Five-member negotiation team formed to address demands of usury victims

KATHMANDU: The government has decided to form a negotiation team to address the demands of victims of usurious lending.

A cabinet meeting held on Thursday took the decision.

The team will be led by Pushkar Sapkota, secretary at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers. It will have joint secretaries from the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation, and the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration as members.

The cabinet also approved a proposal from the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) to mint newly designed coins of Re 1 and Rs 2 denominations.

In another decision, the meeting decided to approve a $1.81 million grant from the South Korean government to establish the Nepal Law Information Pilot System.

The cabinet also decided that the concerned ministry may grant approval after due legal procedures are completed if additional trees or utility poles need to be removed from national forests located within protected areas.

The Cabinet also approved the organisational structures and staffing positions of various ministries. It also endorsed the Policy Research Institute Development Committee (First Amendment) Order, 2026.

Likewise, the cabinet approved necessary arrangements for the management of employees working under service contracts.