Nova Social Studies 8

12. Chaitra 26, 2046 Multi-Party Democracy was installed
13. Kartik 23, 2047 Constitution of Kingdom of Nepal, 2046 BS promulgated
14. Falgun 1, 2052 Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) or CPN –Maoist began
People's Revolt
15. Baisakh 20, 2056 Election of Pratinidhi Sabha
16. Jestha 19, 2058 King Birendra and his family members killed in Palace
17. Mangsir 5, 2063 Comprehensive Peace Accord signed between CPN
(Maoists) and the Government of Nepal
18. Magh 1, 2063 Promulgation of Interim Constitution 2063 of Nepal
19 Chaitra 28, 2064 Election of the First Constituent Assembly to write a new
constitution
20. Jestha 15, 2065 Nepal was declared a Republic State
21. Jestha 14, 2069 Dissolution of First Constituent Assembly without issuing
any constitution
22. Mangsir 4, 2070 Election of Second Constituent Assembly to give continuity
to drafting of the CONSTITUION
23. Shrawan 30, 2072 Tarai protest started by Madhesi and Tharu demanding
proportional representation in the new constitution
24. Aswin 3, 2072 Promulgation of Constitution of Nepal to institutionalize
democracy and federalism
25. Magh 9, 2072 First Amendment to the Constitution to ensure
proportional inclusion based primarily on population of
16. Mangsir 10, 2074 ethnic communities in elected bodies of the STATE
17. Mangsir 21, 2074 First phase of Provincial and Parliamentary elections
18. Falgun 3, 2074 Second phase of provincial and Parliamentary elections
K.P. Sharma Oli becomes the Prime Minister of Nepal
19. Falgun 29, 2074 under the Constitution of Nepal 2072 BS
President Bidhya Devi Bhandari was re-elected the head of
state of the country for the second consecutive term.

B. Socio-economic achievements from 2007 BS till 2072 BS are being given here:

S. N. Years/Dates in BS Social and Economic Developments
1. 2008 BS Beginning of the Budget (annual financial management) for
every year in the Government
2. 2010 BS Formation of Nepal Education Planning Commission
3. 2013 BS Government's Civil Service Act implemented
4. 2013 BS Beginning of First Five Year Plan in Nepal
5. Baishakh 14, 2013 Establishment of Nepal Rastra Bank
6. Poush 7, 2016 Abolition of BIRTA Land System in Nepal

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7. 2020 BS Muluki Ain was implemented
8. 2021 BS Implementation of Land Reforms in Nepal
9. 2028 BS Implementation of National Education System Plan
10. Shrawan 2, 2057 Abolition of Kamaiya (bonded labor) system in Nepal
11. Jesth 4, 2063 Nepal was declared as Secular State
12. Magh 1, 2063 Promulgation of Interim Constituion with sovereignty
vested in the people having fundamental rights
13. 2069 BS Kamlari system was officially abolished
14. Shrawan 19, 2072 Anti Witchcraft Act (Crime & Punsiment)
15. Aswin 3, 2072 Promulgation of Constitution of Nepal which stands for
social and gender justice & political inclusiveness
16. Aswin 29, 2072 Onsari Gharti Magar became the first woman speaker of the
Parliament.
17. Kartik 11, 2072 Bidya Devi Bhandari of CPN (UML) won the presidential
election and assumed office of the President from October
18. Falgun 16, 2072 29, 2015. She became the first woman President (Head of the
State) of Nepal.
President Bidya Devi Bhandari authenticated Nepal’s
constitution (first amendment) bill-2072 BS’ regarding
proportional inclusion of the ethnic communities in the state
bodies and the delineation of the electoral constituencies
for the election of the Pratinidhi Sabha on the basis of
population.

Words and terms you would like to know

Institutionalize (v.): to make something become part of an organized system, society or culture, so that
it is considered normal

Promulgation (n.): the official announcement of a new law; giving public notice

Implementation (n.): the act of accomplishing some aim or executing some order

Abolition (n.): annulment, revocation

Learning Guideline

Encourage the students to present the political events and other socio-economic achievements in tabular
and chart form. Help them to make tree-diagram to show events and activities for every decade. Take
feedback from them to ensure their learning of the topic.

Activities
1. Prepare the students for group discussion on 10 political events and five socio-economic

developments. Each group is to prepare details of the events and activities with their effects
on the Nepalese society. Let them be engaged in group discussion.

2. Divide the class into five groups and ask them to prepare chart and table to display them in
the class.

3. Show the above events in a time-line.

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Exercise
1. Both the years 2063 BS and 2072 BS have been years of great importance for democracy in

Nepal. Analyze the observation (statement).

2. There is great similarity between father Mahendra and son Gyanendra in case of their
political thinking. Bring out those similarities with appropriate examples.

3. King Tribhuvan failed to live up to the expectation of the people and promises made before
the end of Rana rule. Examine it by giving strong reasons.

4. Despite having laws against the practices of social evils like Dowry, Kamaiya, Kamlari and
Bokshi (witchcraft), they are still continuing. Give reasons for the continuity of such evils.
What should be the steps to end them?

5. List the years in which democratic elections were conducted in Nepal.

6. Make a list of any five socio-economic developments which have occurred in Nepal since
2007 BS.

7. Mark the statements given below as True or False.

a) Comprehensive Peace Agreement (Accord) was signed between CPN-Maoist and
Nepali Congress on Mangsir 5, 2063.

b) Communist Party of Nepal–Maoist began their people’s revolt on Magh 5, 2053.

c) King Birendra and his family members got killed on Jestha 19, 1958.

d) Nepal was declared a secular state on Jestha 4, 2063.

e) Kamalari was officially abolished in Nepal on Shrawan 2, 2057.

f) King Tribhuvan arrested all the political leaders of Nepal and began his direct despotic
rule on Poush 1, 2017.

g) National referendum was conducted on Baisakh 20, 2037.

8. Fill up the blanks below:

Events and Activities Dates and Years (in BS)
....................... Baisakh 20, 2037
.....................
Land Reforms in Nepal .....................
Abolition of Birta Land System Magh 17, 2028
........................
......................... Aswin 3, 2072
Back to Village National Campaign

.......................

Community Work
Organize a meeting and interview with those who understand political developments in Nepal
from 2007 BS onwards and have tracked the socio-economic progress or regress in the Nepalese
society. Prepare a project from the inputs received from them and present the same in the calss.

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Lesson

8 Greek and Roman Civilization

Greek Civilization

Greece  was the birthplace of ancient civilization which thrived around north coast of the
Mediterranean Sea (south-western part of Europe), known for advances in philosophy,
architecture, drama, government, and science. Ancient Greek Civilization was the source of
Western civilisation about 5,000 years ago. Ancient Greece was also recognised as Yunan.
Modern Olympic reminds us about the sports culture of Ancient Greek Civilization. The
history of the games dates back to 776 BC. The Olympic Games were celebrated in the
summer every four years in Olympia. Ancient Greece comprised of a number of city-states
called polis. Polis is a Greek word used for city in ancient Greece. Each polis was the political
and social center of larger Greek communities. Invitations were sent to all the polis in ancient
Greece to send their groups (envoys) to compete in Olympic game. The city-states then
dispatched groups to compete with one another. Actually, Olympic Games were organized
to pay tribute to Greek God Zeus. In Greek mythology, Zeus is the god of the sky. Apart from
this, Olympic Games had a secular character too where ‘free male’ Greek citizens would
show the physical qualities. Olympic Games served diplomatic purpose where all the polis
(city-states) would come together in order to encourage good relations amongst each other.
The ancient Olympic Games included the following events: pentathlon, running, jumping,
discus throw, wrestling, boxing and equestrian events. Modern Olympic Games have been
improved upon the ancient Olympic Games.
In ancient Greece, citizens above the age of 20 years would get assembled to elect council
to take all the important political decisions in their POLIS (City-State). Modern democracy
derives its root from the politics of ancient Greece. Democracy is made up of two Greek
words – demos meaning the people and kratein meaning “to rule”. The democracies of the
city-states of ancient Greece were direct democracies in which the citizens could speak and
vote in assemblies. Ancient democracy in polis of Greece did not presuppose equality of
all individuals. The majority of the populace (population), notably slaves and women, had
no political rights. Athens was the greatest of the city democracies in those days. But, only
native-born citizens in Athens had rights to vote. Athens is considered as the birth-place of
democracy in the western civilization and now the whole world has embraced democracy
with their local adaptations. The most famous period of ancient Greek civilization is called
the Classical Age, which lasted from about 480 to 323 BC. During this period, ancient Greeks
reached their highest prosperity and produced amazing cultural accomplishments. Greeks of
the Classical Age usually were not ruled by kings. Greek communities enjoyed the freedom
to govern themselves. Words like politics, democracy and citizens are definitely the great
gifts in their true spirit to the whole world.
Ancient Greek civilization refers to the ways ancient Greeks spoke, worshiped, understood
the nature of the physical world, organized their governments, made their livings, entertained
themselves, and related to others who were not Greek. Out of all the city-states (polis) in
ancient Greek civilization, Athens and Sparta have become globally famous because of some
contrasts and rivalry they had in those times. Athenian democracy was mainly based on the

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opportunity for all citizens over 20 years of their age to take part in governing the country (in
Direct Democracy). On the other hand, Sparta was completely focused on military training
and excellence in education. Spartan women enjoyed more rights and equality to men than
elsewhere in the Classical Age (480 to 323 BC). Athenians were cool and calm in nature and
believed in peace but Spartans were brutal and followed military form of organization.

Spartan Soldiers Greek temple in Athens (To Athena Parthenons)

Ancient Greek art and architecture was very much improved in those days. Greek sculptures
tell us a story about Gods, Heroes, Events, Mythical Creatures and Greek culture in general.
Coins were mostly small disk-shaped lumps of gold, silver, or bronze. The ancient Greeks
erected buildings of many types. The Greek Temple best exemplifies the Greek architecture.
The PARTHENON is one such example of master-piece in Greek architecture. Greek
architecture is still visible in designs of building temples, palaces and theatres in different
parts of the world. Poet Homer is still famous for his best khown epics like Iliad and Odessey.
Iliad and Odessey are sometimes compared with epics of eastern civilization like Ramayan
and Mahabharat in terms of their popularity.

Great names of philosophers like Socrates, Plato and Aristotle add glory to Greek civilization.
Socrates is considered one of the founders of Western philosophy by giving the world a
unique method of making inquiry in the direction of knowledge. He was poisoned for being
a free thinker and he accepted poison without complaint but never compromised on free
thinking. Socrates never hesitated to share TRUTH and he always stood for JUSTICE. He
strongly influenced Plato, and Aristotle. Plato – the disciple of Socrates - has the reputation
of one of the most influential philosophers in Western thought. Plato is best known for his
political treatise called REPUBLIC.

Plato’s disciple Aristotle set the stage for the scientific method through his views and
approaches which dominated early Western science for almost 2000 years. Aristotle was
a great inventor, and is credited with many significant inventions and observations along
with his philosophy in ethics and politics. Aristotle was the teacher of Alexander the Great.
Alexander the Great had created a glorious Greek Empire which spread all the way almost
touching India before he died in 323 BC. But the Greek Empire that he had created lasted
until 146 BC when Greece was annexed to the Roman Empire.

Roman Civilization

Two thousand years ago, the world was ruled by Rome. The Roman civilization started along
the Tiber River, in the west of Italy. Early inhabitants before the first millennium BC came

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from somewhere and settled. They were shepherds who started farming and acquired lands.
Better climate and fertile soil promoted their village living. The Roman civilization reached
its height between 100 to 180 AD in power and prosperity. All of the neighboring countries
of the Mediterranean including England to Africa and from Syria to Spain were under its
regime. One in every four people on earth lived and died under Roman law in those times.
Before Julius Caesar became dictator of Rome, it was a republic. With Julius Caesar coming
into the power, Rome became one undivided unit which was later divided into West and
East Roman Empire till 476 AD when Romulus Augustulus, the last of the Roman emperors
in the west, was overthrown by the Germanic invaders. In 44 BC, Julius Caesar ordered the
Senate to make him dictator for life by ending the Republic once for ever. Senators killed him
but they could not prevent it from becoming Roman Empire. Julius Caesar had named his
nephew his heir in the WILL and Octavius who is famous as Augustus in Roman history was
placed as the King. Augustus was the founder of the Roman Empire and its first Emperor
(King). He was the longest serving monarch (27 BC to 14 AD) in Roman Empire. Constantine
the Great consolidated the Roman Empire and ruled as emperor from 306 AD till 337 AD.
He was the first Roman ruler to be converted to Christianity and during his time Christianity
became official religion of the Roman Empire. He founded Constantinople (present-day
İstanbul) as the capital of the Roman Empire which continued as the seat of the Byzantine
(Eastern Roman) Empire until 1453 AD.

Julius Caesar (Dictator) Agustus – The Founder Constantine

The human society was divided into different classes in Roman Empire. The wealthy built
huge and decorated houses. They had servants or slaves to serve them. The average citizen
worked hard and lived comfortably in modest housing. Despite the riches of the Roman
Empire, the largest class lived in poverty. Roman family life was a patriarchy in which the
oldest male was the head of the family. The social structure of ancient Rome was based on
heredity, property, wealth, citizenship and freedom. Romans had accepted slavery as the
norm. Slaves were everywhere – in private households, in mines, factories, and on farms.
Although the classes were strictly defined, there was a lot of interaction between them. For

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example, both slaves and free-men worked in homes of the upper classes like the senators
and patricians. Soldiers too mixed with their officers.

Dressing pattern showing the social hierarchy of the then Roman Culture
Roman clothing indicated social status. The man on the far right in above picture, who wears
only a tunic, was probably from one of the lowest classes -- a slave or a freed-person. The
man on the far left wears a toga, the costume of a Roman citizen.
The first Roman man who wrote about philosophy was Lucretius. Lucretius followed Greek
philosophy. Cicero was another philosopher who was a contemporary of Lucretius. Cicero
tried to use philosophy to make men more logical thinkers, so that they would make better
decisions in running the government as well as family. Seneca, another Roman philosopher,
thought that men should not waste time on petty unimportant things. “Instead, they should
use their time well to help improve the world, and to improve their own minds by studying
philosophy.” Petronius was a contemporary of Seneca. Petronius preferred to write about
society in first century Rome and laughed at the pretensions of the newly-rich.
In Roman Empire (100 BC and onwards), marble and gold were more widely used as
decoration themes in the architecture of Rome particularly in temples, palaces and public
buildings. But, most Roman buildings were made of concrete and bricks during the Roman
Republic (before 100 BC). Romans built a four story open amphitheatre in Rome with 50,000
seating capacity, called the Colosseum where violent and bloody entertainments were held
until 500 AD. Gladiators who were mostly slaves, criminals in prisons or prisoners of wars
were chosen to fight with one another until death in Colosseum. Sometimes armed men
fought with wild animals. Another popular entertainment for Romans was chariot race.
There were also certain theaters for stage shows. Before Christianity became the official
religion of Roman Empire, most of the people in the Roman Empire worshipped a number
of traditional gods and goddesses like Jupiter, Juno, Pluto, Bacchus, Diana and Venus, etc.
Jupiter -- God of thunder and lightening, was their chief god.
Latin was the main written language of the Roman Empire. But well-educated elite used
Greek as the spoken language because most of the literature studied by Romans was written
in Greek. Roman painting style had a Greek influence on it. Roman music too was mainly
influenced by Greek music. Music played an important part in Roman life. In Roman
military, a long trumpet called tuba was used to give various commands. Most religious

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rituals in the Roman society featured musical performances. Music was used at almost all
public ceremonies.

Colosseum (Open Amphitheatre) Germannic and Hunnic invasions

Roman civilization had laid the foundation of western civilization. Several aspects of
western civilization such as customs, religion, law and technology, architecture, political
system, military, literature and language have been inherited from Roman advancements.
The rediscovery of Roman culture has added vigour and prestige to western civilization.

Words and terms you would like to know

Thrive (v.): make steady progress; grow vigorously

Presuppose (v.): take for granted or as given

Adaptation (n.): adjustment

Accomplishment (n.): achievement, attainment

Broaden (v.): expand, widen

Inquiry (n.): a search for knowledge

Will (n.): testament, a legal document declaring a person’s wishes regarding the disposal of their property
when they die

Collective-will: decision of the assembly or group or the people

Patrician (adj.): belonging to or characteristic of the nobility or aristocracy; a person of refined upbringing
and manners

Tunic (n.): loose fitting cloth extending to the hips or knees

Learning Guideline

Encourage students to do more research on Ancient Greek and Roman civilizations from books, Internet
and other resources. Provide them specific topic for research to avoid confusions.

Activities
1. Identify the location of Greece and Rome in the map of the world. Find out the places which

are in the surroundings of Greece and Rome.
2. Present the details of Greek and Roman civilizations in a story form in the class.
3. Collect different pictures related to different aspects of Ancient Greek and Roman civilizations

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from different sources such as internet, books, magazines, and travel guides and so on. Show
these pictures in class to different groups of students.
4. Both Greece and Rome had early history of democracy but lost it later. Nepal too had
democracy after the end of Rana rule but lost it later only to gain it again after the Second
Mass Movement in 2062 BS. Now that we have Constitution of Nepal 2072 BS in our hands,
democracy has still many challenges to face. Discuss in groups what we have to do to protect
and preserve our democracy.
Exercise
1. When and from where did the Olympic Games start?
2. Compare and contrast the ancient Greece civilization with the Nepali culture.
3. Draw the map of Greece and mark the fallowing places/points on it:
Athens, Lamla, Lyarissa, Agean Sea, Mediterranean Sea, Crete Island and Mount Olympus
4. Distinguish between Greek and Roman civilizations.
5. Explain with examples the gifts (contributions) given by the ancient Greek civilization to the
world.
6. Explain the contributions made by the Roman civilation to the western world.
7. How far eastern part of the world has been benifitted by both Greek as well as Roman
civilizations? Illustrate.

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Lesson

9 Renaissance

Miss Shivani Tamang has entered the class-room carrying all the course materials to discuss
the topic “Renaissance”. The Renaissance is a period of cultural movement in Europe from
the 14th to the 17th century. The Renaissance as cultural movement started from Italy and then
spread to the rest of Europe, marking the beginning of the Early Modern Age.
Prashant Ulak: Miss! What is the meaning of Renaissance?
Shivani Tamang: The term ‘Renaissance’ literally means rebirth or attaining to higher and
better consciousness. In a narrow sense, Renaissance is used to describe the revival of interest
in the classical civilisations of Greece and Rome. This deeply influenced Europeans because
superstitious beliefs and religious blind-faith had deteriorated the European civilization from
6th century to 14th century AD. The revival of ancient learning from 14th century onwards and
a series of new developments in the fields of art, literature, religion, philosophy, science and
politics combined together is known as Renaissance.
Prachi Dahal: Miss, please tell us about the factors which promoted and spread Renaissance
across entire Europe in the beginning and then to the whole world.
Shivani Tamang: Prachi has asked a good question. It will be relevant to understand these
factors which contributed to spread of Renaissance from Italy to whole Europe and then to
the other parts of the world. Look at the chart below:

Ambika Gole: Miss, please tell us specifically how Renaissance helped human beings to live
with freedom and dignity.
Shivani Tamang: Renaissance created faith in human beings because humans have the
power to use their intelligence to achieve higher form of life to become “God-like”. So, there
is nothing more wonderful than man and a man is a great miracle. Human beings are kings
of all beings because of the ability of their reason and the light of their intelligence. The

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Renaissance marks the rise of modern European languages as languages of literature. In a
short period, these languages almost completely replaced Latin as the language of poetry,
drama and fiction. Latin continued for sometime as the language of philosophy and science.
Rochak Jayaswal: Miss! I would like to know about the people who contributed to the
Renaissance in different fields like literature, art and science.
Shivani Tamang: I have already explained to you that Renaissance had great influence
on literature, art, science and mathematics. Dante was a major Italian poet and his literary
creation the Divine Comedy is an epic poem. The Divine Comedy is widely considered as the
greatest literary work composed in the Italian language and a masterpiece of world literature.
Dante was more influenced by the Church’s view but after him there has been a clear shift
of literature almost free from religious touch and even attacking on unscientific aspects of
religion. Desiderius Erasmus was a Dutch Renaissance humanist who was much critical of
the orthodox religious views of Church. Desiderius Erasmus wrote an essay “In Praise of
Folly” in Latin language which was first printed in 1511 AD. His essay ‘In Praise of Folly’ is
an attack (sharp criticism) on superstitions and other traditions of European society as well
as on the western Church. Edmund Spencer lived his life in second half of the 16th century in
England. He was influential English poet of his time and is famous as Poet’s Poet. He was
admired by the likes of John Milton, William Blake, William Wordsworth, John Keats and
many others. Edmund Spencer took a bold decision to write in English language which was
not very popular at that time as it is today. And he shifted clearly from middle-age influences
and widened the consciousness of the modern age through his poems written in English.
This is all about influence of Renaissance on literature in brief.
Kanchan Thapa: What about the influence of Renaissance in the field of art, Miss?
Shivani Tamang: Renaissance artists looked upon art as expression of life and as an imitation
of life. The artists studied optics, geometry and even anatomy of human body to create
best paintings. In those times, Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael and Michelangelo were famous
Italian artists. Leonardo da Vinci considered painting a science. Leonardo was the man of
many talents and was one of the great masters of Renaissance. He is celebrated as a painter,
sculptor, architect, engineer and scientist. The Mona Lisa is Leonardo’s most famous work
in painting followed by another painting called The Last Supper. His painting Mona Lisa is
still known for its mysteriousness where the subject in the painting has been portrayed as the
mix of beauty, liveliness and sensitivitity.

Leonardo’s paintings “The Last Supper” and “Mona Lisa”

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Raphael was an Italian painter and architect. Though he died quite early at the age of 37
years, he left great art works behind. Many of his works are found in Vatican Palace. Raphael
is best known for his paintings on “Madonnas”. Three of his paintings are given here.

Madonna of the Pinks...Raphael...Madonna in the meadow...Raphael...Sistine Madonna...
Another famous Italian artist was Michelangelo. He too was man of many talents. He was
sculptor, painter, architect, poet and engineer. He was considered to be the greatest living
artist during his life time. He was a true Renaissance man just like his fellow Italian Lionardo
da Vinci. Michelangelo’s works in painting, sculpture, and architecture rank among the most
famous in the whole world. His sculpted work the PIETA is housed in St. Peter’s Basilica,
Vatican City. The Sistine Chapel ceiling in Vatican painted by Michelanglo is one of the great
specimens of Renaissance art.
Lorenzo Ghiberti was one of the most important early Renaissance sculptors of Florence
(Italy). His famous sculpture “The Gates of Paradise” that he sculpted on the bronze metal
door of east entrance to the Florence Cathedral of Italy is the masterpiece. Even Pope John
XXIII (original name Bom Angelo) praised his sculpture carved out on the metal door of the
Church.

Dome of the Florence Cathedral-- Brunelleschi Chapel of the Pazzi family-- Brunelleschi

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Flilippo Brunelleschi, an Italian designer, was a key figure in architecture. He is recognised
as the first modern engineer and the oldest amongst the founding fathers of the Renaissance.
Brunelleschi is well known for developing a technique for building dome of the Florence
Cathedral.

alam Khan: Miss, now it is the turn of influence of Renaissance on science.

Shivani Tamang: Yes indeed, Aalam. Now we are going to discuss the influence of
Renaissance on science. The Renaissance marked the beginning of modern science. One of
the first achievements came in the field of astronomy. Nicolaus Copernicus from Poland for
the first time revealed (found) that the earth rotates on its axis and moves (revolves) around
the Sun. This was a total shift from the ancient system of thought. For over a thousand years,
it was thought that the earth was the center of the universe. In a new discovery, Sun was
the center of the universe. Copernicus’s theory was confirmed by Galileo’s observations.
Galileo Galilei (Italian Physicist) was tried (punished) by Church authority in his old age
for approving Copernicus theory of Earth’s rotation on its axis and its revolution around
the Sun. Galileo with German astronomer Johannes Kepler started the scientific revolution
in Renaissance that flowered (bloomed) in the work of English physicist Sir Isaac Newton.
Galileo stands as a symbol of the battle against authority for freedom of inquiry.

John Napier, the Scottish mathematician, led Renaissance movement in Scotland. He is best
known as the inventor of the first system of logarithms. Napier was one of the first to use the
decimal points in expressing fractions. Similarly, discoveries were made in the study of the
human body and circulation of blood which helped to overcome many superstitions. English
physician William Harvey found out for the first time that blood in human body circulates
from the heart to all parts of the body and back again to the heart. It was the great discovery
which laid the groundwork for modern medical science.

Several long sea-voyages brought inter-connectivity between different parts of the world
which were unknown before. Rennaisance spread to those parts of the discovered world too.
Vasco da Gama, a Portugese explorer, was the first European to reach India by sea. Success
of Vasco da Gama linked Europe and Asia for the first time by ocean route. That helped
in exchange of modern ideas and traditions with inter-continental journey. Christopher
Columbus, Italian-born Spanish navigator, sailed towards Atlantic Ocean and landed in
Americas. His voyage to Americas started European exploration to the land and led to
spread of western ideas. Marco Polo born in Venice (Italy) travelled to China. This is how
trading link between Europe (Rome) and China was established famous as Silk Route.

Okay class, it’s over for today. Thankyou all for participating in the discussion on Renaissance.

Words and terms you would like to know

Deteriorate (v.): become or make worse
Revival (n.): recovery, renewal of interest
Imitation (n.): using something or somebody as model; repetition
Optics (n.): study of light

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Anatomy (n.): study of structure of body
Mysteriousness (n.): state of being secretive
Liveliness (n.): state of being full of life and energy
Sensitivity (n.): care and understanding of situations of life
Humanist (n.): one who believes in the best of the human beings, rather than on any God or supernatural
authority
Voyage (n.): a long journey, especially one by sea or through space

Learning Guideline
Let the students know more about the Renaissance from different sources and encourage them to have
guided study and research.

Activities
Make a list of artists, scientists, writers and poets who have contributed in your community and
discuss their work in the class.

Exercise
1. Define Renaissance. Highlight three major distinctions between Renaissance period and

medieval period.

2. List the factors (causes) which contributed to the birth and spread of Renaissance in Europe
and to the rest of the world.

3. Explain the place of human beings in Renaissance. How does the place of humans in
Renaissance differ from the medieval period?

4. Explain with examples what effects Renaissance had in the field of literature.

5. Illustrate how Renaissance influenced art in Europe.

6. Describe with examples how Renaissance was helpful in the origin (birth) of modern science.

7. Describe briefly the roles played by explorers and navigators in spreading Renaissance to
other parts of the world.

RECAPITULATION EXERCISE

1. Match the following: a. Mathematician
A. Yunan b. Polis
B. Pithagorus c. Greece
C. City States d. Circular Earth
D. Homer e. Illiad


2. Prepare brief description on following personalities on the basis of self-research from
different sources.

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Homer Plato Aristotle Alexander

3. Fill up the Blanks below and then make a time-line.

Bikram Sambat (BS) calendar Important Events towards Unification eastern
......................... Victory over Nuwakot
Bhadra 9, 1819 ..............................
Chaitra 3, 1822 ...........................
.......................... Victory over Kathmandu
.......................... Victory over Patan
Mangsir 1, 1826 .............................
........................... Victory over Chaudandi
................................ Victory over Bijayapur and extension of
boundary of Nepal up to Teesta River

Project Work
Collect all the news reports regarding Nepalese art, architecture and culture published in the
magazines and newspapers to display them on wall-magazine of your school.

Community Work
Make a detailed presentation on the socio-cultural status of your village or residential colony and
trace out its gradual or rapid changes in the last 20 years. Consult your guardians and elderly
people who have been living there for last 20 or more years to know about uniqueness of that area
or some specific story attached with it or any other such things.

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Unit

7

Our Economic Activities

Learning Objectives

At the completion of this Unit, students will be able to:
 Introduce the present status of tourism industry and foreign trade with their importance,

problems being faced by them and the possible solutions to these problems.
 Explain the practical usefulness of cooperatives, money, banking, saving, capital formation,

price mechanism, internal and external trade along with their basic concepts.

Lesson

1 Tourism Industry

Movement is the essence of human life without which true potential of humans cannot be
realised. Humans are born curious because they have the gift of intelligence and reasoning.
Newness and innovativeness to human ideas and their way of life come from human
traveling. This is what we call tourism. In simple language, human movement from one
place to another for having new experience in forms of pleasure, adventure, knowledge,
peace and so on is known as tourism. And one who goes on tour is called tourist. So, tourist
is the one who moves from one place to another for pleasure, adventure, knowledge, etc.
There are two kinds of tourists: Domestic (internal) tourists and foreign (external) tourists.
Domestic (internal) tourists are residents of the same country who travel to different places
within their own nation. Foreign (external) tourists move out the boundary of their country
and travel to other countries.

Folk-Dance Elephant-Ride

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Tourism involves a chain of economic activities and those who take up these economic
activities are called service providers. Tourism falls in the category of service sector of the
economy. All these service providers put together make the tourism industry. These services
are food and lodging, travel agency, tour operator, adventure sports such as mountain
climbing, bungee jumping and river rafting, normal sports like golf, polo, and trekking and
mountain flight. Apart from these services, tourists like to visit entertainment park, wild life
reserves, national park and museum and several other places.

Present status of tourism industry in Nepal: In the government sector, Nepal Tourism and
Hotel Management Academy has been active in building up the required human resource
for the development of tourism sector. This Academy is affiliated to Tribhuvan University
and runs three-year Bachelor in Travel and Tourism Management and Bachelor in Hotel
Management. A new Post-Graduate Program called Master of Hospitality Management has
been added from 2011 AD onwards. This will definitely contribute to reduction of rural
poverty in Nepal by providing opportunity for self-employment. The Academy has been
conducting training programs to promote tourism in rural areas. The Academy trains
tourist guide, travel agency and even hoteliers on a regular basis. It also conducts mobile
training courses to increase productivity and efficiency in hospitality businesses. It gives
tourism related tips on ticketing and cooking for tourists. The Academy has been conducting
home stay and local guide training at the local (rural) level in Nepal. Nepal Tourism Board
and private sector have participated in several international tourism fairs organized in
India, China, United States of America, United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, Netherlands,
Spain, Italy, Thailand, Singapore and so on. Nepal is trying its best to promote tourism at
international level. The Government of Nepal has invested in building up infrastructure for
tourism and encouraged private sector too to invest in this sector. Tourism is one of the few
sectors in Nepal which is the engine of economic growth.

Natural view of Tea-garden in Nepal Rural Tourism: Natural view of Hilly Tracts

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Importance of Tourism Industry

Tourism is the major source of foreign exchange and one of the main sources of revenue in
Nepal. Nepal has a unique distinction in having eight of the 10 highest mountains in the
world. Nepal attracts mountaineers, rock climbers and people seeking adventures from all
over the world. Nepal has combined heritage of both Hinduism and Buddhism reflected
by various world heritage sites like Pashupatinath Temple, Changu Narayan, Boudhanath,
Swaymbhunath and the renowned Lumbini--the birth-place of Gautam Buddha. Nepal’s
diverse culture and forest areas add extra attractions for tourists. So, Nepal has a great
potential in areas of tourism development. Tourism plays a very important role in overall
development of Nepal. Following are the points which prove how important tourism is for
Nepal:
1. Earning of Foreign Exchange and increase in national revenue
2. Increase in the opportunity of employment
3. Promotion of cottage and small-scale industries
4. Strong foundation for rural development and local infrastructure
5. Promotion of trade and business
6. Cultural exchange and projection of country’s image to rest of the world
7. Strong political and diplomatic relations between host and guest countries
8. Positive change in attitude due to contact and interaction with a variety of people visiting

as tourists from different parts of the country and from different parts of the world

Problems of Tourism Industry in Nepal and their Solutions:

Tourism Development Board was formed in 1957 AD for having a planned development in
tourism. Ministry of Tourism was set up in 1977 AD to address the problems being faced by
the tourism industry in Nepal. Nepal has a great potential in tourism sector but there are
problems which stop us from realizing our potential in this sector. Problems of tourism are
as follows:
1. Lack of basic infrastructure facilities: Nepal is still not well connected by road from north

to south and east to west. Communication facilities and electricity are not in satisfactory
conditions. Facilities for food and staying are not available in every part of the country
from Himalayan region to Hilly and Tarai region.
2. Political instability and frequent strikes/closures: Politics in Nepal has been neglecting
economics. Frequent strikes and closures of country discourage tourists to visit Nepal.
Political leaders and agitators block the ways or discontinue the basic essential services
due to which tourists get trapped inside Nepal and others from outside do not feel safe
coming to Nepal.
3. Lack of tourist goods/services or low qualities of it: Nepal has not yet deliberately
modelled on being tourist country. So tourists get poor qualities of goods and services
being offered to them and sometimes do not get the goods/services at all. Hygiene and
sanitation are major areas of attention in this regard.

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4. Lack of skilled and trained manpower: Tourism sector has not yet attracted best of
the manpower in Nepal in the chain of service providers. Tourism is considered as
unpredictable business in the country where productive people prefer to work in other
sectors. That has left Nepal’s tourism in low status.

5. Poor aviation facilities: Domestic and international flights in Nepal are struggling.
International air-port is still one-way and that too not fully maintained. Domestic air-
ports are not fully functional, especially in Hills and Himalays. Tourists have very
limited options in this case to visit different parts of Nepal.

6. Lack of safety and less number of tourist centres: There are threats of life and property
on tourists in some situations. Tourists do not get help-line to reach. Anti-social elements
take advantage of this situation and harass the tourists. Cases of cheating, over-charging,
ragging, nagging and causing serious body injuries have occured in the past.

Measures to tackle the problems in tourism sector of Nepal: There is no doubt that Nepal
has been and still is the attractive tourists’ destination in the world. Tourism is not affected
even by Nepal’s geographical limitations of being landlocked. International tourists like
to visit Nepal and at the same time make a trip towards India and China too, if they are
able to manage. Following measures are helpful to remove the problems being faced by
tourism industry in Nepal:

1. Developing infrastructure-facilities throughout the country like roads, air-routes,
communication, electricity, facilities for food and stay, etc.

2. Political stability with good law and order situation
3. Easy access (reach) to tourist-related services like banking, money transfer, ticket-

booking, medical facilities, food and staying, etc.
4. Development of tourism manpower and specific continuous training for them
5. Production and distribution of publicity materials to promote tourism
6. Promotion of Rural Tourism and Home Stay Program
7. Extension of tourism services and facilities
8. Emphasis on cleanliness, hygiene and sanitation
9. Preservation of mountain ecology, forests and natural resources

As a whole, tourism is gaining better place in Nepal’s economy year after year. Tourism
industry is largely dependent upon small and medium enterprises which fit in the purposes
for Nepal. Tourism is smokeless labour-intensive industry. Therefore, there is no direct
harmful impact on environment.

Words and terms you would like to know

Essence (n.): gist, meaning, heart of the matter
Reduction (n.): decrease, decrement
Infrastructure (n.): the basic structure
Distinction (n.): reputation, fame, honour
Extension (n.): increase, rise, expansion
Emphasis (n.): urgency, weight, value, special importance

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Learning Guideline
Fix an interview and interaction with people who are working in tourism industry including government
officials under Ministry of Tourism. Let students ask several relevant questions on tourism to them. Help
the students structure the questions for interview and interaction.

Activities
1. Introduce any tourist spot which is located nearby your locality.
2. Make a travel plan (itinerary) of three days for your friend who is visiting you very soon.

Exercise
1. Define tourism. Explain its importance in Nepal.
2. Nepal has great potential in tourism sector. Justify the statement with examples.
3. What are the major problems being faced by tourism industry in Nepal?
4. Suggest measures to be taken up for solving the problems being faced by tourism industry

in Nepal.
5. Explain how serious the Government of Nepal is towards promoting tourism in Nepal.
6. Write short notes on the following:

a) Nature-tourism
b) Home-stay
c) Tourism infrastructure

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Lesson

2 Foreign Trade

It is not possible for an individual or a group of individuals to produce all the essential items
or commodities that are needed for life. So, some items are produced and some are not.
Those items which are produced are sold in the market for money. In internal trade, market
is confined to domestic territory of a country which is called domestic or home market. In
external trade, market for selling and buying commodities/items goes beyond (outside) a
particular country making it world or global (or international market). By selling, one gets
money. The items (commodities) which are needed for use are purchased (bought) for price
by paying money. This is called exchange. And exchange of commodities (goods and services)
for money is generally understood as trade. In internal trade of Nepal, this exchange takes
place within the geographical boundary of Nepal, say between Biratnagar and Nepalgunj.
In case of external (foreign or international) trade, two countries are involved in exchange
of goods and services for money, for example traders of Kathmandu selling cardamom
to traders of Patna (India). Every trade involves selling and buying together. This is what
exactly happens between two countries. When an individual or a group from one country
sells commodities (both goods and services) to an individual or a group of another country,
it is called export. And when an individual or a group of one country buys commodities
(both goods and services) from an individual or a group of another country, it is called
import. In simple words, export is selling goods and services to another country and import
is buying goods and services from another country. Since another country is involved in
selling and buying, the trade becomes foreign or international trade. International trade =
Export + Import.
Why does international or foreign trade take place? There is no country in the world today
which produces all the commodities (goods and services) it requires. It is because there is
unequal distribution of natural and human resources across different countries at global
level. A country produces only those commodities in which it has confidence and capability.
Production is dependent upon smart combination of resources, human skills, technology
and other needed factors like land and capital. A country has to manage all the factors of
production before it goes for final production. For producing more commodities, a country
has to increase its capacity by managing and collecting all the factors of production.
Therefore, every country produces those commodities in which it has comparative
advantage. By specializing in production of few commodities if not many, countries always
want to reach out to large number of buyers in the international market. This creates mutual-
interdependence between several countries. In the present world economy, no country
prefers to be closed and hence international trade is unavoidable reality. International trade
helps in buying commodities which are not produced within the country and in selling the
nationally produced commodities to rest of the world.
We have understood by now that both export and import put together constitute foreign
trade. A favorable (positive) balance of trade where export exceeds import makes a coun-
try’s economy strong. Foreign Exchange Reserve in such a situation goes up because export
is paid in foreign currency. A positive balance of trade is also known as trade surplus. A
negative (unfavorable) balance of trade exists when import exceeds export in a country. It

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depletes foreign exchange reserve because foreign currencies are spent on purchase of goods
and services from other countries. This situation of negative balance of trade is known as
trade-deficit. Widening trade-deficit is considered unhealthy for a country’s economy.

External Trade using sea and land route.
Present Status of Foreign Trade in Nepal: India is Nepal’s largest trading partner. Two-
thirds of the total international trade of Nepal takes place with India. India accounts for more
than 66 percent of Nepal’s export earnings. Even for Nepal’s imports, India’s share is not less
than 66 percent of the total import that Nepal goes for annually. Nepal’s trade deficit with
India has been widening year after year where imports are rising much more than exports. It
is interesting to know that Nepal conducts trade with around 180 countries including India.
The second largest trading partner of Nepal is China. Nepal’s goods are exported to United
States, Germany, Belgium, China and United Kingdom apart from India. In case of imports,
the United Arab Emirates, Thailand, Argentina come after India and China.
Nepal’s main imports from India are petroleum products, motor vehicles and spare parts,
MS (mild steel) billet, medicines, electrical equipment, cement, MS wires, chemical fertilizers,
chemicals, agricultural equipment and thread. Nepal’s export basket to India are jute goods,
zinc sheet, textiles, threads, polyester yarn, juice, cardamom, wire, tooth-paste and MS
pipe. Nepal imports gold, silver, edible oil, soyabin oil, machinery and tourism from other
countries around the world.
Importance of Foreign Trade: Foreign trade benefits the country like a double-edged sword
which cuts through the social and economic backwardness of a country. Both export and
import must serve the best interest of the country at economic, political and social levels. As
far as possible, a country must not develop huge trade-deficit and must build up its export
oriented manufacturing.
Following are the importance of foreign trade:
1. Foreign trade increases national income which brings economic growth and development

in a country.
2. Foreign trade encourages specialization in manufacturing of export goods.
3. It helps in earning of foreign exchange.
4. It reduces poverty and creates employment in the country.
5. Foreign trade expands the market at international level.
6. Foreign trade encourages investment in domestic economy in manufacturing industries.

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7. Foreign trade helps in bringing foreign investment to domestic economy as it attracts
investors.

8. It brings price stability in the country by importing scarce goods.
9. It helps in fighting food crisis by importing food grains from other countries.
10. Foreign trade helps in industrialization of a country by importing technology and

machinery.
11. It creates better international understanding at global level, particularly between devel-

oped and developing countries.

Problems being faced by Foreign Trade in Nepal and their Solutions

Nepal had suffered trade deficit of Rs. 440 billion with India and Rs. 98 billion with China
in 2014-15 AD period. Nepal recorded a trade deficit of 76499 million NPR in June of 2015.
Three major import items (commodities) in Nepal are petroleum, agricultural products and
luxuries and non-productive goods. They make up around 50 percent of the total import of
Nepal. Nepal’s lack of infrastructure, political instability and lack of politics for development
has led to chronic trade deficits.

Following are the problems being faced by foreign trade in Nepal:
1. Nepal, a landlocked country and poor transport system within: Nepal is a landlocked

country surrounded by China and India. Absence of seaport does not allow Nepal to go
directly to international market.
2. Political instability within the country: Political instability within the country leads to
frequent closures, strikes and blockade of highways and border points. This adversely
affects Nepal’s external (foreign) trade. Birgunj is a major entry of the transit trade and
closing this border-point creates huge loss to Nepal’s trade. Tatopani border point has
not been used by Nepal for reaching to Chinese seaports yet.
3. Nepal is not the transit country between India and China: Both India and China are
emerging economic super-powers. But, Nepal has not been yet in a position to get
benefits from the trading relations between India and China. Nepal has not become a
transit country between India and China.
4. No serious thought on using alternative source of energy: Nepal’s dependence on
petroleum oil and diesel has created huge trade-deficit because Nepal has to import the
products. Nepal has not done any research on use of renewable (alternative) source of
energy and generating hydro-electricity.
5. No industrialization and scientific agriculture: Nepal’s industries are in poor situation.
Our agriculture has not gone scientific and, therefore, requires use of machinery and
technology in practice of agriculture. Nepal imports food-grains and other essential
agricultural products every year. Agro-based industries have not been able to cater to
domestic market. This has increased import for both essential and luxury items in Nepal.
6. Defective policy and lack of implementation of long–term vision: Nepal has weak
economic infrastructure. Therefore, Nepal loses its labor and capital to other countries.
People of productive age group and business-men with capital are working and doing
business-trade in other countries. This has slowed down our economic activities and
industrialization.

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Measures for overcoming problems of foreign trade in Nepal

Following are the solutions to problems being faced by foreign trade in Nepal:
1. Nepal must develop strength in manufacturing by increasing the export goods with

international quality.
2. Nepal must learn from experiences of other land-locked countries like Switzerland,

Liechtenstein, Czech Republic and Slovakia in Europe and countries like Mongolia
and Bhutan from Asia.
3. Nepal must not spoil its good relationship with neighboring countries by understanding
their sensitivities for party-interest and individual political benefit.
4. Nepal has to create political stability and must implement its long-term trade policy.
5. Nepal as a least-developed country should demand more concessions from regional
trade groups and World Trade Organizations (WTO).
6. Nepal must concentrate on its core sectors like tourism, health, education, green
economy and sustainable development, banking and finance, transport and
communication, etc.

Words and terms you would like to know

Unavoidable (adj.): sure, impossible to avoid
Widening (adj. + n.): increasing
Deplete (v.): consume, eat up, use up
Spoil (v.): make a mess of, destroy

Learning Guideline
Engage the students in question-answer session and discussion to clarify all the doubts on foreign trade
particularly present state of foreign trade and its importance.

Activities
1. Discuss the status of Nepal’s balance of trade.
2. Collect the samples of goods being used in your family and community. Make a list of the

countries from where those goods have been imported by mentioning the name of the goods.
Make a separate list of goods which have been made in Nepal and being used by your family
and neighborhood to find out the difference in their qualities and standard with respect to
their price.

Exercise
1. Define trade. Explain the need or necessity of doing trade.
2. What do you mean by foreign (international) trade?
3. Distinguish between internal and external trade with examples.
4. Make a list of commodities exported from Nepal to India and other countries.
5. Prepare a list of imported commodities imported to Nepal from India and other countries.
6. Explain the role played by foreign trade in economic development of Nepal.
7. Outline the importance of foreign trade.
8. Explain the major problems that Nepal is facing in the area of foreign trade.
9. Highlight the measures (solutions) to be adopted for minimizing trade-deficit in Nepal.

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Lesson

3 Money

In the ancient times, people used to produce most of the things which they needed for their
day to day survival. Surplus products from the family were used to buy other products
which others had produced. So, it was exchange of one commodity for another commodity.
There was no fixed standard value for any commodity. The value was decided by the
agents of exchange themselves: buyers and sellers. Exchange of one commodity for another
to fulfill one’s own needs is known as “barter system”. Barter system is dependent upon
negotiation and is full of changing values and therefore has no standardization. With
increase in production, distribution and consumption of goods and services, barter system
failed to operate effectively in market between buyers and sellers. A common medium of
exchange which was acceptable to all was needed to regulate and standardize the ever
increasing economic activities. In course of finding common medium of exchange for the
entire community, many things as standard of exchange between buyers and sellers were
tried like a particular food-grain, a cash crop, specific handy material having a hole in the
middle, a particular animal, an animal’s skin, conch shell and so on. This is how concept of
money evolved. Money has generally acceptable purchasing power. Money is something
which everybody is prepared to accept in exchange for goods and services and in repayment
of debts. Later, metals like Gold and Silver were used to make money. In present civilization,
paper money as currency is well-accepted with different values around the world. Every
country has its own paper money and coins (made up of commonly found metals and alloy).
A group of countries like European Union may decide to have common money as Euro (€)
as a monetary unit for European Union. United States calls its money Dollar ($) and United
Kingdom calls its money Pound Sterling £).).

Euro: money of Europe Dollar in United States Pound Sterling in UK

Nepal’s money is known as Rupees. Nepali Rupees are issued by Nepal Rastra Bank (the
Central Bank within the country which supervises other banks). No country can print
money in any quantity it wishes because money circulation is maintained on the basis of
market (volume of economic activities) at both domestic and international level. Money
creation is the process by which the supply of money in a country (or a monetary region)
is increased. Before a country decides to print money, it has to think of a value of currency
being printed. More currency without increase in national income will create inflation and
reduce the value of currency. National income is generally measured by Gross Domestic
Product (GDP) and Gross National Product (GNP) every year. In case of Nepal, printing of
money is directed by Nepal Rastra Bank under the advice of IMF (International Monetary

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Fund) – a specialized agency of United Nations Organization. IMF evaluates the economic
condition of developing countries and gives economic advice to governments for taking right
economic decision. Accurate estimation of economic growth and volume of foreign trade
decides how much money is to be printed without devaluing the currency. Currency of a
particular country speaks about the history and culture of the people living there. Currency,
therefore, acts as a secondary source of evidence to history of a country.

Nepali Rupees: Paper money Metal coin

For every country, maintaining reserve of foreign currency has become essential. It is very
useful in international (foreign) trade. No country can survive without it in present world.
Foreign currency reserve (FOREX Reserve) with trade-surplus where exports exceed imports
for a country. Payment for exported goods is done in foreign currency which accumulates
the FOREX reserve. Foreign-exchange currency reserves (FOREX reserves) are maintained
by almost all the countries more particularly developing countries. Foreign-exchange
currency reserves are held by a central bank (Nepal Rastra Bank in case of Nepal) in the form
of various reserve currencies like United States dollar, Pound sterling, Euro, Japanese yen,
Indian rupees, etc.

Euro US dollar Pound Sterling Yen Indian Rupees

Foreign-exchange currency reserves are used by countries like Nepal to make international
payments and to pay back their debts. We know how Nepal is dependent upon imports.
FOREX reserves finance imports and protect local (national) currency in international
market because making payment in national currency has a danger of its devaluation in
international market.

What are the important sources for foreign currency in Nepal? For any country including
Nepal, the best source for earning foreign currency is export. The more the export, the higher
will be the FOREX reserves. Remittances sent by Nepalese people working in different
countries like Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, South Korea, Japan, etc are the next source. We
call it export of labor to different countries and earn foreign currencies by the remittances

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they send to Nepal. Grants, aids and debts given by other countries and various regional and
global financial bodies to Nepal do increase the reserve of foreign currencies but it is more
like obligations rather than gains for economy. Tourism industry in Nepal brings foreign
currencies as tourists spend their money in Nepal.

Words and terms you would like to know

Money: money is a medium of exchange and measure of value
Standardization (n.): removal of variations and irregularities in something
Remittance (n.): money sent as a payment for merchandise or services; money sent to the country by
nationals working abroad (foreign countries)
Obligation (n.): legal or moral duty
Grant (n.): giving money as favor
Learning Guideline
Ask the students to collect currency notes and coins from different countries. Motivate the students to find
out conversion rate of these currencies in international money market.

Activities
1. List the kind of denominations of currencies issued by Nepal Rastra Bank. Explain the details

of images of any one paper currency or coin.
2. Collect all the news related to conversion of currency in relation to Nepali Rupees for three

weeks and see the trend of increase or decrease of value of Nepali Rupees. Find out the
reasons behind this change in value of Nepali Rupees in relation to foreign currencies.
Exercise
1. What is barter system? Outline the problems involved in barter system.
2. Define money. Mention the characteristics (features) of money.
3. Explain in brief how money has helped in our economic activities.
4. What is the fundamental principle according to which a country decides to print the money?
5. Who takes decisions in Nepal for printing money?
6. What is FOREX reserve? Explain its utility in a country’s economy.
7. List the sources of foreign currency in Nepal.
8. Name any four foreign currencies with their country.

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Lesson

4 Banking

Introduction

A bank accepts money from the people in the form of deposits, which are usually repayable
on demand or after the expiry of fixed period of time. It gives safety to the deposits of its
clients. It also acts as a custodian of funds of its customers. A bank lends out money in the
form of loans to those who require it for different purposes. A bank provides easy payment
and withdrawal facility to its account holders (customers/clients) in the form of cheques,
drafts, debit and credit cards, money withdrawals, etc. A bank acts as a connecting link
between borrowers and lenders of money. Banks collect money from those who have surplus
money and give the same to those who are in need of money at fixed interest rate. This is how
banking business takes place. Banks get the principal amount back from borrowers along
with interest rate charged on it within fixed time period. Banks even look for opportunities
to invest the money to multiply in big sum. Bank is a financial institution which deals with
other people’s money. Secret of banking lies in multiplying the available value of money.

Importance of Bank

Modern economic system cannot run without having banking sector in place. Without
having banks in a country’s economy, savings cannot be converted into investment. Capital
formation with a view to invest in economy of Nepal is very difficult here when more than
half of the total population of the country earn less than 2.5 US$ a day. In a situation such as
this one, banks encourage everyone to open account and save some portion of the income
(earning) and do transactions with the bank. Banks give loan to poor people to start business,
trade or to set up cottage and small scale industries. In this way, banks help the poor people.
Banks give loans to farmers for doing agriculture in effective and profitable manner. Banks
extend the credit by giving loans to start new business and to set up new enterprises. Banks
help in circulation and movement of money from one place to another at both national and
international level. Banks provide security to wealth and precious items by keeping them
safe. Banks provide lockers now-a-days to keep important papers and precious metals. Banks
have been giving important services to depositors (clients) like financial advice, collecting
and making payments of various types like electricity bills, school fees, and insurance
premiums and so on. Mobile banking, online banking and various cards like VISA cards and
Master Cards have made transfer of payments very easy.

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ATM card (Automated Teller Machine Card) has made banking very convenient and easy.
One can withdraw money any time according to the need. There is no need to visit the main
branch or any branch of a bank where an individual has opened his/her account. ATM
cubicles are seen in different parts of a city or town or in district headquarters.

Keeping hard cash in the house and pocket has been replaced by plastic cards of various
types which are provided by the banks to their depositors (people who have opened up
account with the bank). ATM card is one such card. Even for shopping, people are using
Credit or Debit VISA cards. Modern banks have transformed the financial world and market.
All the businesses and trades are being conducted with the help of banks. Both sellers and
buyers use banks to make payment and receive the payments. Banking is safe for making
large sum of payment as it helps in transferring money from one account-holder to another
account-holder safely. In international trade, both exporters and importers use banks for
exchanging local national currency into foreign currencies and foreign currencies into
national currencies.

Types of Banks:

In order to make socio-economic life of the people better, different types of banks function in
the country. Following are the main types of banks:
1. Central Bank: Central Bank is the apex (highest) bank of the country which regulates

and supervises all the banks, including commercial banks, within the country. Nepal
Rastra Bank is the central bank of Nepal which was established in 1956 AD under the
Nepal Rastra Bank Act, 1955 AD.

2. Commercial Banks: A commercial bank is a financial institution which accepts deposits
from the people and extends loans for the purpose of consumption and investment.
Commercial banks give several other services like transfer of funds, general services and
credit creation for account-holders and so on.

3. Agricultural Bank: Agricultural bank helps the agricultural sector by giving short-term
and long-term loans to farmers. Cooperative banks act as agricultural bank by extending
loans to farmers.

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4. Development Banks: Development banks extend loans for different kinds of
development projects related with infrastructure, agriculture, industry and so on.

5. Rural Development Bank: Rural development bank provides credits (loans) without
any collateral (wealth guarantee to pay back the loans). It is very helpful in countries like
Nepal where most of the farmers have very small landholdings or do not have land at
all.

6. Industrial Banks: Industrial banks extend credits (loans) with needed support to
industries of all types. Nepal Industrial Development Corporation (NIDC) was set up in
1959 AD. It is the industrial bank in Nepal.

Words and terms you would like to know
Account-holders: Account-holders are those who have opened their accounts by agreeing
to become depositors with a bank.
Cheque: A cheque is a bill of exchange drawn on specified banker and payable on demand.
Bank-draft: A bank-draft is a bill of exchange drawn either on demand or otherwise by one
banker to another in favor of a third party.
Capital formation: savings by depositors used for investing in setting up industries,
infrastructure development and so on
Withdrawal facility: taking back deposited money in a bank as and when a person wants

Learning Guideline
Show the students ATM card, Credit Card, cheque-book, demand drafts while discussing the topic on
banking.

Activities
1. Conduct a study on a financial institution located near your locality/house. Explore the

kinds of services it provides. Present your study in the class.
2. Find out the differences between Nepal Rastra Bank and commercial banks.

Exercise

1. What is a bank? Explain its various aspects.

2. Describe why people deposit money in banks.

3. Outline the importance of banks in the life of an individual and society.

4. Briefly introduce the development bank.

5. Highlight the role of banks in economic development of Nepal.

6. Write short notes on the following:

(a.) Functions of bank (b.) Online and mobile banking

(c.) ATM card (d.) Cheque and bank-draft

(e.) Industrial banks (f.) Agricultural banks

224 Nova Social Studies And Population Education Grade-8 >>

Lesson

5 Price-Determination & Price-Rise

Price-Determination

Commodities which are available in a market are produced by a producer (or a manufacturer).
That producer or manufacturer can be a person or firm or industry. A producer goes for
production in order to create value on a commodity which can be sold in the market. In other
words, production is the value-creation or value-addition to a commodity which becomes
useful by increasing its utility. And then it creates demand in a market. No production of
goods is ever possible without having combination of inputs. These inputs are called factors
of production. There are essential factors of production like land, labor, capital, raw-materials,
entrepreneurship and organization. A producer spends money while bringing these factors
of production together in order to produce commodity, which is called cost of production or
production-cost. For example, a producer has to pay rent on land, interest on capital, wages
for labor, and profit for entrepreneurship. Thus, production cost is an essential cost incurred
by a business for manufacturing goods or producing services. This production cost plays a
very important role in determining the price of a commodity. Because no producer would
like to fix the price of a commodity which is lower than the production cost of the commodity
for its every unit. If government has charged (levied) tax on produced commodities, then
a producer adds that tax too on the production cost for fixing the price of a produced
commodity. Sometimes, government encourages production of essential goods and services
to be given (sold) to citizens at lower prices. In such a situation, producer receives subsidies
(grants) from the government to produce those items/commodities and sell them at lower
prices to consumers. Producers recover their reasonable profits from the government in such
situations.

Apart from production cost, a market also plays an important role in determining price
of a commodity. Actually, price of a commodity depends upon the types of a market. If
a producer has a monopoly in a market without having competitors, then he or she alone
will fix the price. There are no other producers producing the similar or same commodities
(goods) to challenge him or her. But to attract more buyers (consumers) for a longer period
of time and to sell the goods in a large quantity, monopolist has to lower down the price. All
the monopolists do not prefer to reduce the price of goods to sell it in a large quantity to a
large number of consumers. Most of them want to produce less and sell them at much higher
price to earn abnormal profits to the harm of consumers. Monopolist loves to earn abnormal
(extremely high) profits and is not satisfied by reasonable profit. This is why in a monopoly
market where only one producer (seller) exists, price of a commodity is quite high. In a

225<< Nova Social Studies And Population Education Grade-8

monopoly market, there are large numbers of buyers with single seller of the commodity.
And monopolist fixes high price for a commodity produced to earn abnormal profit from a
large number of buyers (consumers).
Just opposite to monopoly market, there is a situation of perfect competition in the market
between a large number of producers (sellers) bringing a large number of products
(commodities) of similar quality to attract large number of buyers. Here, buyers (consumers)
have more than two (or may be many) options to choose from while buying the product
(goods/commodities). On the other hand, producers compete with each other to sell their
products (goods or services) to many buyers. In this kind of freely competitive market, a
standard price gets fixed which is affordable for a buyer at a reasonable profit to a seller-
producer. There is no room (chance) for a producer to earn abnormally high profit by taking
high price from consumers.
In a perfectly competitive market, price of commodities (goods and services) is fixed in a
market with the dynamic of demands (made by buyers) and supply (made by producer-
sellers). Lower the price, higher will be the demand made by buyers. Higher the price, higher
will be the supply made by producer-sellers. Now see another scenario. Higher the price,
lower will be the demand made by buyers. Lower the price, lower will be the supply made by
producer-sellers. This is how interaction between the demand and supply goes on until both
demand and supply are equal at a point which determines the price. Therefore, in a perfect
competition, a price is fixed in a market at a point where both demand and supply are equal.
The point where price is fixed is also called the point of equilibrium.
Let us suppose that price of a commodity has risen more than the market-fixed price due to
some reasons. In such a condition of market, supply will rise more than the demand because
producers (sellers) would like to make more profits. Since supply of commodities increases in
the market, producers compete with each other to reduce the price. Decreasing price finally
stabilizes at the earlier price --- point of equilibrium (market-fixed price) where both demands
and supplies were equal. In case of a price going below the market-fixed price due to some
reasons, demands rise much more than the supply. This again creates competition between
buyers and sellers resulting in the price which was earlier fixed by the market. So, whatever
the situation may be, market tends to move towards a point of equilibrium.

Price-Rise or Inflation

Price-rise or inflation is defined as regular (continuous) rise in the general level of prices
for goods and services. As inflation rises, value of money in terms of its purchasing power
decreases. In case of price-rise (inflation), one buys a smaller amount of goods and services
with a given amount of money than before when price was normal. Many people go below
poverty line as they are no longer able to afford food due to low purchasing power created
by inflation.

226 Nova Social Studies And Population Education Grade-8 >>

Inflation discourages investment and savings in an economy. Many profit-seekers begin to
hoard the goods in the hope of earning more in future. This creates shortages of essential
items and promotes black-marketing.
Let us learn about the factors which create price-rise or inflation from both demand-side as
well as supply-side. On the demand side the factors which contribute to general price-level
are: rapid growth of population, increase in income, rising non-productive expenditure of
the government and increase in money supply. On the supply side, the factors which raise
the price-level are: less agricultural output due to drought, flood or backward techniques;
failures in running industries with low industrial outputs, high-priced imports, political in-
stability affecting supply of goods and services due to strikes, violence, closures, blockade of
highways and major entry points.

Price hike makes essential goods inaccessible to average income group people.
Words and terms you would like to know

Entrepreneurship (n.): ability or capacity to organize and run business, venture, industry and to take risk
for it
Affordable (adj.): that one can afford, low-price
Stabilize (v.): to keep something at the same level
Purchasing-power (n.): the ability to make purchases according to income and savings; the value of a
currency measured in terms of the goods and services it can buy
Black-market (n.): illegal buying and selling; a system of buying and selling officially controlled goods
illegally

Learning Guideline
Clarify all the doubts of the students by adopting question-answer and discussion methods.

Activities
1. Inspect the shops in your locality to find out whether they have displayed price-list for various

goods or not. If not, make enquiry from them as to why they have not displayed price-table
by listing the goods. Discuss the reasons that you have come to know while inspecting the
shops for not displaying price-tag in your class. Derive conclusions from your discussion
with other class-mates with regard to benefits which consumers derive from price-display of
the goods in shops.
2. Retailers and traders must attach price-tag to every food item. Even producers (manufacturers)
are not allowed to release their products in the market without displaying manufacturing
and expiry dates on the packet. While packaging the food-items, weight and price along with
manufacturing and expiry dates must be displayed or tagged. Fill up the following blanks
for any six goods (items) of your choice:

227<< Nova Social Studies And Population Education Grade-8

S.N. Name of Price of goods Weight Date of Expiry date
goods (Rs.) (Kg./Li) manufacture

Discuss why we should not use (consume) goods which have already crossed expiry dates
with your friends.

Exercise
1. Explain how production cost helps in determining the price of a commodity.
2. Describe the way monopoly market fixes the price of goods and services.
3. Differentiate between monopoly and perfect competition market with suitable examples.
4. How does a market in perfect competition determine the price of a commodity? Explain.
5. Price is a point of equilibrium where both demands and supplies are equal. Examine the

statement in light of price-fluctuation and price-adjustment of a commodity in a perfect
competition market.
6. Define inflation. How does it negatively affect an individual and a society?
7. Outline the factors which contribute to inflation or price-rise.
8. What is black-marketing? What are the ways to control it?
9. What do you mean by purchasing power? Why does it go low (less) in a situation of price-
rise (inflation)?

228 Nova Social Studies And Population Education Grade-8 >>

Lesson

6 Capital Formation & Cooperatives

Capital Formation and its role in transforming society

Capital formation is the process of building up (increasing) the stock of capital goods through
investment in productive plants and equipment. Capital formation is not possible without
the efficient utilization of the available and human resources of the country. Capital forma-
tion builds up stock of capital goods. Capital goods are used in the production of other
goods. Capital formation depends upon individual savings with the banks which invest
these savings in productive plants and equipment (capital goods). Thus, capital formation is
directly related to individual’s savings and investment. Higher capital formation in an econ-
omy leads to increase in stock of capital goods which scales up the production in a country.
Higher the productions more will be the employment which further promotes savings and
investment. Ultimately, a society moves towards prosperity with no or little poverty.

There are two main sources to build up stock of capital goods (capital formation): domestic
resources and external resources. Domestic resources of capital formation are voluntary or
involuntary savings from individuals, borrowings from the government, use of idle resourc-
es and by increasing demand level in domestic market. External resources of capital forma-
tion are foreign assistance in form of grants, aids and loans (debts).

A Case Study

There are 100 families living in Belaha village of Rautahat. Residents of this village were very
poor five years ago. They used to survive on daily wages as manual laborers. It was not possible
for them to survive on agricultural products for the whole year and wages for their labor-works
were also not sufficient to support them. In the meantime, literacy classes were conducted un-

229<< Nova Social Studies And Population Education Grade-8

der adult-literacy campaign in the village. Instructors suggested all the villagers to cut down on
daily expenditure of tea, wine and smoking in order to save 20 rupees every day. Many people
followed the suggestion which resulted in savings of 600 rupees for one individual in a month
and 7200 rupees in a year. Out of the saved money, they were advised to buy cattle, goats, and
other animals. With the help of Rural Development Banks and Agricultural Banks, training pro-
gram in cattle rearing was organized to help the farmers and provide a market for their animal
products. They were also advised to do cultivation in better ways by using agricultural inputs in
the correct manner. Within six months, their accounts were opened with local banks and other
cooperative banks. They were getting expert advice on how to do vegetable cultivation, fruit
growing, and cash crop farming along with cultivation of food-grains. Banks provided them ex-
tra loans too for buying more cattle to practice animal husbandry in much more organized man-
ner. Women and youth above 18 years began to assist men after getting training in economic
activities. Now, they have organized market for the village products. Prosperity came running
to Belaha village just in five years. All the 100 families are living above poverty line and are
self-employed because of the magic created by capital formation which started with individual
savings of 20 rupees every day.

Cooperatives and its role in transforming society

Cooperative organization is owned and run by its own members for their own benefits.
Cooperatives have a system of economic activities and business enterprises with a view to
distribute goods and services. Earning profits is not the only dominant motive of coopera-
tives. Cooperatives are organized to share the burden among all its members and make their
life convenient and smooth going by their mutual ownership and cooperation. Cooperatives
are community-based service oriented professional and autonomous organizations. They
encourage self-reliance and equity and strengthen self-reliant economy. Members of cooper-
atives believe in moral values such as honesty, transparency, social responsibility and keep-
ing concerns for others. Cooperatives operate as the medium of economic, social and cultural
development through savings mobilization and increase in investments. Thus, cooperatives
help in capital formation by consolidating resources which are scattered in the community.
Different types of cooperative societies operating in the country are saving and credit, mul-
tipurpose, dairy, agriculture, fruits and vegetables, bee keeping, tea, coffee, consumers, en-
ergy, communication, etc. Nepal initiated its cooperative movement after 1950 AD.

Cooperatives work on the principle of “unity is strength”. Collective actions are far better
and more effective than individual action. Several types of cooperatives are in operation in
the country including production, financial and banking, and service-oriented cooperatives.
Cooperatives have contributed in social inclusion and in judicious distribution of benefits
and opportunities among members of the community. Cooperatives are highly successful

230 Nova Social Studies And Population Education Grade-8 >>

in rural Nepal where they are protecting the interests of farmers, forest users, water users
and women’s groups. There has been an increase in the number of cooperatives managed by
women in recent years making them independent and self-reliant.

A Case Study

Shreedham village reported low literacy rate. An informal education program was launched
by the Government of Nepal with the help of local NGO (Non-Government Organization).
After six months of basic education and skill-training, five groups having 10 members in
each group were formed to launch cooperatives for micro-financing economic activity at
individual level. There were fifty houses in that village. Each group started collecting 2000
rupees every month. A turn was fixed for every member in a group to get financial help out
of total collected money at zero interest rate. In this way, every member got his or her turn
once in less than a year to get major financial help to start business or to meet medical expen-
diture or to buy books for their children. Not only this, each cooperative group began their
own economic activities to continue with their earnings. Success stories of cooperatives func-
tioning in Shreedham village reached the office of Agricultural Department, Village Devel-
opment Committee and District Development Committee. They extended their full support
to cooperatives and helped them invest their collected savings in village level micro-hydro
projects, community forest development program and agro-based cottage industries. It was
a complete transformation where all the five cooperative groups began to get more return
than before. Shreedham village emerged as a success story of cooperative movement which
brought improvement in agriculture, setting up cottage and small scale agro-industries. This
is how in rural setting of Nepal, cooperatives are backbone of social and economic devel-
opment. They play a great role in capital formation by channeling savings of villagers into
investment of capital goods.

Words and terms you would like to know

Voluntary (adj.): of free will
Involuntary (adj.): compelled
Cooperative (n.): a farm, business, or other organization that is owned and run jointly by its members,
who share the profits or benefits
Consolidate (v.): unite business activities; unite something into a single mass
Scattered (adj.): dispersed

Learning Guideline
Organize an educational visit for students to a cooperative located near your locality. Let the students
prepare questions for interview with members of the cooperative.

Activities
1. Prepare a report on a cooperative functioning near your residence making reference to its

objective, composition and functions.
2. Read the story given below carefully and then answer the questions:
There was a merchant living in Goldhap village. He was blessed with a son and a daughter.

After their formal school education was completed, he called both of them to check their
intelligence. He gave 1000 rupees each to his son and daughter. He asked them to spend the
money and come back to narrate the experience. Daughter Sunanda was thinking to spend
that 1000 rupees just in one day. She was even thinking to return the money to her father

231<< Nova Social Studies And Population Education Grade-8

after a week. Son Saurabh was thinking to have fun with that money and wanted to spend
on food, play and buying story books. Daughter Sunanda saw a farmer stocking his fresh
vegetables in store. She enquired the price at whole-sale rate and bought them for 800 rupees
and kept remaining 200 rupees safe. It was her first experience in learning business and
enterprise. She went to her village market and sold the raw fresh vegetables for 1200 rupees.
She earned profit of 400 rupees on that day. Every day she went on selling the vegetables in
village market doubling her profit and saving the amount. Son Saurabh spent all the money
with his friends just in one day. After a week, both son and daughter were present to see the
father. Their father – a merchant - asked them to tell stories about how they spent the money.
Son narrated that it was such a small amount of money and he spent it in a single day with
his friends. Daughter returned 7000 rupees to her father and told him the whole story about
making 7000 rupees out of 1000 rupees in 7 days. Father was very happy with daughter
Sunanda who became a businesswoman of great repute later on.
a) Identify the different stages of enterprise or entrepreneurship adopted by Sunanda like

strike of idea, working on the idea in reality, savings, investment, capital formation,
business-trade expansion.
Exercise
1. What is capital formation? Explain.
2. Describe how capital formation helps in reducing and ending poverty.
3. What are the ways to have capital formation?
4. Define cooperative. Explain its role in transforming the society.
5. Outline important features (characteristics) of cooperatives.
6. Cooperative movement in Nepal has a great power to transform the rural economy. Analyze
the statement.
7. Differentiate between cooperatives and private sector.

232 Nova Social Studies And Population Education Grade-8 >>

Lesson

7 Employment Status in Nepal

Employment can rightly be understood in relation to unemployment. Unemployment is un-
derstood as joblessness. Unemployment is a situation where no job or work as economic
activity is available for earning livelihood. In this way, employment is a situation when work
(job) as economic activity is available for earning livelihood. People who are willing to do
jobs getting engaged in economic activities are said to be employed. People in employment
get paid in salary or wages after a period of time according to a fixed basis (rule). That period
of time may be calculated in hours, days, weeks, months or any other convenient basis.

The most preferred age group in employment falls between 18 years to 59 years. But this age
group may differ in different countries. Every country has its own category and preference
for skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled labor force.

Employment is the very basis of human’s life and livelihood. The rate of unemployment or
employment speaks a lot about a country’s level of development and its economic status.
Out of total labor-force within the country, analysis of number of skilled labor in actual em-
ployment in service sector, manufacturing sector and agriculture sector is very important. A
country like Nepal does not provide employment opportunities to all the people in produc-
tive age-groups. This is the reason they migrate to foreign countries to sell their labor. More
than 85 percent of these migrant laborers working overseas belong to either unskilled or
semi-skilled categories.

Therefore, division of employment in different categories provides clear picture of economy
of that country. Division like domestic employment and foreign employment is vital way
to understand the country’s economic status and political vision. But not all the people in
productive age-group like to be employed either by government or by private firms/compa-
nies/industries. They like to be self-employed by setting up their own enterprise/ industry/
business. They can act as freelance professionals too.

So, who is unemployed? The person who is willing and capable of doing a job (work) and
does not find it is called unemployed. Nepal being underdeveloped economy suffers from
three major types of unemployment: rural unemployment, seasonal unemployment and dis-
guised unemployment. A person’s profile looking for employment includes his or her age,
skill, education and attitude towards the work.

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Status of Employment in the country

S.N. Description Percentage
1. Percentage of employed people 78.3
2. Percentage of unemployed people 1.8
3. Rate of inactive people 19.9
4. Rate of unemployment 2.2
5. Total households engaged in agriculture 76.3
6. Population engaged in non-agricultural sector 23.7
7. Population with fully employed status 70.0

Source: Nepal Living Standard Survey, 2066/67 BS & Nepal Labor Force Survey 2008

 The following are the major problems which Nepal faces in areas of employment:
1. Overall poverty in Nepal
2. Lack of quality education and low skill training
3. Backward social practices and gender discrimination
4. Lack of entrepreneurship and self-owned enterprise
5. Poor capacity of agriculture with little modernization
6. Politics without development and no emphasis on economy
7. Lack of sufficient number of employment information centers
8. Lack of long-term planning and vision for managing both domestic and foreign
employment
9. Cheating and deception in foreign employment making people return to Nepal

 The following measures (solutions) are helpful in overcoming unemployment in
Nepal:
1. Modernizing agriculture to increase its capacity
2. Growth in non-agriculture sector (like industries and service sectors)
3. Protection for investors and end to underhand practices (corruption)
4. Educational reforms and skill development efforts
5. Gender empowerment and social inclusiveness
6. Removal of superstitious belief and social evils
7. Directly targeted employment programs

Words and terms you would like to know

Productive age-group (n.): those people between 18 years to 59 years who are best suited for employment

Freelance (adj.): independent

Professional (n.): a skilled person

Underhand (adj.): secret and dishonest, done secretly and dishonestly or with the intention to deceive or
cheat somebody

234 Nova Social Studies And Population Education Grade-8 >>

Learning Guideline
Help the students learn this chapter by using chart, table and graph.

Activities

1. Make a bar-diagram of the data given in the book.
2. Collect the data from your community related to employment and unemployment of people

between 18-59 years of age. Find out the total employment percentage in your community
from the data.
3. Organize a debate competition on the topic, “Self-employment – Today’s necessity”.

Exercise
1. Define employment. Highlight any four problems related to unemployment in Nepal.
2. What do you understand by productive age-group or active population? Explain its role in

development of the country.
3. Creation of employment is one of the greatest means to development. Explain with the help

of examples.
4. Prepare a dialogue on relationship of poverty with unemployment.
5. Suggest several measures to create employment opportunities within the country.

RECAPITULATION EXERCISE
1. Nepal had suffered trade deficit of 87625 Million NPR in 2017 AD.

Look at the following data carefully recorded in June 2017:

Nepal's Foreign Trade June 2015 Unit (Million NPR)

Balance of Trade - 87625.00 Million NPR

Imports 93541.80 Million NPR

Exports 5736.90 Million NPR

Answer the following questions based on above facts and data:

a) What is the share of Nepal’s export and import in total external trade?

b) What is the total share of Nepal’s export and import with India and the rest of the world?
Do self-research and write the answer.

c) What measures are to be taken to reduce trade-deficit in Nepal’s foreign trade?

2. Prepare a list of questions to be asked to office-bearers of Local Savings and Finance
Cooperative. Hold interaction with them and share the conclusions of the interaction in the
class.

3. Compose a song and poem on the theme, “Savings in right time, Future is quite fine”.

4. Match the following:

Group A Group B
Capital Formation Movement from one place to another
Investment Globalization of Trade
Foreign Trade Use of Savings in Production/Manufacturing
Employment Building up Stock of Capital
Engaging in Economic Activity

235<< Nova Social Studies And Population Education Grade-8

Unit

8

Our International Relations and
Cooperation

Learning Objectives

At the completion of this Unit, students will be able to:
 Identify the friendly countries of Nepal and introduce them.
 Outline the dimension and type of international relations of Nepal with these friendly

countries.
 Illustrate the roles played by Nepal in United Nations Organization and highlight the

participation of Nepal in establishing international peace and security.
 Describe the contemporary events and incidents happening across the world and adjust in

this fast changing world.

Lesson

1 Our Friendly Countries

Nepal is a landlocked country geographically surrounded by China from the north and
India from rest of the three sides. Nepal has good relationship with both the countries and
treats them equally. Nepal does not believe in playing one neighboring country against
the interest of another neighboring country. Along with two giant neighboring countries
India and China, there are other friendly countries across the world with whom Nepal has
good diplomatic relationship. Diplomatic relationship with other countries helps Nepal to
establish mutual and reciprocal relationship with them at political, social and economic level.
Nepal’s foreign (international) policy is dependent upon policy of non-alignment, doctrine
of PANCHASHEEL (five principles of peaceful coexistence), Charter of United Nations
Organization, International Treaties and notion (idea) of global peace. Till recently, Nepal
has been able to establish diplomatic relationship with 137 countries in the world. Nepal is
both the contributor and an active participant in non-aligned movement, United Nations
Organization (UNO) and various specialized agencies of UNO.
Countries like India, China, Pakistan Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, and Maldives are our
neighboring countries. Nepal has maintained cooperative and harmonious relationship with
all of them. Nepal is the founder member of SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional
Cooperation). Nepal has always been participating in the activities of SAARC to further

236 Nova Social Studies And Population Education Grade-8 >>

(advance) the mutual interests of the member countries to develop strong cooperation in
South Asia. Nepal is also the member country of BIMSTEC (The Bay of Bengal Initiative for
Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) along with countries like Bangladesh,
India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Bhutan. BIMSTEC promotes technological and
economic cooperation among South Asian and South East Asian countries along the coast
of the Bay of Bengal. The areas of cooperation for BIMSTEC are commerce, investment,
technology, tourism, human resource development, agriculture, fisheries, transport and
communication, textiles, leather, etc.
Countries like India, Japan, China, United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France,
Netherlands, Denmark and Australia have been extending their help in Nepal’s development
and are development partners of Nepal. These countries have always been ready to extend
economic and technological support to Nepal.

Nepali students have been taking education in our friendly countries like India, United States
of America, United Kingdom (Great Britain), Australia, China and Bangladesh. Similarly,
hundreds of thousands of migrant workers are engaged in economic activities in neighboring
country India, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Israel, South Korea, Singapore
and others. This is a great support for Nepal’s weak economy where productive age-group
finds it difficult to be employed. Foreign labor market has helped Nepal in sustaining its
economy. This would not have been possible without having good relationship with these
countries. Remittances sent by these migrant workers have played a constructive role in
building up infrastructure within the country. International visits of eminent persons to
Nepal and visits of eminent persons from Nepal to other countries have strengthened the
diplomatic and international relationships.

India China Japan South Korea

International (foreign) relations help us know about political, economic and social
backgrounds of our friendly countries. In return, Nepal gets international exposure by

237<< Nova Social Studies And Population Education Grade-8

projecting the national image concerning its political and socio-cultural aspects at global
level. The whole world has become a global village due to revolution in communication
technology. We can get to know all that we want to know by using e-mail, internet and other
devices of communication technology. Not only this, we too can get a lot of information
about our own country. In such a scenario, we must not misuse modern communication
technology to spoil and destroy our foreign relationship with other countries by releasing
damaging materials in cyberspace. Apart from this, we have books, journals, atlas, and of
course tourists who visit Nepal to tell us about other countries.

United Kingdom Germany France United States of America

Words and terms you would like to know

Non-aligned Movement: The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) is a group of states which are not formally
aligned with or against any major power bloc. The organization was founded in Belgrade in 1961 AD. The
term “non-alignment” was established in 1953 AD at the United Nations.
Panchasheel: Panchsheel is derived from Sanskrit words Pancha meaning five and sheel meaning values.
So Panchasheel stands for five principles of peaceful co-existence originally signed between India and
China to guide their foreign relationship in 1954 AD. Later, Nepal too accepted PANCHASHEEL as its
foundation of foreign or international relationships and diplomacy. These five principles are:
 Mutual respect for each other’s territorial integrity and sovereignty
 Mutual non-aggression
 Mutual non-interference in domestic affairs
 Equality and mutual benefit
 Peaceful co-existence
SAARC: The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is an economic and geopolitical
organization of eight south Asian countries. It was founded in 1985 AD and its Secretariat is based in
Kathmandu, Nepal. The SAARC countries strive for collective self-reliance among the countries of South
Asia. The SAARC has developed permanent diplomatic relations with the EU (European Union), the
United Nations (as an observer) and other multilateral entities.
BIMSTEC: The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation
(BIMSTEC) is a regional organization. It was founded on 6 June 1997.

Learning Guideline
Bring all the accessory materials like map, flag and related information of friendly countries of Nepal in
the class-room to help students know the profile of those countries.

Activities
1. In the following map of Asia (Figure No. 1), identify friendly countries of Nepal and also

those countries where Nepali migrant workers are working.

238 Nova Social Studies And Population Education Grade-8 >>

Figure No. 1 Figure No. 2

2. In the above map of Nepal (Figure No. 2), four neighboring countries have been shown.
Discuss with the class-mates about the kind of relationship that needs to be maintained
with these neighbores in political, economic, and socio-cultural fields. Write down your
conclusions specifically.

3. Hold discussions on friendly countries of Nepal other than (apart from) Asian countries in
the class. Locate them in Atlas and collect information about them.

4. Write a letter to your friend living abroad (foreign country) mentioning about “international
(foreign) relations of Nepal”.

5. Collect basic information on our friendly countries in following manner:

Country Continent Capital Main Language Currency

Exercise
1. Illustrate the nature of foreign (international) policy of Nepal with appropriate examples.
2. List the names of the SAARC and the BIMSTEC countries.
3. Write down the names of 10 countries which have been helping Nepal in its economic and

technological development.
4. Identify eight countries which are the main destinations for Nepali migrant workers.
5. What do you understand by the policy non-alignment? How does it help Nepal? Do you

think it is the right policy for Nepal?
6. Explain Panchasheel with its significance in case of Nepal.
7. Differentiate between SAARC and BIMSTEC.

239<< Nova Social Studies And Population Education Grade-8

Lesson United Nations Organizations &
Its Organs
2

During the Second World War (1939 – 1945), the major Allied powers wanted to set up an
effective mechanism to stop destructive war. A new global organization was needed to regulate
international affairs of the countries around the world so that they are checked in advance to
impose war on other countries. US President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister
Winston Churchill signed the Charter to establish an international organization in August 1941
in a war-ship in Atlantic Ocean. This Charter became famous as Atlantic Charter because it was
signed in the warship navigating across Atlantic Ocean and the international organization for
which Atlantic Charter was signed is known as United Nations Organization (UNO). United
Nations began its function on/from October 24, 1945 with 51 member countries as its original
members. Till recently, number of member countries of United Nations has gone up to 193
countries.

Logo of United Nations Headquarters of UNO in New York City

The Purposes of the United Nations are to maintain international peace and security, to
develop friendly relations among nations, to achieve international co-operation in solving
international problems and to promote and encourage respect for human rights world-wide.
United Nations Organization functions with its six organs to fulfil its purposes (objectives).
These six organs are: General Assembly, Security Council, Secretariat, Economic and Social
Council, International Court of Justice and Trusteeship Council.

General Assembly: General Assembly is the parliament of UNO. All the member nations
have right to put forward their views in “General Assembly”. All the nations, big or small,
are treated equally in General Assembly. It discusses all the matters related to international
affairs in accordance with UN Charter. Being a deliberative body, General Assembly passes
resolutions by simple majority (half plus one). The General Assembly has exclusive authority
to pass (set) the UN budget.

UN General Assembly UN Security Council

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Security Council: The Security Council is the only action-taking organ of United Nations.
It takes actions for the maintenance of international peace and security. Its power includes
launching of peacekeeping operations, permitting military actions, imposing economic
blockade and other international sanctions. The Security Council has total of 15 members:
five of them are permanent members while ten members are non-permanent. These five
permanent members are United States, Russia, United Kingdom, France and China. The
other ten members are elected by the General Assembly to serve for non-repetitive two
years. Any decision taken by Security Council can be cancelled (nullified) if any of the five
permanent members casts VETO. Veto right enjoyed by the permanent members blocks the
decision taken by Security Council.

Secretariat: Secretariat is the administrative organ of the United Nations Organization.
It administers and coordinates the activities of the United Nations. It provides studies,
information and facilities needed by different organs and agencies of UNO. Secretary General
is the head of the Secretariat and acts as the Chief Administrative Officer of United Nations.
Secretary General is elected by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the Security
Council. S/he holds his/her office for five years and can be re-appointed. The present UN
Secretary General is the former prime minister of Portugal Antonio Guterres. He is the 9th
UN Secretary General.

1st Secretary General 8th Secretary General 9th Secretary General

1946 to 1952 2007 to 2016 2017 to the Present

Trygve Lie (Norway) Ban Ki Moon (South Korea) Antonio Guterres
Economic and Social Council: Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) works in areas
of economic, social, humanitarian, cultural and educational matters around the world. It
coordinates the activities of the UN’s specialized agencies such as World Health Organization,
International Monetary Fund, World Bank, UNESCO (United Nations Educational Scientific
and Cultural Organization), UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) and so on. ECOSOC
has total 54 member-countries out of which 18 members are elected each year for 3-year
term. Most of ECOSOC’s work takes place through functional commissions on topics such
as human rights, population, social development, narcotic drugs, population, national and
international statistics, the status of women, and science and technology.
International Court of Justice: The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is famous as the
World Court. It is the judicial organ of the United Nations. It settles disputes submitted by
sovereign-states. It provides advisory opinions on legal questions submitted to it by other
UN organs and specialized agencies. The International Court of Justice is located in the Peace
Palace in Hague, Netherlands.

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Economic and Social Council ICJ -- Hague, Netherlands

Trusteeship Council: Trusteeship Council helped the trust territories which were not able
to govern themselves to stand in governance and administration. This is how Trusteeship
Council helped many countries which had gained independence from the colonial rules
as trust territories. Since 1994, it has stopped functioning because there are no more trust
territories to help in governance and administration.

Words and terms you would like to know

Exclusive authority (n): power not shared by any one, only one person or body having the power

Recommendation (n.): advice, counsel, suggestion

Trust territory (n.): a dependent country; administered by another country under the supervision of the
United Nations

Trusteeship (n.): the position of trustee

Resolution (n.): a formal expression by a meeting; agreed to by a vote

Activities
1. Divide the class into six groups and assign one organ of UNO to each group. Have a full

discussion on all the six organs and present the details in the class through a group leader.
2. Read the news carefully and discuss the role played by Security Council in maintaining and

enforcing international peace and security.
The United Nations Security Council has adopted four major resolutions since 2006 that

impose and strengthen sanctions on North Korea for continuing to develop its nuclear
weapons program and call on Pyongyang to dismantle (end) its nuclear program to refrain
(stop) from ballistic missile tests. The first two resolutions were passed shortly after North
Korean nuclear tests in 2006 and 2009. The third came a month after North Korea successfully
launched a satellite in December 2012. North Korea is prohibited from such launches under
previous UN Security Council Resolutions because the technology in a satellite launch vehicle
can be used in ballistic missile development. The fourth was passed after North Korea’s most
recent nuclear test in February 2013. All four resolutions were passed unanimously by the
Security Council. Resolution prohibits North Korea from conducting future nuclear tests or
launching a ballistic missile. It calls for the country to suspend its ballistic missile program
and to completely abandon efforts to pursue a nuclear weapon. The resolution included
a range of sanctions designed to prevent North Korea from continuing to develop these

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programs. The resolution urged North Korea’s immediate return to the negotiating table for
multilateral talks regarding its nuclear weapons program.
Exercise
1. When was UNO established? Where is its headquarters located?
2. Mention the purposes (objectives) of the United Nations.
4. What is the Atlantic Charter? What is its significance?
5. How many organs are there in the UNO? Name them.
6. Which organ of United Nations is known as the ‘World Parliament’ and why?
7. Which organ of United Nations prepares the UN budget?
8. How does UN General Assembly pass the resolutions?
9. What is VETO? Who has this right to veto?
10. UNO saves the succeeding generations from the scourge of war. Make a comment.
11. How did UNO come into existence?
12. Differentiate between General Assembly and Security Council.
13. If you are asked to be the member of any one organ of the United Nations, which UN organ
will you choose and why?
14. What is the role played by Secretariat in United Nations?
15. Name the present Secretary General of United Nations.
16. Find out any four differences between International Court of Justice and Economic and Social
Council.

243<< Nova Social Studies And Population Education Grade-8

Lesson United Nations Organization and
Nepal
3

Nepal became the member of United Nations Organization on December 14, 1955. Nepal
considers the UN Charter as being the guidelines in maintaining international relations
with individual country or with other global and regional institutions. Constitution of
Nepal 2015 (2072 BS) has clearly mentioned about importance of UN Charter while making
laws and policies on matters of foreign (international) relations in Article 51, Part-4 which
deals with “Directive Principles of State Policy”. Nepal has been active participant in many
programs sponsored by UNO and launched under its banner right from the beginning of its
membership. Nepal has shown its commitment particularly in maintenance of international
peace and security together with expansion of social and economic development across the
world.

Nepal’s regular participation and contribution in UN peacekeeping operations in different
parts of the world has earned international goodwill for our country. Nepal’s contribution
to world peace began in 1958 when a small troop of five army personnel was sent to serve
in a peacekeeping mission in Lebanon. The participation of the Nepalese Army in UN
peace-efforts has now lasted for more than 57 years in its active role that covers some 41
UN missions in different parts of the world. Besides the Nepalese Army, Nepal Police and
the Armed Police Force (APF) too have been contributing to UN peace-keeping efforts at
global level. In course of discharging the duty towards maintaining international peace and
security, some of our soldiers and policemen have scarified their life. On the Golden Jubilee
Year of Nepal’s contribution to the UN in 2008, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon had
praised Nepal’s contribution as a ‘shining example’ in peacekeeping.

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