Nepal Calendar Determination Committee approves 15

Kathmandu / Jan 27: The Nepal Calendar Determination Committee has approved 15 calendars for the Nepali year 2081 BS.

Executive Director of the NCDC Surya Prasad Dhungel said that the committee has decided to approve 15 calendars (almanacs) for the Nepali year 2081 BS. The approved calendar will be available in the market from January 29, according to the committee.

The member secretary of the NCDC decided to approve 15 calendars for the coming year namely Toyanath Pant, Baburam, Narnath, Himal, Athola, Tarakeshwar, Surya, Akash Darshan, Bangalamukhi, Shubh, Baba Gorakhnath, Kirti, Siddhi, Khaptad Taranath and Gaurishankar. It is said that the ‘National Almanac’, which the committee has started publishing since 2079 BS, will also be continued.

By the year 2076 BS, the calendar (almanacs) was published in mid-December. On January 4, 2021, the Council of Ministers approved the formation order of the committee. Before that, only on the basis of the ministry’s letter, a committee was formed and the calendar was approved. According to the formation order, the general public has been invited to use only the calendar approved by the committee.

Five groups of dates, bars, yogas, nakshatras and karanas are called panchangs (calendar). Lately, so that even common people can understand, clock times are converted into hours and kept in the calendar. There is also a demand to improve the calendar, according to which the committee makes some improvements every year.

Since 2079 BS, the committee has been instructed to organize the calendar, but concrete work has not been undertaken. In the past two years, the committee issued notices mandating the publication of calendars only with approval, a practice that has been continued this year as well. Despite calendars being published without approval, the committee has not taken any action. Dhungel admitted that no action could be taken regarding the unapproved petitions from last year, as no guidelines were established for such situations.

After obtaining approval from the committee, the calendar is set to be organized, as wall calendars are published by replicating the approved version. In the year 2079 BS, the committee issued a notice mandating approval for calendar publication. However, those who published calendars did not coordinate with the committee.

This year, the Ministry of Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation has formulated guidelines to publish calendars. According to the new guidelines, monitoring will be conducted under the coordination of the Chief Joint Secretary of the Culture Division of the Ministry, with participation from representatives of relevant agencies and the Ministry of Home Affairs.

The monitoring committee stated that a sub-committee can be formed as needed. With the introduction of these guidelines, publishers and editors of calendars and bulletins that are published without approval will face penalties after monitoring. Action will also be taken against those who copy the committee-approved calendar and publish it without proper approval.

Committee Chairman Shri Krishna Adhikari emphasized that only the Department of Information and Broadcasting is authorized to publish the calendar with the committee’s approval. The committee noted that since other calendars are published by altering the department’s calendars and the committee-approved calendars (almanacs), discussions have begun regarding potential actions in accordance with copyright law.

Similar to the previous year, the committee is urging caution this year, emphasizing that those publishing unapproved calendars and wall calendars may face legal consequences as no one is exempt from the law.