramhari Poudyal is an electrical engineer determined to enable Nepal to become the renewable energy producer for the region, beyond the national boundaries feeding energy poor neighboring countries.  He must build a network of partners, not least in the USA to achieve deployment of renewable energy and other strategies for energy planning,, efficiency improvement conservation, and induatrial decarbonisation, To build partnerships in Innovative technologies such as Smart grid, micro grid, and distributed generation with fully digitalized sensors and smart meters to control the energy theft and huge system loss.

After many years of industrial and engineering experience, Dr. Poudyal decided to research at Swansea University, UK. Dr. Poudyal’s primary area of study was the energy crisis and its mitigation by renewable and sustainable energy.. Dr. Poudyal conducted extensive holistic research that has created new knowledge in the energy sector and published several international peer-reviewed articles, conference papers, and many newspaper and magazine articles about energy crisis and the environment, regularly cited in international journals. He has been invited for an interview by popular media and newspapers. He has participated as a judge and a member of panels to evaluate the work of others in several national and international meetings and journals in his field. His professional expertise were renewable energy, energy planning, energy modeling, energy efficiency improvement and sustainability.

 

Dr. Poudyal is always keen to learn new technologies and sharpen his ability by taking online courses and programs from the USA-based university in his field such as Energy, the Environment and Our Future, the Pennsylvania State University USA. Global sustainable energy: Past, present and the Future, the University of Florida, the USA. Integrating and Planning Projects from the University of California, Irvine, the USA, Developing Innovative Ideas for New Companies: the first step in Entrepreneurship University of Maryland, College Park, the USA. Cities and Consumption: Urban Sustainability and the Sharing Economy, Lund University.

 

Dr. Poudyal brings together a diverse panel of experts to discuss lessons from previous energy price shocks, prospects for energy and metal markets, and policy options to accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels while shielding vulnerable groups from damaging disruptions.

Moreover, the world is feeling the pressures of Climate and Ecosystem Change. This includes increasing temperatures, flooding, drought, more powerful and frequent storms, wildfires, crop loss, illness, thawing glaciers, and rising sea levels. Illustrates the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has magnified the slowdown in the global economy and highlighting the need for policies to address the underlying demand and supply imbalances.

 

Dr. Poudyal and team is focusing on climate change, committing to adaption by collaborating with interdisciplinary teams of researchers from USA, Europe UK and Nepal to solve some of the world’s most complex energy and environmental challenges. Dr. Poudyal mentions that our world needs abundant, clean, safe, and affordable energy. His study aims to understand challenges in the mechanism of energy transition and advise energy policy for green and resilient energy. For this, Dr. Poudyal is looking forward to helping the world identify unique routes forward for long-term solutions by energy modeling potential in alleviating the energy poverty of the world. Dr. Poudyal explores as a leading role in a project focused on understanding the world’s energy situation and its supply and demand scenario focusing on Nepal as a case study. Dr. Poudyal’s innovative finding published the causes of the energy crisis and its solution in one of the preeminent international pear reviewed journals; “Renewable and Sustainable Energy Review”. (Impact Factor 16.79).  His article is cited 108 times in a many world-renowned journals. Some of the citations become policy-level citations from highly influential and world-renowned journals and coverage is of international significance.

Dr. Poudyal’s new knowledge is correlated with energy and environment where he champions three pillars:

  • Approximately 1.2 billion people lack access to electricity, and roughly 2.5 billion access to modern cooking (Poudyal R. et al., 2019).
  • Secondly, energy security and reliability is a crucial issue. Geopolitical effects directly harm the energy safety and distribution. Dr. Poudyal has published several papers in the leading National government daily newspaper GorkhapatraThe Rising Nepal, Nagarik News and other media. The recent conflict between Russia-Ukraine has taught us the importance of energy security very closely.
  • Energy in the environment is vital as 65% of carbon emission results from current energy generation. Fossil fuels traditionally generate our energy. Dr. Poudyal mentions that air pollution kills millions of people worldwide and shortens the lives of people in polluted cities by many years. Dr. Poudyal presented the finding at the BNAC conference 2018 Durham University, UK.

 

Energy consumption accounts for 65% of total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. As our dependence on electricity increases and supply-demand management becomes more challenging, large-scale power outages are more common. This has a direct adverse effect on state economies. Other key factors contributing to the energy crisis are presented in the figure below. (Poudyal, R. et al., 2019)

 

Dr. Poudyal’s innovative finding analyzed a long-term outlook on the energy situation is outlined using the Long-Range Energy Alternatives Planning (LEAP) modeling software to exploit Nepal’s tremendous renewable energy resources measure significantly to improve the reliable and affordable energy supply and demand by measuring a quantitatively, estimate costs, and environmental impacts. Dr. Poudyal utilized the right tools and critically analyzes energy challenges and His model contributes significantly to overcome the world’s energy crisis. This innovative result was published in the Renewable and Sustainable Energy international pear review journal. His model could be benedictional not only developing countries but any developed countries around the globe like the USA and the UK.

 

Dr. Poudyal recent study investigates the techno-economic feasibility of installing a 3-kilowatt-peak (kWp) photovoltaic (PV) system in Kathmandu, Nepal. The technical viability of the designed PV system is assessed using PVsyst and Meteonorm simulation software. The study showed significant scaling up the share of solar energy to contribute to the country’s overall energy generation mix. The performance indicators adopted in his study are: The electric energy output, Performance ratio, the economic returns include the levelized cost and the net present value of energy production. The key parameters used in simulations are: Site-specific meteorological data, solar irradiance, PV capacity factor, the price of electricity.

 

Dr. Poudyal’s results show that the 3-kWp PV system can generate 100% of the electricity consumed by a typical residential household in Kathmandu. The achieved PV system efficiency and the performance ratio are 17% and 84%, respectively. The demand-supply gap has been estimated, assuming the load profile of a typical household in Kathmandu under the enhanced use of electric appliances. The calculated levelized cost of energy for the PV system considered is 0.06 $/kWh, and the corresponding rate of investment is 87%. The payback period is estimated to be 8.6 years. The installation of the designed solar PV system could save 10.33 tons of CO2 emission over its lifetime. Overall, the PV systems with a three kWp capacity appear to be a viable solution to secure sufficient electricity for most households in Kathmandu city. This model can be implemented globally to increase energy security and mitigate the current global energy crisis. According to the Department of Energy, the USA aims to achieve 100% carbon neutrality by 2035. For this, Dr.  Poudyal’s innovative ideas to reduce carbon emission by energy efficiency measures, the adaptation of RETs and energy and water conservation are the way forward to achieve such a target. Dr.  Poudyal’s finding highlights are the proposed PV system achieves the levelised cost by 0.06 $/kWh, and its investment rate is 87%. The efficiency of the proposed PV system is 17%, and its performance ratio is 84%. The payback period for deploying the proposed PV system is 8.6 years. Deployment of the proposed PV system can save 10.33 tons of CO2 emission over its lifetime.

 

Dr. Poudyal’s another valuable research entitled Modelling and Simulation of Solar Photovoltaic rooftop has analyzed the current-voltage and power-voltage characteristics of the PV module, assuming a simplified equivalent electrical circuit with a single diode. The model is implemented and simulated in Matlab/Simulink. Simulation results are compared with different types of PV modules and the corresponding datasheets. The comparison verifies that the developed PV model can provide accurate predictions for deploying the actual PV modules. Furthermore, using the precise weather data for Kathmandu, his results indicate that solar radiation is a viable energy source which can promote a large scale in households across the city. The simulation result shows that Kathmandu is suitable for solar energy; monthly average production is higher with solar cells. Solar power is viable without financial support, even in regions with abundant fossil fuel resources (IRENA, 2017). This model could be implemented and benefitted in a month rather than the years needed to implement hydropower plants, it will provide local employment opportunities and enhance national energy security. Being clean energy, it is the best alternative for dealing with frequent power outages. It is more economic than present alternatives used to deal with the rooted energy crisis globally.

 

Dr. Poudyal’s model can be instrumental in knowing the techno-economic feasibility of solar PV rooftop modules in residential buildings globally. It is further recommended that the present module help researchers, engineers, energy planners and policymakers better understand the PV system worldwide.

Dr. Poudyal was instrumental in a sustainability case study in one of the country’s largest cement industry: Udayapur Cement Industry Ltd. His significant findings have been presented to national and international conference. This finding and module proceeding was provided to the Planning Commission, Ministry of Energy and all policy-making institutes for implementation.

 

Dr. Poudyal has continuously published the research finding in various newspapers and magazines on several energy and environmental topics such as how to reduce the electricity crisis?Food crises caused by war and its deadly consequences,  Challenges of Solid Waste Management: History to PresentInterests of industrialized (G7) nationsEnergy in the Government Policy-ProgramsThe geopolitics of energyMCC in Country’s Development,  COVID-19 impacts on energy systems in Nepal: Implications for SDGsSustainable Flood Management in NepalPossibilities of Hydrogen energy

He strongly supports Mr. Biden US President’s energy policy by quoting his election slogan in his recent article of Gorkhapatra “Climate change is the number one problem facing humanity.”  Dr. Paudyal highly appreciated his priority on clean renewable energy and budget to spend two trillion dollars will be the most significant investment in energy infrastructure development since World War II. Joe Biden’s US president.

 

To achieve the UN’s 17 Sustainable Goals (SDGs), every country has to work together to combat the world’s energy crisis, water crisis, environmental problems, and biodiversity threats. Dr. Poudyal always insists on the need for more scientific research in these areas. Due to the excessive use of petroleum products, the environment has deteriorated, and billions of money have been diverted globally. On the other hand, those traditional products are making our society sick and polluted. The Government of Nepal recently committed to the United Nations Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) that 90 percent of vehicles will run on electricity by 2030. He requests that if 20 percent of energy efficiency can be implemented as a campaign every year in the energy of 3 trillion, the significance of 60 billion rupees will be saved annually. This is how we can save energy and reduce global carbon footprint and make our environment greener and less polluted. This efficiency improvement module can be used anywhere in the world. According to research conducted in America, the mild clean air of Manhattan of the past could save hundreds of lives.

 

Dr. Poudyal always quotes international research papers and newspapers in his articles. Such as Damian Carrington writes in the British newspaper The Guardian, entitled ‘Study finds higher rates of COVID -19 deaths in areas with higher air pollution: ‘Poor air increases the risk of respiratory problems that can be fatal for patients with the coronavirus. According to the Study, in the years before the pandemic, a slight, single-unit increase in air pollution levels led to a 15 per cent increase in mortality.

 

Currently, Dr. Poudyal focus on established an organization called SAFA URJA (Clean Energy), Limited, Auri Investment GmbH, active in Nepal and Germany. He is leading and managing the team as director of large-scale solar PV, Agro voltaic and other businesses.

As the lead, he establishes sustainable, dual-use solar projects on farms. Prepared the Project design and supported the proposal writing and submission for bidding. Develop research proposals energy-related businesses and solid waste management collaborating with GTZ, ADB, and the World Bank. Dr. Poudyal is a well-established writer, researcher and charitable marathon runner.

 

Dr. Poudyal has published a short story collection entitled ‘British Weather’, where he has featured 21 of his short stories. His stories and articles are primarily based on eco-literature, where he has worried about environmental degradation, biodiversity, climate change, immigration and development. Beside all this he is a keen to advocate of energy conservation, heritage conservation, cycling and He participated UK-based park run for 250 weeks and completed five marathons in five different countries, including Paris, Berlin, London, Lisbon (Portugal) and Pokhara, Nepal, and the Chicago Marathon on the 9th of October, 2022.

 

All of the above indicates Dr. Poudyal’s as an outstanding academic researcher with exceptional ability in scientific research. I wish his research and innovative finding will help and utilized by national and internal level to improve their energy crisis and environment to success their program.

References:

  1. Poudyal, R., Loskot, P., Nepal, R., Parajuli, R., & Khadka, S. K. (2019b). Mitigating the current energy crisis in Nepal with renewable energy sources. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviewshttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2019.109388.
  2. Poudyal, R., Loskot, P. & Parajuli, R. Techno-economic feasibility analysis of a 3-kW PV system installation in Nepal. Renewables8, 5 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40807-021-00068-9
  3. https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=ew9W-YkAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao

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Author Tim Reynolds MSc CEng CEnv is sustainability Engineer, and Adviser to SolarEx.io a blockchain ICO. He had years of experiences and expert of Renewable Energy investment in Developing Economies, Low head Hydro and Sustainable Technology.