New Year's Resolutions and the Younger Generation

May your new year be happy and prosperous, my best wishes!

We are entering Vikram Samvat 2081. This means that 2080 years of Vikram Samvat have been completed. This is the solar calendar. But its sign is also with lunar calendar. A new year of this calendar begins on the day the Sun enters Aries from Pisces.

Not only does the calendar on the wall of the house change with the new year, it also brings with it new hopes, beliefs and possibilities. When we were children, there was no New Year's celebration like it is now. I don't even remember exchanging greetings.

I see the current generation as far ahead when it comes to celebrating the New Year. They welcome the new year with enthusiasm by exchanging greetings, meeting, eating, roaming and having fun. I think the current generation is ready to embrace the color of innovation that the new year brings.

I find that the young generation takes the new year as an opportunity for deep reflection and review. Using English words like 'New Year's Resolution', 'Reflection', what have you done during the year, how much success did you get, what challenges did you face and what steps did you take to overcome those challenges, what should you do for more success? They get confused about things. I think this way of Tanneris is special.

Social media has a strong influence on the younger generation now. There is mental pressure to make a good career, this is also the time to be reckoned with financial uncertainty. That's why this generation seems a bit impatient. They want immediate results. This generation also gets 'depressed' quickly if it doesn't go as expected. However, people of every age group are surrounded by the same stress.

The World Health Organization has said that mental problems are becoming an epidemic. The number of suicides in Nepal has increased by 72 percent in the last decade. Every day 19 Nepalis are taking their own lives. This is a very scary statistic. It is necessary to draw the attention of the state for its prevention. Also, it is important for people to organize their desires. Especially the youth have no choice but to manage their ambitions.

When I was the Prime Minister, I put forward a slogan – one step forward every day. The goal can be reached only if you keep the goal big but keep going through small obstacles. Even now, I would like to add just one word to the young generation, 'Brother, take a step forward every day.'

I prefer to call the younger generation 'Paurkhi Pusta'. Because of this generation, new technologies, ideas and opportunities have been born in the country. I don't have time to go around the city. But whenever I go somewhere else, I see that the coffee culture in Kathmandu is growing rapidly. A few days ago I watched a video - the 'third wave' of coffee is starting in Nepal. Nepalese coffee has unlimited potential. One day I would like to have a chance to talk to entrepreneurs about the possibilities of coffee.

A few months ago I traveled for 18 consecutive days from Jhulaghat in the west to Chiwabhanjang in the east. I got a chance to touch the emotions of tens of millions of people. I got the warm affection of the citizens. It communicated a different energy to me. What I have experienced during my journey is that the prosperity of the villages of our country is ending. Many local governments have tried to uplift their villages. The initiative taken by the local government, especially in the health and education sectors, is highly commendable.

For the first time in the country, Kaligandaki rural municipality of Syangja district has arranged health insurance for all citizens within its municipality. About 28,000 citizens within the municipality have health insurance. Every baby starts to get infected as soon as it is born. This will end the situation where poor citizens have to die without getting treatment. The rural municipality of Kaligand has also built its own hospital with 15 beds. Citizens do not have to pay fees for any treatment in that hospital.

I saw the state of health in Nepal during the covid epidemic. Then I introduced the concept of one hospital in every local government. And, I laid foundation stones of hospitals in 396 local levels at one time. Oudhi is happy to see that the local levels are taking this campaign forward. I would like to know more about the achievements of the local governments. I am looking forward to hearing the progress-experience from my friends who are working in the local government.

The country's economy was not good last year. There are various reasons for that - firstly, the government's failure to understand the problems of the economy in time. Second, lack of necessary coordination between Nepal Rastra Bank, Ministry of Finance, Planning Commission and Ministry of Industry. Third, to dismantle the tax system. Fourth, demoralizing the private sector. Some people have been saying that the current problem has arisen due to abnormal transactions in the house, land and stock market. But, in my view, these are all ancillary issues. The main problem is that the government does not know where I am going.

The disease of non-coordination of intergovernmental bodies was also present in my time. However, we were able to do a lot at that time. Based on the priority of the government, Hulaki Lokmarg, Madan Bhandari Lokmarg became, Pushpalal Lokmarg started to be built rapidly. East-West highways were also widened, airports were upgraded. So much reconstruction work was done. Sunkoshi Marin Diversion work started. Tuin was displaced and became a suspension bridge.

Why all these things could be done, we had a clear destination - 'Prosperous Nepal, Happy Nepali'. In order to reach that destination, we mobilized all sectors including agriculture, industry, education, sports, trade, services, infrastructure construction, and transportation at the same time. And, we got good results. We resolved to take one step forward every day by setting the policy, program and plan after clarifying the destination. By working in that way, we had an economic growth of over 7 percent.

work requires commitment. Last year, the government abandoned the destination itself. The policies and programs to get there were destroyed. That's why I said in the parliament –

Destroy the tower, destroy Ranipokhari

Destroy the bridges, all the things that Oli remembers.

How does the economy move forward when you don't want to work? All the problems created now are the result of the government not knowing its destination.

On top of that, the private sector has been mistreated, so that its morale has fallen. The attention of the state should always be focused on how to protect the industry. The government should pay special attention to how entrepreneurs succeed. Banks should also think carefully about how to support industrialists.

Now the regulatory bodies themselves are corrupt. People there try to be themselves, if they can't be themselves, they try to spoil others. Now Kuniyat is being prosecuted more than Suniyat. It will do nothing but spoil the economy. When I was the prime minister, why did the economy move forward, we focused on how to support the private sector and how to move forward by balancing all sectors.

So now we have to set a clear destination. I have told this to all the political parties in the government now. Therefore, all the parties in the government are ready to make 'Prosperous Nepal, Happy Nepali' a destination. Now the policies and programs of the government should come according to this designated destination. And, by arranging an adjusted budget, the new year should be made more prosperous, prosperous and successful.