Kathmandu, December 7, 2006 Personal Representative of UN Secretary General in Nepal, Ian Martin, said today that the initial budget for the UN mission for peace process here would be around 10 million US dollars. Responding to a query of media persons, Martin said UN Security Council was initially sending 35 monitors, who are retired as well as serving military personnel, for the management of arms and armed personnel within three weeks. Besides that 25 electoral advisors would also be sent for advanced deployment. The budget for the full mission, according to Martin, has to be sought by the budgetary authority after UNSC considers the report prepared by a technical assessment mission arriving this weekend. The assessment team will be of eight to 10 members and will work out the UN’s role as requested by the government and Maoists to manage the arms and the armies. “It is a planning mission. It will be here for a week,” said Martin, adding that the mission would carry out full assessment and that will be the basis for New York to plan its full monitoring mission to Nepal. UNSC is likely to pass a resolution on Nepal early January after it considers the report prepared by the planning mission after Christmas. The resolution would define how the full UN mission will work in Nepal. The 35 monitors will visit the cantonment sites and plan the modalities and registration procedures. ALICO proposal triggers strong industry reaction The proposal by American Life Insurance Co (ALICO) to pay additional perks to its agents, which has been rejected by the regulatory board of Beema Samiti, has stirred deep resentment in other insurance companies. The move to seek permission from Beema Samiti by ALICO to provide provident fund facilities to its agents is increasingly being viewed as just another attempt at luring insurance agents and tying them down to one company. “This is nothing short of an immoral market practice,” claimed an insurer on conditions of anonymity. In Nepal, unlike many other countries, one agent can be sell products from all the existing five insurance companies in the country. “But dangling such carrots is intended to tie agents down to one company who will obviously inform prospective clients of products of only that company which may finally be detrimental to the interest of policy holders,” he said. ALICO reportedly happens to be the market leader in life insurance in Nepal. According to some insurers, this is because the company goes overboard in offering very attractive incentive packages to its agents.