Federalism Knowledge Base Discourse Event was organized virtually by Center for Federalism studies (CFS) at NASC on 26th August, 2021. Executive Director of NASC Dr. Rajan Khanal chaired the event and Honourable Balananda Paudel was a chief guest. Senior Directors of NASC- Mr. Bishnu Prasad Lamsal, Mr. Anand Raj Dhakal, Mr. Basanta Raj Sigdel and Mr. Tulasi Sharan Sigdel attended the event along with other NASC officials. Around 40-50 people participated in the event including Chairman of MuAN, Mr. Ashok Byanju Shrestha and chairman of NARMIN, Mr. Hom Narayan Shrestha. Furthermore, Mayor and Deputy Mayor of various municipalities and rural municipalities had also participated in the event. Head of CFS, Mr. Tulasi Sharan Sigdel moderated the event. Ms. Meghan Nalbo, Country representative of The Asia Foundation, welcomed all the participants to the event.
CFS has completed preparation and publication of three research reports on fiscal federalism: a) Intergovernmental fiscal relations in Nepal: Unfolding dynamics and dimensions (Author: Trilochan Pokharel and Mr. Lila Nath Sapkota; Advisor: Dr. Shankar Prasad Sharma), b) Coordination in development planning: Constitutional provisions and institutional mechanisms (Author: Mr. Tulasi Sharan Sigdel and Ms. Manisha Maharjan; Advisor: Dr. Pitamber Sharma), c) The National Natural Resource and Fiscal Commission (NNRFC): Evolution of Roles and Practices (Author: Mr. Basanta Raj Sigdel and Ms. Anita Poudel; Advisor: Dr. Jagadish Chandra Pokharel). The translated reports of all three reports have also been published.
In the event, Dr. Shankar Prasad Sharma highlighted on the contents of “Intergovernmental fiscal relations in Nepal: Unfolding dynamics and dimensions”. Similarly, Dr. Pitamber Sharma and Mr. Tulasi sharan Sigdel shared the findings of the report “Coordination in development planning: Constitutional provisions and institutional mechanisms”. Also, Dr. Jagadish Chandra Pokharel and Mr. Basanta Raj Sigdel highlighted on the “The National Natural Resource and Fiscal Commission (NNRFC): Evolution of Roles and Practices”.
Besides the publication of six reports on Fiscal Federalism, CFS is working towards making an e-learning platform on different aspects of federalism for providing learning opportunities for interested people. Two courses – a) Intergovernmental Relations and b) Fiscal Federalism- are being developed and will be launched soon. CFS is also running a web portal called 'Federalism Knowledge Base' to create an archival of resources related to the federal system and make it publicly accessible. Mr. Anand Raj Dhakal and Mr. Rajendra Adhikari shared the objectives, status and progress of the courses prepared. Further, they shared that these courses will be launced very soon.
After the sharing from team members of different reports and courses, Mr. Ashok Byanju Shrestha and Mr. Hom Narayan Shrestha added their perspectives on the importance of those reports and courses at local level by sharing the issues they have been facing in the areas of intergovernmental relations and fiscal federalism.
Ms. Sarita Sapkota, Governance Advisor at UK Embassy Kathmandu shared her remarks on the reports published. Honourable Balananda Paudel shared his remarks on the reports, courses and few prospective areas where NNRFC and NASC could collaborate to work in the area of intergovernmental relations and fiscal federalism. Those six reports were displayed and launched virtually as a recent publication of CFS.
Finally, the event was ended by closing remarks of Dr. Rajan Khanal, Executive director of NASC.
