Standardized corruption has become the forte of Nepal; Dr. Ganesh Gurung says,” With experiences comes perfections”. Born in Syangja, Dr. Ganesh Gurung was a Member of the National Planning Commission. A son of an Indian army Personnel, he completed his SLC from Pokhara and stayed in Sainik Boys Hostel. He even shared with us that he had a very interesting maternal uncle who turned Christian at the age of 80 along with many other dalits.

As he enthused forward he got selected as the head clerk, for him it symbolized a dead end and thus he came to Kathmandu. At CENAS (Centre of Nepal and Asian Studies) he then started as a Research Assistant. This common man got himself established as a researcher. Prayag Sharma was an intellectual inspiration to him. Hence Dr. Gurung followed him. Till 1993 Dr. Gurung had travelled all 75 districts of Nepal. He proudly articulates his clockwise and anti-clockwise travelling experiences. This made him feel exceedingly close to his country.

Having worked in various organizations such as Country Director in Development sector for 13 years, he also directed Social welfare council, under the Ministry of foreign Affairs. His major concerns were the training of economy and labor diplomacy.

At a very young age he had a massive conviction in the INGOs but with time the apprehension arrived that they are not so effective. Answering our question, “where are we lacking behind?” He said that the wholesale selection of districts is wrong. The districts like Baraha and Rautahat are less developed than Dolpa and Dadeldhura. Indicators must be set adjacent to all the Village Development Committees present in the districts.

Everyday approximately 1,500 youth go to Gulf countries, with them goes our manpower and ideas. This migration affected the fertility rate of Nepal from 4.1% to 2.6%. At this rate of decrement Dr. Gurung says there will be very few children in the future; who are the backbone of the new and developed Nepal. The first priority and duty of the state is to create employment opportunities here so the migration decreases but if these people set off abroad then it is the responsibility of the State to send trained and skilled manpower to foreign countries.
The homecoming of this manpower also brings home a huge amount of money but it is of secondary importance. The exposure, skills and experiences they earned must be utilized to the max by the State. “The people must have easy access to places where they can invest their assets so that they can attain social status and find internal peace”, Dr. Gurung expresses. When these employers are sent outside the State, the government must be able to show what they have for them when they return, which in his words is a “low hanging fruit.”

When asked on his take on Federalism, he speaks of the main purpose of it or what are our needs and how federalism can act as a catalyst to obtain them. Dr. Gurung further stresses that targeting VDCs directly can be effective. The allocation of budget to the VDCs directly on the first year and on second base providing them the money on their achievements can be new and effective federal plans for Nepal. He studied about the similar system in the health system of Indonesia which was huge success.

Lastly, his words of wisdom to youth are: “follow your passion and don’t complain about the government.”