Kathmandu, April 17:

The World Bank (WB) has extended the deadline of proposal submission for its second edition of Nepal Development Marketplace (NDM) — an unconventional programme and forum for idea to encourage development activities — till April 30. The proposals will be reviewed by a team of technical assessors that will select approximately fifty finalists after that.

Twenty five innovative ideas and inventive partnerships from across Nepal will be awarded cash grants of up to Rs 1.5 million each should they emerge as winners of the NDM-2008 that will be an open, transparent competition to promote fresh thi-nking and harvest the most innovative ideas about pe-ace and development, expansion of livelihood opportunities and delivery of basic services to the poor.

The finalists will be invited to participate at the national competition to be held in Kathmandu on June 15. An independent jury will select the winners.

To be eligible to compete, proposals must reflect the theme ‘Securing Peace through Development’ in any of the areas including health, education, water and sanitation, agriculture, irrigation and food security, infrastructure (roads and transportation), energy, small business and micro enterprise support, information communication and technology (ICT) and employment creation.