KATHMANDU, MAY 1
The government and Mahabir Pun, president of the National Innovation Centre, have reached an agreement on seven key points.
Pun, who had been staging a protest in Maitighar for several days, has inked an agreement with Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Defence, Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Purna Bahadur Khadka today, thereby ending the sit-in protest.
As per the agreement, the government has agreed to establish a fund to invest in research and development, innovation, and invention activities.
Likewise, the fund will be managed by a bill that will be introduced and passed in the upcoming session of the Federal Parliament.
The government will deposit one per cent of its capital budget into the fund from the next financial year.
The government will also make necessary policy, legal, and institutional arrangements to promote research and development, innovation, and invention.
The laws related to licensing, registration, operation, and sustainability will be amended to facilitate the permits required for goods and services produced through inventions.
The government has also agreed to pay attention to the other issues mentioned in the demand letter while making laws.
A version of this article appears in the print on May 2, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.
