Good News Nepal '05 Part 1: Average income in Nepal up by 80 percent:

Under this OPTIMISTIC headline I'll post MANY good news from this part of 'turd world'.
Part 1:

The average household income in the country has grown by a whopping 80 percent in the last eight years.

A survey conducted by the state-owned Central Bureau of Statistics has found that from 1995-96 the average household income in the country has increased to Nepalese rupees 15,162 from Rs. 7,690.

NB: Nepali Ruppe is abt. 70 for a USD, about 90 for an Euro.

This and other data from this Agency report (Indo-Asian News Service) underpin my conservative view - the governements of most countries do more bad than good! They should ONLY worry about borders, currency and taxes (preferably VAT !) and let the rest for polity to build, and pay for. Do you want a hospital? Build it! Road? Build it! Just like people build and maintain temples, no state intervention necessary. Here, an economic basket-case, Nepal, is rising from poverty like Phoenix, no matter the hyenas in offices and the murderous maobadis in the hills and the Toyota Taliban from UN-hell!

A survey conducted by the state-owned Central Bureau of Statistics has found that from 1995-96 the average household income in the country has increased to Nepalese rupees 15,162 from Rs. 7,690.

The Nepal Living Standard Survey also said that along with a rise in income, the average consumption level also increased substantially. Eight years ago it was Rs. 6,802 and currently it stands at Rs.15,848.

Presently, 92 percent householders have their own houses, while access to electricity and water supply has increased by over 10 percent. Access to banks, markets and roads too has increased by over seven percent.

The number of employed people rose from 67 percent to 74 percent while average least daily wages increased by 88 percent in the agricultural sector and by 80 percent in the non-agriculture sector.

The quantum leap is attributed to a rise in remittance sent home by Nepalese working abroad.

Earlier, the mainstay of incomes was farming. But that declined from 61 percent to 48 percent while non-farm sources, including remittance, shot up to 25 percent from 16 percent.

The percentage of households receiving remittances increased from 23 percent to 32 percent with the minimum remittance jumping to Rs. 34,698 from Rs. 15,160. The total remittance also soared to over Rs.46 billion from about Rs. 13 billion.

Regression? Where, in which dimension, which alternate reality live Nepali politcians? Didn't the maobadi hear Deng T'sio Ping "Let's get rich!" ?