Kathmandu, November 8

Minister for Commerce Min Bahadur Bishwokarma today said that the government was planning to provide tax exemption to businesses worth up to Rs 10 million run by Dalits and women.

Addressing ‘Nepal Dalit Youth Conference-2017’ here today, Minister Bishwokarma said the government was preparing to announce the scheme soon.

“To implement the constitutional provisions regarding Dalit and women rights, we are going to announce a few schemes soon,” said Minister Bishwokarma. He said the government would levy a tax of five per cent only on businesses worth up to Rs 50 million run by Dalits and women. He said Dalits and women would have to pay only 50 per cent tax if they owned businesses worth up to Rs 100 million and 75 per cent for businesses worth of up to Rs 150 million.

According to Bishwokarma, Dalit communities and women needed to be empowered socially, economically and politically so that they could enjoy the rights granted to them by the constitution.

Stating that discrimination on grounds of caste was a kind of disease, the minister called on Dalit youths to take responsibility for changing society.

Vice-president of Dalit NGO Federation Sushil BK said parties had interpreted constitutional provision of proportional representation to serve their own interests. He said a lot still had to be done to ensure the rights given to Dalits by the constitution.

National Dalit Commission’s representative Ram Bahadur Sunwar said the NDC registered 14 cases of caste discrimination in the ongoing fiscal. He said the commission had directed the authorities concerned to take legal action against the perpetrators.